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Original poster

Mosquitoes and how to avoid getting bitten by the wee b******s.

65 replies

soupmaker · 01/04/2023 17:02

Last time we went abroad in high summer I got very badly bitten by mosquitos. We stayed near Rome. They really like me but I react very badly with massive sore purple welts which are desperately itchy and prevent me sleeping. I have scars from 8 years ago.

I'll take a daily antihistamine and use repellent but the wee bastards always manage to bite me.

So any advice on how to stop them feasting on me, or how I can stop the hellish itching when they do? We're off to Croatia in July to a campsite by the sea and I suspect they're will be loads of them waiting to bite me.

TIA

OP posts:
Perpetuallyexhaustedtoddlermum · 01/04/2023 18:19

I'm here for suggestions. I get feasted upon when I visit family in the Caribbean. I literally look like I've got chicken pox when those awful creatures are done with me.

CindersAgain · 01/04/2023 18:26

I really like this one
https://amzn.to/3nBYSr1

I used it in peak midge season in the Scottish highlands and you could see where I’d missed it - my toes in my sandals had a line across where they were solid pink with bites. The rest of me was untouched.

Mosi-guard Natural Spray Protects Against Mosquitoes and Ticks Contains 75 ml Pharmacies PZN 11287453 : Amazon.co.uk: Health & Personal Care

Mosi-guard Natural Spray Protects Against Mosquitoes and Ticks Contains 75 ml Pharmacies PZN 11287453 : Amazon.co.uk: Health & Personal Care

https://amzn.to/3nBYSr1

luckylavender · 01/04/2023 18:30

@soupmaker - garlic tablets. Start taking them a week before you go.

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Original poster
soupmaker · 01/04/2023 18:32

luckylavender · 01/04/2023 18:30

@soupmaker - garlic tablets. Start taking them a week before you go.

Thanks. I'm definitely doing this as can't do any harm.

OP posts:
Original poster
soupmaker · 01/04/2023 18:34

@CindersAgain I don't get bitten by midges or if I do I don't react. It's bastard horseflies and mosquitoes who get me. Maybe living in Scotland means I'm immune to the midges.

OP posts:
underseige05 · 01/04/2023 18:35

Take vitamin B for 2 weeks before and while your there. My dad swears by it and before this he would get bitten alive

BeatriceFranklin · 01/04/2023 18:40

soupmaker · 01/04/2023 18:34

@CindersAgain I don't get bitten by midges or if I do I don't react. It's bastard horseflies and mosquitoes who get me. Maybe living in Scotland means I'm immune to the midges.

In exactly like you with bites. The only thing that works for me is Jungle Formula extra or Trek Ultra. I just bought Trek online reduced to £5.99. Be careful where you spray it on though, it makes tiled floors super slippy.

whoami24601 · 01/04/2023 18:57

If you do get bitten and it's itching badly then heat the bite. You can use a metal spoon heated up in hot water and placed on the bite. Or go nuclear and blast them with a hairdryer as hot as you can stand. It breaks down the proteins and stops the itch completely and instantly!

ZZTopGuitarSolo · 01/04/2023 19:05

I live in Maine where the joke is that the mosquito is our state bird.

Either a Deet-based product or a Picardin-based product is all that really works here.

Skin So Soft does nothing but it does smell nice. We do burn mozzie repelling candles when we’re eating outside and we have a Mosquito Magnet running in our garden and we get our garden sprayed for mozzies and ticks and we still get bitten if we don’t use a fairly strong repellent.

Long sleeved light clothing is also helpful - not just for mosquitoes but also ticks.

NellieJean · 01/04/2023 19:05

Believe it or believe it not. Skin So Soft by Avon. Used by lumberjacks and others working in Northern Canada where mossies are prevalent, bitey and enormous. Downside is you will smell like your granny.

ZZTopGuitarSolo · 01/04/2023 19:06

Lazydazey · 01/04/2023 17:37

If you end up over reacting to bites, and they go hard/get hot , then you need anti-histamine cream with hydro-cortisone, it’s a game changer.

Yes we have tubes of this stuff all over the house in summer.

CindersAgain · 01/04/2023 19:16

soupmaker · 01/04/2023 18:34

@CindersAgain I don't get bitten by midges or if I do I don't react. It's bastard horseflies and mosquitoes who get me. Maybe living in Scotland means I'm immune to the midges.

I’ve used the Mosi guard abroad too.

Moonshine5 · 01/04/2023 19:24

mackthepony · 01/04/2023 17:56

As someone who has been bitten through JEANS I can sympathize.

Awful things

Me too! And I'm not pale!😂
Jungle formula but it's so strong, it dissolves my nail polish 😬
In Thailand we used the local lemon grass the hotel provided and it worked (to a degree).
I'm going to try the Incognito recommended

Curlygirl06 · 01/04/2023 20:32

whoami24601 · 01/04/2023 18:57

If you do get bitten and it's itching badly then heat the bite. You can use a metal spoon heated up in hot water and placed on the bite. Or go nuclear and blast them with a hairdryer as hot as you can stand. It breaks down the proteins and stops the itch completely and instantly!

Hot water, not boiling water out of the kettle! Speaking from experience here. I put a spoon in just boiled water (no hot water in the taps, long story), waved the spoon about a bit thinking it would cool off. So so wrong. I put it on a bite, thought I'd burnt my leg off, hopped about swearing like a docker,dh crying with laughter, fun times. On the bright side, the pain from a burning spoon took my mind off the mozzies.

HemlockStarglimmer · 02/04/2023 00:06

www.herbalhealth.org.uk/product/buzz-off-for-people/

Brilliant stuff.

There's a liquid version too.

www.herbalhealth.org.uk/product/buzz-off-spray/

Knackeredmommy · 02/04/2023 03:27

Mosi-guard, use it when visiting my family in the Caribbean and it works brilliantly.

Knackeredmommy · 02/04/2023 03:30

www.mosi-guard.com/

sashh · 02/04/2023 04:33

Take me with you. They love me.

I spent two weeks in Mauritius sleeping under a mosquito net at night and I still got bitten. The person who shared the bed with me didn't get a single bite, but he stayed on for a third week, only then did he get bitten.

One of my friends was born in Jamaica she says it is the food we eat that attract them and that when she visits relatives she gets bitten for the first 2 days and then when she is eating local food it stops. I have no idea if there is any truth in this.

A tip I picked up in Australia if you are eating outside is to spray the underside of the table with mozzie repellant so it doesn't get in the food but does keep the insects away.

Coyoacan · 02/04/2023 04:39

My friends tell me that they take Vitamin B12 for two weeks before going to mosquito ridden places and it works as a repellent.

thesonicoscillator · 02/04/2023 08:03

I feel your pain! I live in Milan where we have 7 different types including the dreaded tiger mozzies, we've already started to get a few in the house at night, with the winter being so mild. What I have found really helps is Jungle Formula daily from starting at 7pm we also have a product here called Autan that helps, there are two, the one in the yellow bottle is stronger. We have Vape plugs on in every room, but you must make sure windows are open, try not to sleep with with one near you though. For bites I use a cream called Reactifargan which contains the anti histamine promethazine. Whatever you do, don't scratch that itch! I'm going to try the garlic tablet suggestion too!

WhoAteAllTheDinosaurs · 02/04/2023 08:16

Mosiguard, in combination with wrist and ankle bands is what works for me. Must apply it religiously. I use this in Malaysia, and if careful I don't get bitten. Am also allergic and swell up madly, and mosquitoes LOVE me!

When we were there last, I did this, and only got 2 bites on my face where a) I'd forgotten to put it, and b) someone had left a window open overnight.

LovelyDaaling · 02/04/2023 08:19

My husband slathers on Avon Skin So Soft and doesn't get bitten.

Original poster
soupmaker · 02/04/2023 08:23

"Take me with you. They love me."

@sashh that's why DH loves going on holiday with me, he doesn't get bitten because they like me more!

OP posts:
Madamecastafiore · 02/04/2023 09:03

Mosquito Milk is fab. You can get it off Amazon.