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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:
Madamecastafiore · 02/04/2023 09:05

Lemon eucalyptus oil is good too. It's so strong, try soaking a sweat band in it and leaving to dry then wearing around ankle. The clicky things you get from boots help with the itching once you get bit too.

beastlyslumber · 02/04/2023 09:11

The mosquitoes in Croatia are evil! I got some nasty bites there. The local pharmacy sold me some good repellant and antihistamine spray but they still got me. Mossie nets are a must. Stay in a breeze. Repellant all over. Light clothes.

I'm going to try the garlic/b12 thing as well.

Original poster
soupmaker · 02/04/2023 10:22

Thanks everyone. I'm going to throw everything at the wee bastards. I knew Croatia would be full of 'em. I should really holiday in very cold places.

OP posts:

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wantmorenow · 02/04/2023 10:26

Slightly off piste - I get col sores and have a herpitherm device which applies heat to the sores to help deter them. Despite using repellent I always get bitten and used the device on my new mossie bites, it stopped the itching and they healed super fast. No idea why, they were driving me bonkers with the itching and was just a "what if" moment.

I know you can get bite zappers too so that was my thinking I guess.

ninjafoodienovice · 02/04/2023 13:28

I tried the B12 thing a few years ago and it really did work (but I don't let on to DH as otherwise he'd try it too and then they would probably go for me again)

I always spray autan or any deet containing spray around my ankles or legs if I'm wearing shorts or a shorter dress in the evenings though.

Totally used to ruin holidays for me - now it's just prickly heat and perimenopause 🙄

Rubytinsleslippers · 02/04/2023 13:35

Garlic capsules, also you can get clothes which are pretreated with repellent. Get them in outdoor walking shops - I had dark trousers and a long sleeved shirt for evenings and some t-shirts and shorts. Worked brilliantly when camping around Asia. Previous ended in hospital with reactions to bites so very sensitive.

Theraffarian · 02/04/2023 14:27

Honestly if you have an allergic reaction to the bites like I do ( think numerous 10cm raised red circles of burning itchiness which have turned to cellulitis on a couple of occasions) Deet is the only answer . I find that anti histamine cream reacts on my skin and makes the bites worse and larger if I use it , and the only minor help is This if I get caught as it does help with the itchiness . I’ve tried every other solution in the past as Deet has a nasty smell and I’m sure that spraying such a strong chemical all over isn’t a really great idea , but literally nothing else works .

Boots Bite relief Click-It - Boots

Shop Boots Bite relief Click-It now and earn 1 point for every £1 spent.

https://www.boots.com/boots-bite-relief-click-it-10234814

Fortuny · 02/04/2023 14:29

I am walking bug food. Got incognito spray for last years hols as I was pregnant. AMAZING. I got 1 minor bite, whereas I normally blister. And our hotel room was metres from the sea.

KnottyKnitting · 02/04/2023 14:40

Brewers yeast tablets- they don't like the smell they emit through the skin!

thing47 · 02/04/2023 17:04

Jungle Formula is what DD2 recommends, and uses herself (her field is mosquito-borne diseases).

Both my father and FIL (who worked in countries populated by mosquitos) swore that copious alcohol kept the mossies away, but DD says that this is a myth. 😀

Original poster
soupmaker · 11/07/2023 09:12

UPDATE. So we've been to Croatia. I took garlic capsules and vitamin B tablets along with an antihistamine for 2 weeks before we went. Took incognito spray and used it especially in the evenings. I gotten bitten, but only twice and neither bite got horribly itchy or mad hot and sore. What a result. No idea what did the trick but it's the first time I've not been eaten alive!

OP posts:
Wednesdaysotherchild · 11/07/2023 12:08

Theraffarian · 02/04/2023 14:27

Honestly if you have an allergic reaction to the bites like I do ( think numerous 10cm raised red circles of burning itchiness which have turned to cellulitis on a couple of occasions) Deet is the only answer . I find that anti histamine cream reacts on my skin and makes the bites worse and larger if I use it , and the only minor help is This if I get caught as it does help with the itchiness . I’ve tried every other solution in the past as Deet has a nasty smell and I’m sure that spraying such a strong chemical all over isn’t a really great idea , but literally nothing else works .

I react similarly, if not worse and I swear by oregano essential oil, it’s amazing for bites! Nothing else touched my swollen infected bites but that stuff.

prettybird · 11/07/2023 14:59

Reading with interest as I'm going to a malarial area in September, and my dad (who's just come back) has said that the locals when they visit the area don't take anti-malarials but take lots of precautions to avoid being bitten at dawn and dusk.

Ormally · 11/07/2023 15:17

Where do you get the antihistamine with hydrocortisone? I've used some before but it did not seem to do the job. Bites tend to go bananas, swelling and hot, after 24 hours, not in the relatively short window after being bitten.

thing47 · 11/07/2023 20:51

prettybird · 11/07/2023 14:59

Reading with interest as I'm going to a malarial area in September, and my dad (who's just come back) has said that the locals when they visit the area don't take anti-malarials but take lots of precautions to avoid being bitten at dawn and dusk.

Just to say, it won't be the same type of mosquito biting at dawn and dusk.

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