Mosquito protection in France

[SWnewstart]

We're due to have a holiday south coast France very soon and the airbnb reviewers mention lots of mosquitoes. Any advice please on products to help - i.e. are plug-in room things effective? Aerosol room sprays better? What about stuff you put on yourself? There are so many products available and I'd really like to know what works best!

DEET. Keep windows and doors closed.

Cover yourself with a deet spray, nothjng else worked for us. We tried plug ins, citronella candles, repellent wipes and covering up as much skin as possible - the buggers got everywhere.

I agree with DEET. Having a fan on at night is really helpful; I didn't realise the impact it had until we lost power one night and woke up with hundreds of bites.

Elephant coils. Used them for years overseas, and they work.

The coils you can light are good - bring a lighter . DEET but it melts plastic and stinks but works . Citronella candles

Anti- itch cream for when the buggers do bite

Thanks to all so far. It seems nobody is in favour of a plug-in for the bedroom so I guess we smother ourselves with a DEET spray. The smoke coils are not, apparently, suitable for use indoors.

The plug ins actually work really well for the bedrooms and are better than having to cover yourself with spray to go to bed. Also means you can sleep with the window open a bit which you’ll probably need unless there is aircon.

We're in Provence at the moment and due to the tiger mosquito warnings, we brought plug-ins, Deet sprays and Bug zappers(UV plugins from Amazon) which are making a HUGE difference to previous years. One's just zapped as I'm typing!

Be prepared for the odd bite. Longer trousers and sleeves in the evening and early mornings are advisable.

Antihistamine tablets and topical cream such as anthisan. A hot spoon to the bite apparently helps. Watch out for infection 😬

Have you tried the Avon skin so soft spray? I find it really works to deter mosquitoes. I use it as a daily moisture when on holiday, especially in the evenings then top up a little with deer around the ankles and shoulders.

I am normally like a roast dinner to mossies but with the above it's more of a sedate meal for them.

If you are burning candles or anything, think about placement. We naturally put them on top of the table but I find it works better under.

Deet not deer, that would be really odd

We live in Spain and plug ins work pretty well. But the best thing is a fan ...the little buggers can't fly if you have a fan on . While sitting in the garden....Deet is really the only thing that works. They seem really bad this year

Vitamin Bcomplex the strongest dose you can find. 3/4 times a day - start 4 days before you leave.
Avon skin so soft spray - use instead of body lotion. Mosquitoes hate it.

Deet.

We have used deet impregnated bands on wrist and ankles. Have used several brands and most are very effective but rarely for the entire timeline described on the packet so we just spray further deet on the band (they are inch or so wide elastic with a fold over clip for adjustment). This means less deet all over skin.

Another vote for vitamin B. Mosquitoes usually love me and I'm allergic to the bites; they swell up massively and they're unbearably hot and itchy. But I started taking vitamin B (after reading about it on a mumsnet thread about mozzie bite allergies) and it has really helped. I got bitten much less and didn't react so badly.

You still need to ward off the buggers, though. If you're lucky your accommodation might have mosquito blinds (ours did once, a newish holiday home in France) which should help. We always use the plug-ins at night and they do help IMO.

You can get insect repellent bracelets which are infused with the stuff, I've got them for my kids and they seemed to help.

We avoid DEET as much as we can but I do use (non-DEET) insect repellent spray if necessary. I have an incognito body lotion which doesn't smell too bad and seems to help.

Again, further suggestions all very much appreciated. I think I'll get a plug-in as well for bedroom and have now invested in both a DEET spray and roll on, plus cream to help sooth bites. I hate mozzies!

I went to Nice in late July, bitten to death by the buggers. Infection/blisters and on antibiotics when back in the UK. I didn't even know it would be a problem.

Can't help with anything as I didn't use anything, just take ALL of the recommendations given to you. I was as miserable as sin for the 5 days we were there.

South East France, last week. Bitten all over, despite jungle juice, fan and plug in things. Bastarding marks are still on my arms and legs.
urgh!

I got friendship bracelets for the family with repellant on them, Avon skin so soft in the evening and repellant deodorant and lotions

When you get to France, visit a pharmacie and buy Cinq sur Cinq spray. You can use it three times a day and it works so well. Aldi the best cream, if you do get bitten, is Onctose also from the pharmacie.

I found Smidge just as effective as DEET and so so much nicer to use. I applied it twice per day and ran out, so bought another local brand of icaridin. We also have the ‘Outdoor Revolution’ mosquito lamp, and keep the windows closed and air con on in the room as much as possible. Lastly, if anyone reacts badly to bites, get one of those electric pens that burns the area of the bite, as that can prevent it swelling up, and take antihistamines preventatively and throughout the trip.

Another vote for Cinq sur Cinq, it's the only one that works and we've tried them all! We get the spray and put it on every morning, then keep a little cream one (like a solid deodorant) that we use through the day.

It's black and orange packaging and available in the pharmacies, parapharmacies and some supermarkets. Don't bother with anything else, just get loads of this. It's no more expensive than any other and is by far the most effective.