Mosquitos

[FiveMoreMinutesPlease]

We are holidaying in Crete and just looking for mosquito repellant advice.. On Amazon there are mosquito bracelets. I've never heard of these. Does anyone have experience of them. Also what the best mozzie repellant stuff you've used. I have 2 kids age 11 and 12.

Avon Skin So Soft moisturising oil. Mosquitoes love me but don't come near me when I'm wearing it.

There was a thread bout this yesterday in chat Op

We've just been abroad and the practice nurse told us to get repellant with 50% Deet in it.
Can't tell you if it worked, as there weren't any Mosquitos there!
Been bitten like mad since we came back though.
I used the plugs you can get for the room once, they were a waste of money though, not effective at all. I should imagine the wristbands would fall into that category too.

Thanks IKNOW. I've found the thread.

I've bought Smidge the Midge after seeing it recommended on Trip Advisor for Greece. It smells a lot better than the DEET based repellants.

I used the bracelets last year alongside spray only got. 3 bites in 10 days x

Don't use the Avon stuff- it really doesn't work and makes you smell foul!!

The Avon stuff doesn't work, neither do the bracelets. OH is a magnet for all biting insects. The only places they don't bite are bits of skin where he has missed putting on DEET based insect repellent. Crete is bad for mosquitoes so I would go with the most effective option.

You really do need an insect repellent with DEET, it's the only thing that works. You don't need DEET 50% though, you can get away with DEET 30% on Crete (50% is more for tropical countries).

I also thought DEET was the only thing that worked (dd is allergic to mossie bites) but apparently saltidin, which is in Skin so Soft etc is just as effective.
www.smidgeup.com/the-science/the-proof/

Yikes, I didn't know Crete was bad for midges. DD and myself always get attacked. Deet it is then. I might try garlic capsules aswell, but do they make you smell of garlic?

Garlic capsules don't make any difference. None of the woo "repellents" work for OH. Crete has more of a mosquito problem than midges. We have been twice, and OH always has a bad allergic reaction to mosquito bites hence having to cover every single inch of exposed skin with insect repellent.

He bought some Autan there which worked very well.

We used deet spray in turkey after ds got 5 bites the first night we got there. He never got any bites the rest of the holiday when using the spray. We used tesco own make and jungle formula sprays

We holiday in the Greek Islands regularly. We have used Tesco own brand and Boots own brand repellents, as well as branded ones like Jungle Formula. They all work well and we always use a repellent that contains Deet. We tend to use sprays as they are easy to apply and they dry quickly too. We usually only use them for the evenings.
We have only ever got bitten on two occasions (we had forgotten to use the repellent) and that was during the early evening sitting in the airports (Kos & Rhodes) waiting for flights home, so remember to apply some before you leave UK and before you fly back home.
Always remember to keep your windows/patio doors in your room/apartment closed in the evening/overnight to stop them coming in your room (use your rooms air con to keep cool).

I also find that after a couple of nights eating tzatziki, they stay away from me!

I think that is just a coincidence, sorry.

Autan is the best repellent i have tried, it can be bought on ebay and is brilliant. Nothing in the uk is any good imho.
Avon wont work now as they have changed the ingredients now.

I wonder why Avon changed the ingredients?!

OH confirms that Autan works as well as products containing deet. It is his go to repellent because it is easy to apply as well, given he has to cover every square inch of exposed skin to not get bitten.