Anti Mosquito Tips Needed !

[SortYourselfOut]

I get eaten alive each time we go on holiday ! Last time, every single bite became infected and I needed a shot from the local clinic (we were in Corfu).
I’m off to Portugal at the end of the month, never been before, are the mozzies as vicious as in Greece ?! I want to go armed and ready and throw everything at the little buggers - please share your best tips to fend them off. Thank you.

@SortYourselfOut Corfu is a nightmare for mosquitoes, I ended up getting shots, cream and medication for bites when I was there, so I sympathise. The last few years I’ve made sure to spray Jungle Formula all over and put antihistamine cream on bites straight away. I take B12 regularly throughout the year which may help, as I’ve not had any nasty reactions in recent years.

Eat lots of garlic the week before you go.

After trying most tips already in here, I find showering with a product containing citronella then using a DEET or icaridin based repellent the only things that work.
Also have antihistamines on hand if needed.

Have you used lots of DEET containing spray previously, OP?
The other common advice is to cover up, lycra clothes (long sleeves, long legs, socks on feet) from dusk to dawn. So they can't reach your skin.

Picaridin is as effective as Deet without the chemical smell.

Definitely DEET-based insect repellant. Jungle formula is my preference. The plug in repellents, insect coils and air conditioning also make some difference. Long sleeved clothes with no gaps (eg tuck trousers into socks) helps and if you are in a high risk area you can wear insecticide-treated fabrics. (might be a bit over-kill for a European holiday). Most mosquitos bite in the evening but some areas have day-biting mosquitoes too so if you are very sensitive, I would wear repellent in yhe day time too

I use Jungle Fever roll on, use a shower gel and body lotion containing citrus, shampoo and conditioner that smell of coconut, and take tea tree essential oil with me that I put a few drops on my fingers and run through my hair. I also put some on a tissue and keep in my pockets. Lastly, I don’t wear perfume - I don’t know if that helps or not but I’ve been bitten less since not wearing on holiday.

Keep all windows closed until the lights are off
long sleeves and trousers as well as repellent if you are sitting out to eat , particularly if you are near still water.

I get those too!!! Awful, isn't it!

This is going to be THE MOST rubbish post in the history of mn for which I apologise.

There was a programme on R4 on the Saturday morning just gone (yesterday)
I caught the trailer, missed the programme. It might have aired at 10am, it might be Hannah Fry and Dara O'B
There was something about smelly feet and mosquito bites.

But I didn't hear the programme 🤦‍♀️

Sorry for the pointless 😳

I do the following and pretty much never get bitten anymore: take b12 for a couple of weeks before I go away, use jungle formula spray, cover up on an evening, and put tea tree oil in my shower gel. I also use skin so soft when I get out of the shower.

Also in several EU countries you can buy much more effective after-bite cream - stronger hydro cortisone and I think it has steroids in it too. They’ll only give it to you once your bites are going big and weird looking but then they will, over the counter at the pharmacy. And it works amazingly well. I’ve managed to score this magic stuff in Greece, Spain and Italy so far…

Really? It seems to work for me and seems very popular. Guess you just have to stick to the traditional insect repellents then.

Mosquitos love me, so I’ve really looked into the science of what actually works. There’s a great deal of misinformation out there. Save your money and only spend it on what works.

Deet and Picaridin are two repellents that do actually work. However, wearing light coloured clothing and clothing that covers your skin helps. Mosquitoes are very poor fliers so use a fan, whenever you can.

Don’t routinely take antihistamines. They won’t stop you being bitten. They are powerful drugs with side effects.. Antihistamine cream and a mild steroid help if you are bitten.

Things like vitamin B, marmite, and Skin so Soft have no proven effect.

I get horrible bites. I used to cover myself in spray / roll on when I got ready to go out for dinner, but eventually worked out I was getting bitten late afternoon, much earlier in the day than I expected. I put repellent on from lunchtime now!

We always used in the west of Scotland for midges, not mosquitoes - maybe it doesn’t work on them? I did hear the formula changed and it isn’t as effective now.

@Ellephanting , I second what you have written.

I live in a country (and others) with mosquitos and have a family members who are a magnet for them.

Forget all the tales of Marmite/Skin so soft/garlic etc, the only thing that works alongside light coloured clothing, long sleeves and long trousers (but you can get bitten through clothing inc jeans, mozzies see dark colours as a hide as in hide of an animal) is Deet, high concentrate of Deet. Even the bands/bracelets have proven to be useless, if your skin/blood is attractive to them, you will be bitten. We have tried the anti mozzie clothing thats available, still no joy.

Rooms that have either fans or aircon will help as well as those plug ins you can buy, and a mozzie net. Also if sitting outside the coils and smoke can deter.

Some areas of certain countries will have more mosquitoes which carry different diseases, currently a family member is in a great deal of pain and quite poorly with one of those diseases, even after taking all the precautions they can.

Yes it’s like mosquito bingo when anyone asks about avoiding been bitten.

Skin so Soft 👌
Take antihistamines 👌
Eat marmite 👌
Take vitamin B 👌

Following this thread as I always get badly bitten!

The hot teaspoon thing works. It doesn't stop you being bitten of course but it will stop the itching, and if you don't scratch then the skin won't get broken. It works best IME if you can do it before you've scratched the bites and they've gone huge and angry. I boil a kettle and fill a mug, then use that to heat a teaspoon. Let it cool slightly and do a quick tap on the back of the hand to check that it's not too hot. It has to be hot enough to break down the proteins that make it itchy but you don't want to burn yourself. I find I need to leave the back of the spoon on the bite for about a count of three, and I can only do two or three bites before needing to reheat the spoon. Also take numbing anti-septic cream with you and dab it on if you break the skin Bepantiseptic (used to be Germoline) is the one that I use, because I wouldn't advise the hot spoon method on broken skin.