liftman

Mosqitos home in on you by following the CO2 trail that you breathe out. Also the pheremones that you give out attract.

As it is the FEMALE that bites (little changes, does it!) then anything that reduces the vapour trail will help. Fans that blow across the seating area help disperse the carbon dioxide stream will help. Also UV attractor/eleectrocution systems placed a short distance AWAY from where you are will deflect some of the beasties away. do not place too near or you could be attracting more than you are killing.

Remove ALL sources of standing water. This includes buckets, pails, even a jam jar of water is enough to create a haven.

Use of a knock down spray in bedrooms will help defeat the mozzies when you are asleep and at your most vunerable.

Apart from these things, long sleeves, screens on windows and a DEET based repellant.

All of the above are based on Mosquitos in Spain, but will apply all round the world.

Smokey

Thanks for the tips quebirder and liftman....

funny though I don't remember spanish mossies being the size of the monsters we seem to get here in prarieland......

iaink

Best thing I have found for the itching is Anthisan cream, but I have to get my folks to send it over from the UK as I have never seen it here (maybe you can mail order it?). The "After Bite" stick pens with the ammonia in them work OK if you use them straight away, and witchhazel also offers some relief.

Some people react to the bites worse than others because the bump itself is due to an allergic reaction to the stuff the mozzie injects you with. Some people are simply more allergic than others. At first I used to get huge bumps from the bites, but over time my body now seems to cope with them better, and it is just a "regular" bump now. I think that everyone gets bitten, but if you dont react then you wont notice?

Iain

shamur

I find Avons skin so soft works for mozzies, I dont like the smell of it too sickly for me, but it does work, and I still haven't found anything better for itching than good old fashioned calomine lotion.

Glaswegian

I got some Great Outdoors Citronella Spray yesterday and tried it on my morning run - I usually attract mosquitos because I'm soaked in sweat and puffing out a load of CO2.

I tried ths spray and I wasn't even buzzed once this morning - the only downside is that I now smell like a citronella candle.

I've got some gardening to do this afternoon, so I'll see if it works there too.

Here's a link to Duke University Medical Centre's warning about over use of DEET:
http://news.mc.duke.edu/news/healthtip.php?id=5656

The guy giving the warning is Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology and Professor of Neurobiology, so I assume he's qualified to give it.

Smokey

That's an interesting read, thanks for the link. As I work outdoors a lot of the time it'll be interesting to hear what you think. Strangely I noticed I got bitten last night whilst taking the dog for a walk. I previously had a bit on my hand that ballooned up last week. Then I got bitten on the same hand and it didn't so go figure

Parfume de Citronella has GOT to smell way better than Eau de Deet :scared:

jonthelad

The 'After Bite' stuff works really well for me - it stops the itching and (in my case, inflammation- agh). Just my 2cents

Glaswegian

We have been using this stuff now for a while. We used it at the zoo, Heritage Park and camping - no problems with bugs so far! And we have had some nasty bites in the past at the zoo and Heritage Park - so be warned!

The only problem is that the bottle it comes in is not good quality - the pump has failed a few times. But its worth it to be DEET free.

Would I buy more? Yes!

MikeUK

Just remember that the citronella wears off a lot faster than the DEET...

Due to west nile in Ontario they have released a leaflet on the usage of the DEET and its alternatives..... might be worth a look up..

Glaswegian

Yes this is true - time spent reapplying to us is preferable to being sprayed with DEET - but thats a personal choice. So far its working!

jcapulet

I think it depends on how allergic your are to their bites, not whether you are bitten. My Mom is not allergic, she gets bitten just like I do but shows little reaction...so it looks like she's not bitten (but I've seen them land on her, biting, then killed with a nice swat).

As for me...I'm have a bad reaction. We moved to a place with lots of trees and brush...little b*stards bit me right and left...each bite was the size of a toonie!!!

Juliet

iaink

Ouch. If its any consolation, it seems that over time you get a bit more used to it. What would have been a toonie five years ago is now just a nickel.

MikeUK

A good tip....

Don't swat them, flick them...

If the body parts such as the proboscis are left in you then it will get infected... flicking reduces the chances of this...:

And I can promise you this kind of infection is not nice…..

Ed_and_Karen

People here warned me about the mosquitos and I thought, can't be that bad surely. I was wrong! They just LOVE me! They must think - hey, fresh blood. I've been swelling up like a balloon. My ankle swelled so much I had problems getting my shoes on. And they are so BIG but so difficult to spot. They use stealth technology to attack - damn things. Usually my motto is live and let live, but I've taken great delight in using the swatter every evening. It's turned into a warped sense of entertainment! Quite how it is that SO many can sneak through the door every time it's opened is amazing. They must sit outside waiting.

I think the use of lemon scented soap seems to help out a bit. It's a theory I'm testing out. I'll let you know the results from the count of lumps after a week! I also read something about the use of DEET and I also have two small children, so was reluctant to use it. So far though, the children don't seem to attract the mozzies.

iaink

I would guess that the kids are getting bitten, but arent as allergic as you are. As Juliet pointed out, whether you come up with a bump or not is not really an indication that you have been bitten or not.

The danger is that they are still exposed to West Nile etc through the bites. Every parent has to weigh up the pros and cons of the danger of DEET vs the risk of disease.