I'm one of those that gets bitten before anyone else.already have several lumps. Apparently vitamin b1 can help. Not yet tried it.

I know the feeling. Hubby and daughter don’t seem to attract the buggers, but I do. When I was a child we would often go for a picnic in the countryside Sunday afternoon. Mum, Dad and my sister would sit outside, then probably take a walk through the woods, while I stayed in the car. Monday morning I would be covered in bites, they had none.

I get bitten quite a lot but that sounds awful. My reaction to Canadian mozzies calmed down after being here a couple of years as well. We have a thermacell which has some effect on the deck but not 100%. Gazebo I see always seem to have big gaps between the curtain and the roof so I don’t trust them to work.

I went camping to the south of France when i was 20, one night there was a mozzie in the tent. I was hot. I slept with just my face poking out my sleeping bag, my friend just had minimum night clothes on, bra and knickers type thing, i had 23 bites on my face, she had none at all. So i feel your pain.

Some people used to swear by an Avon hand and body lotion as a mosquito repellent. Big hunky guys used to buy it for when they went out hunting. I think it was called something like Skin so soft, had a citrusy smell.

I never tried it, and have no idea whether it works, and don't know whether still buy it as a repellent.

my knowledge might be a bit out of date, here goes:
- as above CO2 does attract them. We ran a paint ball business for a few years, and CO2 powered guns had them swarming.
- one goes through five [I think] stages of mosquito bite reaction as the number of bites accumulates ... first time ever, it is a horrible reaction, by the time one is at stage five, it is not even noticeable. It is just not that much fun getting there. I worked in northern Ontario for several summers and regularly reached stage 5. One time, I looked down, slapped my forearm, and killed 17 mosquitos with the one blow!
- the green coils work very well, provided there is not a breeze. But, like DEET, it makes me uncomfortable from a 'wonder what it is doing to me?' perspective.
- they don't fly well in the breeze, so try and plan your picnic/whatever on an exposed piece of land/small peninsula/etc
- they don't like bright sunshine [something about dehydrating them?] so a breezy place in the sun is even better. By now you already know that dusk is the worse time
- empty any standing water around your property - old tyres, etc.
- don't wear perfumes/scented shampoo, fancy scented lotions, etc. Or even better, spray your partner with something smelly before going out.
- they only bite once, so Piff Poff had [at least] 23 mosquitoes in the tent Or, more likely, a hole in the tent through which at least 23 mosquitoes passed!

And, seriously, the mosquitoes are one of the reasons I no longer live in Ontario. Having said that, Scottish midges turned out to be quite a revelation........

Have any of you tried one of the Electronic repellents that look like a watch? I’ve suddenly seen a crop of them pitching up on Facebook and wondered if they might work? I find Deep Woods makes me feel awful, my eyes water and I sneeze. I wondered if one might be worth a punt?

I think you develop some sort of immunity to them after a while. I got a couple of bites yesterday which a few years ago would have been huge lumps, I can hardly see where they were now. Having said that I do use the OFF stuff during the worst times - we live on a property with wetlands so it can get bad.