Mosquitos

[chickabonita]

So I just came back from a quick trip to the mid west and I have come home with 11 bites! Any good ways to keep them off aside from spraying myself head to toe in DEET??

[Biciclista]

move really fast?
cover up completely?
I hate mosquitoes too. I have been known to avoid entire states because of them.

[Aggie_Ama]

I use OFF, with friends having caught West Nile in Texas I will take the chemical blocking. According to reports I have read under 30% DEET is considered safe both for humans and by the EPA.

I use OFF Active:
9 oz. aerosol (15% DEET, mosquito protection for up to 6 hours)

There is the Family Care that has a DEET alternative:
OFF!® FamilyCare Insect Repellent II Clean Feel

Contains Picaridin (an alternative to DEET) to provide repellent protection without the greasy feel. It is virtually odorless, so it's perfect for social gatherings.

* Pump-spray (5% Picaridin)

This is what I found on Picardin at greenerchoices.com:
Picaridin is a chemical repellent that’s considered as effective as deet at the same concentration by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). When used properly, it’s also considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Our tests found that Cutter Advanced Sport with 15 percent picaridin scored better than two repellents with 7 percent deet. It protected against both mosquito species for an average of almost 3 hours and against ticks for 11 to 12 hours.

The Greener Choices website has suggestions if you don't want to use bug spray.

[OakLeaf]

Bite Blocker.

As effective as 7% DEET (note that higher concentrations don't repel any better, they just last longer), completely non-toxic and won't dissolve your clothes and sunglasses.

If there are 200 people in a room and one mosquito, I'll be the one who gets bitten... but not if I have that stuff on. It doesn't smell bad either IMO, although it has a definite scent.

[indysteel]

Thanks for that link, Oakleaf. The little buggers LOVE me. I got attacked once in D.C. after a hurricane went up the Potomac (making the swamp that is D.C. even swampier) and I had, I kid you not, 50 bites per leg. I was miserable for days. The other people I was with had just a few bites. My bites swell really badly too. I'm sort of phobic about them now.

[tzvia]

I hate those things; I'm always getting bit. Worst was at Lake Havasu AZ, right on the Colorado river. I was camping on the shore, and had my Deet on. Didn't see any mosquitoes. Ok, time to take a late afternoon dip in the cool water... Didn't want to put deet back on and have it on my skin all night.

So I hop into the back of the pickup (has a shell) as I am too lazy to open the tent for a one-nighter. I turned on the lamp and (queue the horror movie music) there were at least 30 of those things on the inside windows! I was stuck in the back of my pickup with a hord of hungry mosquitoes! So I grabbed the paper towels and smashed as many as I could see; walls, windows, everywhere. By the time I think I got most of them, there were little red spats everywhere! It was the most sick place I have ever slept. And by mid next day, my legs and arms were covered with welts. They itched so bad. I haven't been back to Havasu since and I am in no hurry to go. And repellent goes with, everywhere. Always have some in the glovebox and some, yes in the back of the pickup.

[katherine]

Visit the desert instead of the midwest!

Seriously how awful is it to end up with an itchy butt from mosquitos?

Really really awful! LOL!

[bmccasland]

Visit the desert instead of the midwest!

I've been mosquito bitten in Phoenix. Big evil monsters.

[katherine]

It's the golf courses, they breed mosquitos. Tucson has them too. It's unnatural.

[MyRubyE]

Just curious - has anyone ever heard of skin-soft being a good mosquito repelant? Years ago, it was much talked about, but I don't see or hear people talking about it anymore. On occassion I still use it, but not sure if it's all in my mind. I swear it works... Or, at least I think it does.

[itself]

Oakleaf,

Thanks for the link to BiteBlocker. I feel your pain, as I too have the same problem, one mosquito, two hundred people, they aim for my juicy veins!

I'll check Whole Foods for it...thanks again!

[NbyNW]

Just curious - has anyone ever heard of skin-soft being a good mosquito repelant? Years ago, it was much talked about, but I don't see or hear people talking about it anymore. On occassion I still use it, but not sure if it's all in my mind. I swear it works... Or, at least I think it does.

They actually DO market it as a bug spray now: http://www.avon.com/1/1/3735-skin-so...sol-spray.html

Mosquitos love me. Sometimes I'm the only one in the room who gets bit!

I find eating lots of garlicky food can help ward off the suckers.