Anything natural that prevents mosquito bites?

vanity ^ | 5-4-09 | self

[yarddog]

Citronella oil is supposed to work but I have my doubts. It is an old one tho. Some people swear that skin so soft by avon works but I also doubt how well it really works.

If you don’t mind a chemical and one which is also a poison, pyrethrin on my hat and lightly on my clothes really does work. It also will kill them.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Sorry, had to take a potty break!

[bert]

DEET

All else are inferior and mostly ineffective

[CaribouCrossing]

Lemon Eucalyptus

[Ashviadan]

Put regular Listerine (the green kind) in a spray bottle. Spray about a half an hour before you go out. I know it sounds strange, but ever since my mom told me about this, my kids never get bit.
I have also heard that you can rub dryer sheets (Bounce) on you before you go out. I never tried this one but heard it works well. I am also one of those people that never get bit, but my poor daughter used to get attacked before I tried the Listerine. Good Luck!

[SkyDancer]

I read that wearing fabric softener pads (those things you throw in the dryer) work ... seemed to work for me. Then if you get bit, ammonia will kill the itch and I know that works. I always carry a small spray bottle of that with me on hikes ...

[Former MSM Viewer]

she was tested for things that she might be allergic to: Garlic
eggs
wheat
tomatoes
peppers
olive oil

all the good stuff

:(

[CaribouCrossing]

I read recently that some folks say that pinning a dryer sheet (fabric softener sheet) to your clothing, or tuck one into your pocket, will repel mosquitos.

[Cacique]

btt

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Yep...

[Batman11]

Thanks for posting that link. That is my favorite SB commercial of all time!

[Carlucci]

The state bird of MN is the mosquito. Trust me.

LOL! Reminds me of my college professor who was from MN. He was complaining about TX heat, TX hurricanes, etc, and extolling the virtues of MN. I naively chimed in: "Plus, you don't have mosquitos."

"Are you freaking kidding me!?", he exclaimed. "We have 10,000 lakes and 10 MILLION mosquitos."

I guess I thought the cold would kill them off. Who knew?

[martin_fierro]

This Avon skin stuff was supposed to work well as a mosquito repellant.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

If you don’t have ammonia and a Q-tip, there is a product called After Bite Itch Eraser that contains ammonia and some other stuff that works like a charm in treating bug bites...

[hosepipe]

Interesting thread... i.e. DEET...

[prismsinc]

Nothing beats Florida.

What I’ve learned about skeeters is that there are many varieties, and each is attracted by some different combination. What I know is that they have poor eyesight, and the white light from fluourescent bulbs blinds them, so if you install white CFLs outside, you can give yourself a head start. This buys you about 2-5 minutes.

As for other repellents, there is this old school way of deterring them, and it has to do with a plate and some lemon in the plate, I think. I’ll look it up and get back to you.

[DustyMoment]

Any diet considerations anyone knows about?

Not a diet, but a surefire cure for the little pests is DDT. It did the job exceptionally well and did not do any of the other absurd things it was accused of.

Bring back DDT and we can end the slaughter of upwards of 100 million people due to mosquito-borne illnesses since DDT was banned.

[keats5]

Burt’s Bees Insect Repellent does the job for me. It’s all natural and smells good too.

https://www.burtsbees.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=-109&catalogId=10051&storeId=10001&langId=-1

[Chief Engineer]

Living at this high altitude they are rarely seen here but always one for a bargain the bottle of ammonia and pack of q-tips is much cheaper too! LOL

[DHC-2]

Not a “total” solution ... we have no-see-ums here in S. Carolina that fly right into your eye, or up your nose, or into your hair and they BITE. I’m a fisherman and they drive me nuts. Started wearing long sleeve shirts and long pants (all light weight stuff from Columbia at Bass Pro) then got a mosquito net hat! Yep, its a hat that has a roll down mosquito net that covers your head/face/neck. A little deet on the wrists and ankles and I’m ready for the wiley bluegill. No “no-see-ums” and no mosquitos. My neighbor thinks I’m the Unibomber when I wear the hat ... he’s a little frightened of me for many reasons. The hat, the Gadsden flag patch ... etc ... all seems normal to me!