Whether out in the woods, camping, hiking, or at home in the backyard, mosquitoes are not equal opportunity biters.
Some people seem to actually attract mosquitoes and are constantly bit while others not so much. Why is that?
Particularly with the health risks associated with a mosquito bite, it may help to know the following things that attract mosquitoes:
(UPDATED 2018 – latest insect repellent products)
WHAT THINGS ATTRACT MOSQUITOES?
Avoid these things:
Dark Colors attract mosquitoes. Mosquitoes can see and use their vision to locate targets from a distance. Most of their day-to-day targets will be found in the shade or within foliage, so they are naturally attracted to dark colors. This means that they will be more attracted to people wearing dark clothing than people wearing light clothing.
Tip: Excellent insect repellent (no DEET), reviewed by Consumer Reports as the Fisherman’s Formula, won’t harm clothing, fishing line, firearm finishes, sunglasses, or other fabrics, effective up to 8 – 14 hours:
Sawyer Products Premium with 20% Picaridin, Lotion
Fragrances are known to attract mosquitoes. Avoid perfume, cologne, perfumed shampoos, hand creams, soaps, fabric softeners, detergent, etc. Switch to as many unscented products as you can during the summer to avoid the mosquito bite.
Movement will attract mosquitoes. They can see their victims from within 30 feet by locating the changes in waves of light around them, caused by moving objects.
Tip: Extremely effective for application on clothing, will not stain or damage clothing, fabrics, plastics, finished surfaces, or outdoor gear, lasts up to 6 weeks (or 6 washings) :
Sawyer Products Premium Permethrin Clothing Insect Repellent Spray
Sweat will attract mosquitoes because they need water to reproduce, and they are naturally attracted to areas with higher humidity levels. This includes people who are sweating. Perspiration will also dilute any mosquito repellents that you might have applied; making you more attractive to mosquitoes.
Carbon Dioxide (from your exhaled breath) will attract mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are attracted by areas that are higher in carbon dioxide (living-breathing animals, humans).
Tip: Natural insect repellent, effective up to 6 hours:
Repel Lemon Eucalyptus Natural Insect Repellent
Body Heat from circulating blood in animals and humans will attract mosquitoes which have sophisticated heat sensors. They follow body heat and exhaled gases and fly to their target.
Lactic Acid is produced by our bodies after we exercise or after we eat certain types of food that are high in salt or potassium. Someone who is sitting outside eating pretzels and a banana will attract more mosquitoes than someone who is sitting outside eating watermelon.
Exercising causes your body to do three things that will make it attract mosquitoes. You are breathing harder, meaning you are exhaling more carbon dioxide; you are sweating, which increases the humidity around your body; and you are releasing more lactic acid. You might as well be wearing a neon sign asking all mosquitoes to bite you.
Urine attracts mosquitoes. Take care of this business further away from your camp…
Tip: For water fountains, water troughs, bird baths, rain barrels, lasts up to 30 days:
More: Mosquito Control (How To Get Rid Of Mosquitoes).
More: Insect Repellent For Your Clothing (How to use Permethrin)
What are your own experiences with what works or doesn’t work for mosquitoes?
Are you a mosquito magnet?
Vit B is very natural repellant for mosquitos/fleas!
Urine is a biggy too. Always urinate a good distance from campsites.
We have the mosquitoes bad. Some people put up Martin houses to attract birds that like to eat them. I find no matter what you do, they still get you anyway. Anbesol, the stuff used for numbing your toothaches, works good on the bites after you get them sometimes.
You might also consider putting up bat boxes, too. Bats eat many more times their weight in mosquitoes than birds. Remember, bat boxes must be high off the ground, and facing the sun for warmth.
We put up a nice bat house 2 years ago. On the proper pole at the proper height and the proper facing direction. I think we finally have one in the house! The migrating pregnant females are the ones you are looking for. Our house will hold up to 150 bats!
TG, I have found that one of the esential oils treats my bites better than anbesol. It just lasts a few min on me…then I am itching again. The last thing I used on a bite that had become inflamed and itching was Eucalyptus essential oil,It worked quickly to stop the itching and the swelling was down in the morning. i just put it on 2x in 36 hours and bite has almost healed…(this one acts like a mosquito bite,but unsure of what bit me)
I have also used Tea tree, it stinks but does repel all kinds of insects. Peppermint repels some insects, fleas especially…
If you make plaintain (leaf-not fruit) tincture it works really well on all kinds of stings, bites, poison oak/ivy rashes…I make a double or triple tincture. all you need are the leaves and some PGA. It is used primarily topical, but plantain is safe to use internally as well. It is good for digestive upset. internal dosing would be 2cc or so.. so the alcohol not what would bother most people.. For people senstive to alcohol put in a little very warm water and stir for 3 min…
Plaintain tincture stops the itching and sting of fresh bites very well, for 8-12 hours usually… I apply topically every 5 min. until the pain is gone.. usually 3-5 times.Have used on wasp stings, tick bites… plaintain is one of the most common weeds in the US , The indians called it “white man’s footsteps” . The leaves can be picked and used fresh, it has to be inched and crushed to get the liquid out.Much easier to use as a tincture.
and I keep mentioning the homeopathic Apis Mel. Ya’ll won’t believe how well it works for many inflammations. Start with the high number which is actually the lowest dosage.
Rubbing tobacco on your exposed skin will repel mosquitoes from those areas.
Also leeches.
If you are walking into a steamy jungle area or rain forest or just walking around rice paddies rub some tobacco on or eucalyptus oil.
Anyone out there ever tried consuming garlic as a mosquito repellent?? Thoughts or experiences on this?
Well, it makes for an effective ‘people’ repellent. 😉
I found a good attractant for mosquitoes to keep them occupied in a trap and away from me.
I took an empty Pepsi 1 litter bottle and cut the top 1/3 off. Then I put in 1/3 cup brown sugar with one cup hot water in the bottom part, Then after it cools I added 1 gram of yeast and stirred it. I used black spray paint on the outside to make it dark since they like black things that attract heat, then I turned the top part inward in the bottom part and duct taped it together. It looks like a minnow trap but the carbon dioxide it creates and black color attracts and traps the mosquitoes. I set it far enough away from my active areas next to the woods where the west sun hits it before sundown to naturally heat the bottle, sitting right side up on a stump.
If you use a 2 liter bottle for more area coverage, double the dose, and with both sizes empty it of the mosquito bodies to change the solution about every week or so depending on your area. It worked well last year with one in my front yard, but I will add another to my back yard this weekend.
About how much in size is a gram of yeast?
Pieface, there are 28 grams in an ounce. So one gram is a speck.
Daisy,
There is 7 grams in an envelope, on one of those three envelope strips. so I’m thinking that one gram would be a small pile about the size of a quarter. Good on ya for the 28 grams in an ounce reference! I’m guessing you either attended school during the Carter administration… or you were once a successful drug dealer. Hahaha!
I used to be Pieface. Now I am Skeezix. Why is Pieface now asking about yeast?
Stay frosty (calm and cool)
Sorry. I just noticed the comment was from 2016
Stardust, so nice to hear from you – I’ve been missing your posts. I hope all is well for you.
Garlic also helps the dogs against fleas. put some in their food before they go out.
Garlic and onions are toxic to dogs. I don’t recommend giving it to your pet. “Since garlic is significantly more concentrated than an onion, an even smaller ingested amount will likely lead to toxicosis—as little as one clove of garlic can lead to toxicity in dogs and cats. Please note that a pet’s weight, type of breed and prior health history can vary the toxicity level of ingested garlic.”
I have been giving garlic to my dogs for years, premeasured tablets are available from springtimeinc.com. check it out!!
Onions are toxic but garlic is not. I’ve been using garlic powder on my dogs food for years. Works real well for fleas, not so much for ticks, don’t know about ‘skeeters’ though,
Take an unused dryer sheet and attach it to your hat (back). It repels deer flies, mosquitoes and wasps/bees/yellow jackets. You will still need repellent for your legs and possibly your arms. Mosquitoes love me but I have to pick vegetables. This has worked wonderfully! Of course, we look like we belong to the French Foreign Legion!
A person eating bananas attracts more mosquitoes than the one who is not…..scientifically proven.
Years ago visiting Puerto Rico, I discovered by accident (and subsequent experimenting) that mosquitos bit me far less often if I wore white.
As I said before I grew up in Orlando Florida, the skeeter capitol of the USA.
We use “Skin So Soft” the lotion to repel skeeters. It doesn’t work that well against chiggers or ticks but repels skeeters.
Good thread to remind folks of the need for good window screens and/or mosquito netting for each bed (in your stash). No a/c translates to open windows.
Very good point
Excellent point Dennis.
@ wildbill
I’ll second the “SOS”, works great, and let me tell ya, the humming bird sized “skeeters” here in the NM desert are far and few between, but big enough to pick ya up and fly off with yar tush.
NRP
Interesting image. Do they leave the rest behind?
I see what you did there…
Comedy at it’s finest!
Sorry I have to challenge you there. I lived in Alaska for 15 years and they have some mighty and plentiful mosquitoes there. One attached itself to my car antenna and was still there 1 mile down the road. The first ones out are huge, slow but you really have to hit them hard as they will get up and fly away! Really I have seen it.
I was a tour guide where we went from the coast to the interior by a glacier caving into a river. We were given dark red jackets (duh) and put sweaters underneath, put up the small hood and used muskox repellent on our faces and wore gloves. They would light all over us and we just ignored them as they couldn’t bite through. (no they didn’t carry us off- but close). We did the same when we went fishing and sometimes wore nets over our hats as during a hatch you could breath them in. Once I remember starting a small fire on a frozen lake in some brush when we went ice fishing and skating. As soon as there was heat there was mosquitoes and it was Nov,!
We have so many right now it’s hard to walk the dog. Only thing I find that works is staying indoors!
I’m extremely allergic to mosquito bites, big welt that lasts for 3 or more days and itch and ooze like a poison ivy rash if I don’t do something soon after I’m bitten. The itch will even wake me up at night. I avoid outdoors, especially early evening when they seem to be the worst, but I even got bit inside at the computer 2 nights ago.
The best thing for me to reduce a bite’s effects is deodorant on the bite as soon as I feel the first itch. If I don’t have that, ice helps, but it has to be within 5 minutes of getting bit. It’s different for everyone, but I’ve found that if I keep moving, they have a harder time zeroing in on my breath and I’ve read they are really attracted to alcohol breath, but I’ve found that actually deters them for me, being sweaty does too. Also, the little people in my life get it just as bad as I do, so not sure about that theory either.
Make plantain tincture, I do a double tincture….the herb, not the banana one.. put on every 5 min after bite x 3 or 4, it works for bites and poison ivy.. I leave a few of the leaves in the jar and use them for applicators..
We use turpentine both for bug bites and once or twice a year internally. It’s a old time Southern cure and works for me. Have only found one small company that is high enough grade and purity to use. Diamond G Forest Products out of south Georgia. Look up all the uses and you my want a few bottles for your survival medicine cabinet.
Sooner, I am a Tennessean too. Now some of these folks might recall my Several postings on a homeopathic remedy call Apis Mel. When you get bit by Any Thing just use this for a quick remedy. Works very well and helps to dry up the bites and help slow the itching. My DH is an ole rough Marine guy and I made him a believer. Affordable too.
Just search Luyties Homeopathy and it will take you to the site.
Semper Fi Ya’ll
Spraying with Listerine mouthwash also keeps mosquitos away…and it won’t harm animals so it can be sprayed around yards, picnic tables/areas, etc.
Michel Cromwell
How often do you spray around the yard?
I use this for removing odors, mold etc, so who would have thought it would remove the pesky mosquito. I use the W/M brand, same ingredients, and a lot less expensive.
Just make a big fire. The mosquito can’t stand the heat.
I was using a heat gun yesterday outside of my shop and was swarmed by them.
Took them all out with my AR. Only kidding. I think with the fire it’s the smoke that keeps them away.
Wrong they are attracted by the heat. I was camping in the Yukon and we lit fireworks with a group of people for their 3rd of July celebration. They swarmed us and we all had to run for cover. Later when we were cooking on a coleman stove they were over 100 in the bottom of the stove around the burner.
When I lived in my 14 ft. TiPi with a liner, I put a small fire in the center of it which creates a chimney effect. Not only did it keep me warm at night and took the dampness out, I never had a mosquito in it. I camped in the middle of the northern Minnesota woods where it is our state bird.
wrong wrong wrong!
Mosquitoes once chased a group of us out of a field in Northern British Columbia when we set off fireworks. They were into everything. I heated some stew on a coleman stove that night and covered it of course, but there were hordes of them around the burners.
Moving air works well. I have a fan outside in my covered patio, and when that is on, no mosquitoes, even though there is a pond right behind the patio and a ton of little critters there.
@ KatyJ
That’s because your blowing them all to the neighbors HAHAHAHA
NRP
Katy J
Use “food grade–Hydrogen Peroxide”(found on Amazon) on your outside water ponds, dog dishes, horse/cattle troughs for keeping the critters out of your water.
I read in one of the comments that a person used Skin So Soft lotion – I agree to this!
After a bath of SSS body wash and an application of lotion, I noticed that after a few nights’ uses, I had not one bite on my skin.
The makers of OFF! bug spray should look into this.
Because of so much anecdotal evidence of Skin So Soft being a mosquito repellent, Consumer Reports tested it along with other things a few years ago. This was before Avon sold a SSS product that was especially designed as a repellent. CR didn’t find that it helped at all. (DEET was, as you can guess, the best repellent.)
I HAVE often heard that as long as someone else’s blood is more tempting than yours, that person will get bit instead of you. SSS may be just enough to make you less tempting than the person next to you, perhaps?
@ Wendy,
Be careful of anything that has Deet in it. This is a neuro-toxin. Only put on your clothing, not your skin. I had a family member who attracted mosquitoes like crazy, so they used “Off with Deet” and had a seizure with-in 30 minutes of applying directly to the skin.
Peanut Gallery,
I have heard, anecdotally, of others with seizure and problems too.
We have seldom used it, but when did, only on shoes/socks/pants, hats etc….
great info.
thanks
Skeeters love me. I’ve tried everything. Nothing helps. Ticks love me to. I’m just a tick magnet I guess.
Permetherin (sp) works well against ticks., chiggers.
Once sprayed on clothes it, supposedly, lasts thru several washings.
I have a bug repellent shirt that works well — on my arms and hands at least. (It is too big for me and hangs down halfway over my hands.) You still need something for your face and ears. Supposedly, it lasts for 50 washings, but I use it as an over-shirt and usually only wash it at the end of the season as I would any other jacket, so I have lots of years left to use it.
I use this (Permethrin), and spray it on my pants, hat, etc.. seems to help!
Sawyer Premium Odorless Permethrin Insect Repellent
One night last summer, I was at an outside party in the neighborhood, lots of beer and food being consumed. For some reason I could never figure out, the mosquitoes were hitting everybody, but me. Normally, they target me, too. I was dressed as everyone else was,shorts and short-sleeves.
Weird – as I said – never figured out why!
Survivor1
It had to be something you ate/didn’t eat/meds. you were on/something washed with/etc..
Give it some thought, please, might be a good hint for us all.
We like Plant Therapy Nature Shield to keep insects AWAY from us.
Dab on ankles, wrists, neck, behind ears….
You may smell like citronella (and other EOs) but you will be UNPESTERED or BITTEN!
Buy on Amazon… Plant Therapy Nature Shield
Made of Essential Oils, will not harm you or environment.
Peace and Blessings 🙂
Texas is swarming with the Zika bombers (mosquitoes). There are dozens of so called repellents out there but the problem is that one, just one, mosquito bite ruins my day. I’ve learned to wear long pants, high top boots, long sleeve shirts, cloth gloves, and a mosquito net that covers my head and shoulders. I do this regardless of the heat. Better to sweat than scratch and sweat.
i’m the one among family or friends that is the mosquito magnet.I have learned to live with it and stop going berserk when i hear the whine on a hot night. Sometimes I have a lot of bites. I have a solution that works for me. I have a natural bristle hair brush, it is too soft to work as a hairbrush but hard enough that i can go into an orgy of brushing. the bites. The brush reddens the bite area but doesn’t scratch or break the skin and after a very satisfying while whatever my body is producing to create the itch in reaction to the bite seems to be overstimulated and become exhausted.This affect lasts longer each time until the irritation becomes minor and forgettable
Actually, now that I think more about my previous comment about me being the only one at a nighttime party not being attacked by mosquitoes, here’s the thing:
It was at a Colombian family’s house, and I was the only Gringo there with a whole bunch of Colombians. Quite possibly their diet (what they normally eat) had made them more attractive bait!
I just can’t think of any other reason.
Survivor1
Their diet probably was a lot different…
There is a plant that grows wild and can also be bought at nurseries. It is called Beauty Berry. If you crush some leaves and rub it on you it repels mosquitoes, ticks, and chiggers. I attract all of the above like a magnet. This plant keeps them off of me, which is wonderful. I live in the country and the pests are everywhere. I rub myself down before going in the pastures to pick blackberries and never get the pest anymore.
Pencilpusher6
Is this a small plant, like say Mint, or is it a tallish shrub.
A while back I read something about a tall shrub, the old timers used to tear a branch off of, and swipe over their animals/horses/cows to keep them off.
It is a semi tall shrub. It has purplish red berries around the stem close to where the leave come out. Google a picture of it. Yes, old timers used this to repel pests.
I recently read an article in The People’s Pharmacy that Vicks Rub put around the clothing/body was a repellent. My wife has started to get the large swelling and redness from skeeter bites…just really came on in the last couple years. Will be trying some of the other methods also, thanks to all for the great suggestions.
Vicks is a good thing to have in your preps. Cold remedy. It also works on toenail fungus.
Thermacell works great.
A few more words about mosquitoes.
They’re more attracted to people with type O blood.
Vitamin B1 (thiamine) is the vitamin in garlic and other foods that repels mosquitoes.
Permethrin works great for ticks and chiggers, and possibly mosquitoes, of course I can’t say for sure since I’m always wearing long sleeves and pants since I’m one of those type O people.
One caveat for type O people, while we do attract more mosquitoes we are also naturally more resistant to malaria. 🙂
@ Grits
Hate to blow a hole in your theory of blood type O being most attractive to skeeters. Those little beggars absolutely LOVE me and I’m blood type A+. They always go after me regardless of what I wear, eat or apply to my skin. I always end up with those big giant welts/hives that last for days. It takes a couple of months for the bite mark to disappear.
I’m going to try Vicks to see if that works. Our area is loaded with skeeters. There are several ponds, slow moving creeks and a lake close by, prime breeding grounds.
Dreading when I have to pick the wild black raspberries on our property. The skeeters just wait for me to show up and then its buffet time for them.
kk
@kawartha kween
Thanks for the reply, but the theory isn’t my theory. I used to live in Chicago and hardly ever got bit by mosquitoes but after moving down here to Alabama I’ve been a target. I wanted to know why so I hit the Internet and did some research on the subject.
I started with the light/dark colored clothing and that helped. Then I came across the B1 vitamin thing and that helped a lot so now I add B1 to my supplements from April till October.
The part about type O blood is scientific fact, at least statistically. According to the statistics, type O people are bitten more and in countries where malaria is present type A people get malaria people more often even though type O people are bitten more.
I’ve been to too many websites on the subject (and too much time has passed to remember them) to list any references. So take it with a grain of salt, or do a search for which blood types attract mosquitoes more? 🙂
@ Grits,
The study you are speaking of was done by Wood and Dore in 1972, published in “Nature” magazine. Type O folks get bitten more according to their research, but Type A & B were more likely to contract malaria. Ironically, after being infected by malaria, Type A & B individuals attracted more bites.
Hopes this helps.
@ Grits
Didn’t mean to imply that “your theory” is bogus, just that I also get eaten alive and I’m not type O. My daughter is type O and I get bit way more than she does. I also take a B complex but it doesn’t seem to have any impact on my getting bitten. Apparently I’m too sweet to resist…..if you’re a skeeter.
Never thought to research blood types and skeeter bites. May do so when my project list is pared down.
kk
@kawartha kween
It’s all good. Thing is, there are many contributing factors and blood type is only one of them, not the end all be all. Personally I focused on blood type because since I came down here I was getting bitten more than everyone else around here and also having extreme reactions to the bites.
My brother joked that it was because I was new blood for them and they were drawn to me more because I had the new city taste and they liked it. On a side note, I also found that I was getting bit by gnats and chiggers more than everyone else down here too.
I stopped wearing shorts after my legs were covered in itchy welts. It looked like I had the measles or chicken pox or something. That was a rough few days till they healed up! Since then I’ve figuratively bought stock in pants and long sleeve t-shirts. In the long run I think clothing is a better investment than sprays anyway.
Now all I need to do is find something to get rid of all the spiders in my cabin in the woods! They’re drawn to it and are freaking me out.
My Mom used vinegar/water mix 50%,..in a spray bottle. can also use tea tree oil and peppermint essential oil abt 6 drops each in a qt bottle, small squirt of dish liq. shake spray…
KK, I’m A+ too and those little suckers just find me delicious!
Another thing I do is set up mosquito traps. I put a few 5 gallon buckets in shady spots around the yard and threw some goldfish in them. They love eating mosquito larvae. Just change the water once a week and they’re fine. Next best thing to an actual koi pond if you don’t have the space or money to make one.
With all this rain we are getting, we have them bad. I hate mosquitoes. One bite and you will itch for days. I have tried everything to repel the beasts. Nothing works. They still find an area of my skin to bite.
Incidentally, I am type O blood. Or I am just so sweet. 🙂 Trying the B1 and whatever Shepherdess suggested.
Give fingernail polish remover a try on the skeeter bite, it contains Acetone and works wonders, I use Cutex Brand.
Just found this recipe for a DIY EO bug repellant spray
(Note I have only used the Nature Shield oil itself, but these sprays look interesting)
“Here is the recipe for creating a bug spray from this, from Plant Therapy’s blog:
What you will need:
Insect Shield Synergy(Ken put the link in my earlier post buy on Amazon)
Water
Natural Witch Hazel (You can also use Apple Cider Vinegar)
4 oz Spray Bottle
Directions: Fill half of the 4 oz spray bottle with water. Add the Witch Hazel or Apple Cider vinegar to fill the bottle almost full. Add about 20-50 drops of Insect Shield Synergy. The amount will depend on the strength you need. For children start out at the 20 drops. Adults can add up to the 50 drops.”
Here is a much more diluted recipe for people, dogs, furniture (I did not test this, just passing along)
“I mix several drops of this oil in a spray bottle with alcohol and distilled water. I spray it all over myself, the dogs, and the furniture on the patio late in the afternoon because that’s when the mosquitoes start bothering us. It must work because I haven’t had any bites since I started using it, although I still see them flying around, but not biting.”
For many years skeeters were blamed for the spread of cycle cell anemia. Fortunately, research has shown that skeeters do not transmit that disease. Research has shown that cycle cell anemia is caused by licking food stamps.
Wow quite a lot of replies on this.
I use Repel with 29% DEET, sprayed on bare skin and clothes. Works on Skeeters and Deer ticks. For outings in the yard and camps I use citronella oil in hurricane lamps. 4, 5, or 6 of them burn all night maybe two nights. Ha, most folks put that in their tiki torches and only get 4 or 5 hours on burn. The hurricane lamps look nice too!
You can grow the citronella plant. We take the leaves, crush them and then rub on your arms, legs, face to repel the little critters.
I never get bit.They don’t seem to like me much. The wife, on the other hand, gets nailed badly and she gets big welts.
She uses lavender oil on the bites and the itch is gone. She swears by it for any and all bug bites…
Yes, stagnant water attracts them too.
We grow lavender here so I rub it on my skin.
I also bought several citronella plants and some lemon balm and planted it around the yard just the other day.
I use citronella burners around the yard and clear my standing water sources. I used to use a high concentration of DEET from surplus shops but I got tired of the stuff leaking out and melting plastic items in my pack.(will also discolor varnish on wood rifle stocks too.)
Skin So Soft works for some people and it is an unaltered recipe going back over 30 years. Deep Woods Off is convenient and I use it on kids and fair skinned adults. I keep it away from the mouth, nose and eyes.
I like using a camphor stick called Sting-eze for after bites. Seems that any topical lotion or cream that contains camphor will stop or ease the itch if the bites. With summer coming on, I am a big fan of Banana Boat brand of Aloe Vera gel with lidocaine for status-post cases of sunburn. It is day-glo blue and it works like a charm. I try to smear it on affected areas prior to Emergency Dept. admission. Aloe Vera gel with lidocaine also works for prickly heat rash as well.
Thanks to all for mentioning plants that repel biting bugs. I am trying to learn more about plants that are repellent to biting bugs as well as plants used to provide topical analgesics. My knowledge of pills, creams and lotions is extensive though I doubt they would be readily available after SHTF or in a primitive area.
Lastly, prior to travel in primitive areas, bring your own supply of above mentioned topicals. Treating injuries, sunburn and bites in a campground kept me as busy as fixing rifles in hunting camp in the fall.
Diphenhydramine 50 mg 100 count bottles are dirt cheap from behind the counter at Bi-Mart. Possibly at other big box stores too. Trade name is Benadryl and it’s a good thing for things that make you itch. Shouldn’t be used if you take meds for high blood pressure and can make you drowsy.
I too am a mosquito magnet. I think people invite me to outdoor parties so THEY won’t get bit. I’ve tried SSO and the fragrance was so strong it gave me a headache. The product is mostly mineral oil. Maybe mosquitoes don’t like mineral oil in their nasty little beaks. I have several mosquito screen hats and jackets. I spray “bug-off” spray on my clothes. I hang a dryer sheet from my hat. And I welt up and the bites get really sore.
I did read an article (will have to find it), that there is a genetic reason that some people attract mosquitos. I guess I won the genetic lottery.
So, here’s my cure for a mosquito bite. I learned it from my Grandmother. Adolph’s meat tenderizer. Catch the bite early and rub the powder/granules on the bite. I just spit on my finger, sprinkle Adolph’s on the spit and rub it in. I swear the bite never welts up. Which reminds me – I need to stock up.
Adolphs is the chemical papaine. So if you are allergic to papaya, don’t use!
Re: bites – My son used to welp up and they lasted for 30 days or more IF they didn’t get infected. He regularly was sprayed with DEET as anything less wasn’t effective. He’d even get bit in the house. We had an Rx steroid cream, but used the camphor or ammonia dabber bottles for immediate relief. Also don’t know why it works, but making an x indentation with your fingernail over the center of the bite is very effective. And while I may not have the other remedies, I usually always have my finger…..
Country Mouse
this is good info to know, especially about the fingernail and X..As you say, always handy.
I have been told, by someone who used to live in Brazil, and in area with LOTS of mosquitoes, and was allergic to Mosquitoes,
that her Doctor there suggested she take a daily B complex, and they would not bite. She said it has never failed.
I think some kinds of weeds must also attract them.
I seldom have much trouble with them.
This morning I went out to weed a flower bed. I fended off a LOT of them.
Though I seldom use spray or repellant, went in the house and hunted some down.
I sprayed a little on me,
and then
I gave the flower bed a good spraying, and waited for it to settle. Got the bed weeded.
I too am a magnet (also type O) but thanks to a friend for finding this…called Mosquito Barrier. It’s a garlic concoction spray that is safe for plants kids pets etc. I was a total skeptic but this stuff WORKS!! haven’t been bit in weeks after spraying the yard/patio area and here in Louisiana they are our state bird as well.
Victoria’s Secret Bombshell perfume repels mosquitoes
I lived in Alaska for 15 years and we used a product called Muskoil or muskol. It does have deet but it was the only thing that really worked. It does have a smell I never got used to. I tried Skin so Soft but it only worked for about 15 minutes.
I was a tour guide in Cordova, AK and took people out 50 miles to Child’s glacier on the Copper River. May thru July the bugs fed royally. We were given RED jackets to wear- duh. We just kept covered including using the hood, hands and most of your face. They landed but didn’t get through the layers.
The early mosquitoes were very large, like quarter size and you could feel them land. When you went to kill one you really had to smash it or it would get up and fly away- no lie. The later ones were normal size but there were so many. My advise would be to visit Alaska in early August before the snow flies and after the mosquitoes go to bed- mostly.
I do not have very many bloodsuckers but 500 yards away, my neighbors do. We always argue about it and they hate me when they visit because they do not get bit.
Now I will tell you what I do and you too can think I am crazy.
I do everything to encourage birds, feed the bug eaters suet in the winter to keep them around. I have three bird feeding stations positions like guard houses around the property. I take care of bird nest raiding tree rats.
I have furry flying bug eaters every year and have built bat houses. The parents are called Mat and Pat.
I have eight bird houses that attract blue birds and swallows – for some reason they fight over the same house each year – swallows won this year which please my DW because bluebirds always took poop from the birdhouse and put it on top of our house at the peak – white dung on green roof.
So, I believe that my friends the Robins, Swallows, Bats, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Bluebirds, … help to keep down the insects around here. I also change their bird water everyday – no permanent standing water.
hermit us,
Agree birds are wonderful for eating up insects….
Good comment
Don’t forget Hummingbirds are big mosquito eaters.
Stardust
Oh ya, I forgot I have feeders for them as well. Plus wild and domestic flowers – Boss Rufus the blazer orange chested hummer is always trying to protect his territory.
But there is one more insect eater I neglected to mention – I have several charcoal grey garden snakes that are about 1/2″ in diameter and 24″ long. These are the only snakes I have seen in ten or so years.
Hermit
I to am a big believer in birds, for me its Barn Swallows, Purple martins and plenty of Robbins. The standing water is a big one. Mosquitos need as little as a bottle cap to reproduce.
I usually just blast myself with Off deep woods,,
I did buy a bunch of bottles of a spray that has lemon eucalyptus oil in it though, it works ok, but not as good as the off if its a particularly heavy mosquito day. Weve had so much rain lately that the mosquitoes are thick in spots,
Our Aquaponics greenhouse was quite an attraction for mosquitos. I made a spray mixture of Dawn dish soap and white vinegar. It killed the mosquitos instantly. I also spray the patio area when I’m sitting outside. Works great!
I think the mosquitoes are becoming more and more resistant to everything. Its quite maddening. LOL Mosquitoes and fire ants. They are everywhere!!!!! Ughhh…….literally trying everything to fight them.
Texasgirl
I know it is a pain, but at some times like early morning or dusk, long sleeves, pants, and a netted hat may be needed. Tall grass and shaded woods hide the little buggers. Like in agriculture, nature has a way of adapting as the chemical onslaught intensifies. They say insects will inherit the earth after we annihilate ourselves – I believe this.
Texas girl, For fire ants. I am using Borax and sugar mixed half and half. to treat a mound take 1/2 to one cup disturb top of mound… sprinkle on heavily. cover with a peice of cardboard. weight the cardboard so will not blow off., leave for a week.. then check. May need to re treat once. after gone level the mound…or will be re populated..
Old neighbor said, to take ants from 3 differetn ant hills and mix the populations they will fight each other and kill off…he said…
Perhaps not eating sugar before going outside may help. Also hair spray and scented deodorants may attract them as well. A lot of good info. The AR should probably be used as a last resort 🙂
Not that mosquitoes are bigger in Texas, but one summer riding fence for a ranch, I spent the night in a line shack. I woke up to the sound of metal clanking one morning, and I couldn’t find my horse. Walking around to the back of the shack to investigate the noise that had woke me, I spotted two mosquitoes. They had already ate my horse and were pitching horseshoes to see who got the saddle.
I escaped while they were occupied.
@ Dennis
Ahhhh heck, those in little-ol-texas mini-bugs ain’t so big; those blood suckers over here in New Mexico are so big that one actually sucked the color right out of the sand when it landed, that’s why we have White Sands NM. 🙂
NRP
Dennis, now that’s a campfire story! I love it.
When your quary goes to ground, leave no ground to go to.
Keep your grass cut as short as possible. I use a reel mower so I’m able to keep mine cut down to about an inch high. Mosquitoes lay eggs in water, but they live in the grass! Keeping it short makes it easier for the birds and dragonflies to find them.
On a side note, short grass also makes your property less appealing to snakes and easier to spot the few that do venture through it.
I’ve forgotten about all the mosquitoes in Texas, now ya’ll are making me think twice about moving back!
NRP
Thank you for the history lesson about White Sands 😊 I will remember that the next time I visit the area.
There is a lot of water on the surface in our area along with the many crops.
We bought a fancy bat house from Pennsylvania and put it up according to directions last fall. No bats yet. The females are the nesters. Have not seen any yet. Might take a year or two before the migraters find us. Noticed the skeeters get bigger every year.
Ever wonder how many mosquitoes it would take to meet your daly protein needs. ?
might work to use them as a thicker in stew or soup ?
I’m serious about this , wonder how they taste?
Not so sure about use in protein bars tho
Better go back to my tea and chocolate
Oldhomesteader
I guess it depends if they are full of blood or not. 🙂
hermit us & Oldhomesteader
Ahhh, do not believe I would want to put them on the list of foods to be consumed when they carry so many unwanted pathogens..plaque, Ebola, malaria, dengue fever just to name a few.
But if you guys want to give it a try..who am I to stop you. bon appetit
AC
No, not on my menu but I wonder if high heat cooking would render them safe?
AC don’t you think cooking would take care of the nasty things, in E&E school we ate worst than that ,no one died ,at least no one I know of ,from that ,
Oldhomesteader,
Tried it for awhile, had to stop. Overwhelming desire to sleep in a cave, upside down. Tasty though.
Similar experience with an attempt to make survival biscuits from pond scum. Overwhelming desire to become a democrat and run for congress. Guess they’re right when they say you are what you eat.
Dennis
Now you have an overwhelming desire for free sh*t? The mosquitoes are not the only bloodsuckers in the swamp.
Best option: Kill it with Fire!
I have one in my backyard and every year it blossoms with these perfume-y white flowers – and around that same time my backyard becomes mosquito infested. It is impossible to be in the backyard without getting eaten alive!
Propane Mosquito traps work well. When I lived in McCarthy Alaska we used these, within two weeks no more blood suckers.
You could move to southern California. We don’t have skeeters. And according to the news, all the people are leaving too. You could have bug relief and help restock the pond out here. ……….
……………….. Ok, I’m leaving now. NRP, don’t break your screen; it’s not worth it bud.
I think living in Laguna or a little farther down would be kinda nice,,, lots o people but is entertaining
– Bananas do definitely attract mosquitoes when eaten, Found that out the hard way. B=1 (Thiamine) does work as a repellent, but not enough to allow eating bananas!
I have used DEET, but the more I read about the stuff, the more it scares me. Garlic and onion rubbed on the skin will work after a fashion, but are best applied internally, raw, and allowed to sweat out, in my opinion.
years ago, read that aspirin would help keep the beasts away. Just as an experiment, when wife, daughter, and I went fishing, applied then new Deep Woods Off to daughter, G.I “Jungle Juice” (95% DEET) to wife, and I took two regular aspirin. I was careful to wash any residue of the other two off of my hands. Daughter had two bites, wife had one and I had none we could find. Score one for Bayer! Having said that, I still use the Deep Woods Off when needed, but the Aspirin is a thought for those who can use it. as a secondary or back-up. I have found that bites seem to disappear more quickly when I take aspirin (not Tylenol, Motrin, or Naprosyn)
The best combination I have found when I was actually living in the swamps for weeks at a time was Permethrin soaked into long sleeved clothes, bloused boots, and B-1 twice a day. Add Deep Woods Off as needed. I re-treated my clothes after about six washings and rarely had bites. I did strictly leave bananas alone, though.
– Papa S.
I have fairly bad seasonal allergies, also allergic to cat dander. My wife is a cat person, and we have three, Annabelle, Joshua Beckett, and Ophelia aka Checkmark,plus our beloved Australian Cattle Dog, Stella Blue. The point is, I take 10 mg of Loratidine daily. I do try to avoid/prevent biting insects, but the antihistamine prevents me from having a reaction to black flies, skeeters,chiggers, etc…food for thought if you are extra sensitive to their bites.
kevinH ,
Glad you have found an option that works for you and each should consider….all options. I am thankful not allergic to the dog yet.
I am working toward repelling the insects that seem to think I am candy. Already avoid perfumes, and having breeding grounds, as much as possible for offenders…
I have had multiple allergies to bites and pollens since in grade school. after a whilemost of the meds used continually have stopped working… remainder makes me so sleepy can’t keep eyes open…so if i am having trouble sleeping, is viable option. I reserve the ones that work for most acute need.
as a kid, we had a large citronella bush growing in the back yard. we used to crush a handfull of leaves on it when we would be out in the evening. it would work for a couple of hours pretty well.
Here in central TX. powdered sulfur works real well for chiggers and ticks; Just dust your pant’s legs/your legs and they won’t bother you.
Mosquitoes are another problem all together, especially for me, me being type O and light skinned. When I go out at night for a walk I hear “COME AND GET IT…..DINNER TIME!”
I read on the Grower’s Exchange website that the Lemon Catnip plant is an excellent mosquito repellant. I ordered one plant and plan to order more to plant around the perimeter of my house. Rubbing the leaves on your skin is supposed to repel mosquitos, too.
Y’all want to avoid these pesky and dangerous critters??? I have the solution…
INVITE ME to hang out with you and you will be spared! We have literally watched friends walk through a swarm untouched as we observed the swarm zero in on my location.
Now we live out in the boondocks (thank God!) on land densely forested with hardwoods and a 2 acre pond. I can hear those critters ringing the dinner bell when I walk outside!
I keep the yard cut very short, and am thinning out the woods and brush a little more each year. Not much seems to work for me by way of repellents. I’ve done the vitamins, garlic, SSS, Cutter, Deep Woods OFF, dryer sheets, light colored clothing- still usually end up with at least a bite or two.
I did two tours in Alaska in Recon during the 70’s (more skeeters in the arctic than in the tropics, or so they say…) so we spent a lot of time outdoors, both winter and summer. We used to eat a head off of a (paper) match every day. May have been the sulpher on the match head, but seemed to work pretty good, not perfect mind you, I still got plenty of bites but not as many as other guys.
We also sprayed our clothes with DEET and years later, in Afghanistan we sprayed our uniforms with Permethrin, it supposedly lasted through several laundry cycles.
Yes, the Permethrin works very well. I always have a spray bottle on the shelf near the door.
Even though they say it lasts through (up to 6) wash cycles, I still spray them after washing when I go outside. The stuff is cheap enough so better safe than sorry…
As a child, my parents bought sleeves of “sulfur cream of tartar tablets” every spring. Each sleeve had something like 24 tablets, each about the size of two quarters stacked together. We had to chew up one tablet everyday until they were gone. They tasted nasty, but like all children at the time, we obeyed our parents (disobedience could be very perilous). We were told this regimen prevented “boils” and other infections and repelled ticks, chiggers, and mosquitoes.
Anonymous— I think I have heard of this before…But, the question is…from your memory, did it work? Do you still do this? thsk
Anon,
My guess is they did. We lived on the blackland prairie of NE Texas where chiggers were a curse. My brother and I would still get an occasional chigger, but one summer a cousin came to spend a couple weeks with us who had not gone through the regimen. He suffered a a huge number of embedded chiggers resulting in a serious skin infection around his private parts from scratching the itch. Probably wouldn’t have progressed that far had he told my parents earlier.
By the way, that was Dennis, not “anonymous” posting.
Dennis, thks. Good to know.
Ugh. It’s that time of year again…….we put up the Martin houses. Zero effect so far. Huge mosquitoes. Tried everything and still get darn bites.
About 20 years ago we were backpacking in the Sierra’s. It was over 4th of July and the mosquitoes were very thick. We used Ben’s 100% and wore long sleeves and pants. It wasn’t any help – the buggers bit me up right through my clothing and my shoulders were covered in bites.
We recently bought some Sawyer’s Permethrin to spray our clothes and hopefully that will take care of any future problems.
Have type 2 diabetes, don’t know of any research done on this but the skeeters don’t bite me anymore since I found out about the bet is. Be prepared and ready. Keep your powder dry.