Mosquitos!!!

[jimbo1964]

Mosquitoes are the world's deadliest creatures so be careful.

[guna nua]

I knew I should have got an IPhone instead of a Blackberry... I've been wearing jeans and long sleeved sweaters in this heatwave as I'm covered in bites which are like huge boils...not nice

[brummie]

Folks, my partner and I are regular campers and have found a solution for Mozzies that works for us. I am regularly eaten alive by these pests, in India I once counted 68bites on my right foot below the ankle alone (which explains why I spent that holiday sweating, shaking and farting) BUT buy a Hurricane Lamp and fill it with Citronella Oil light it up and you will have an insect free life:))

There is a smashing garden centre in Forest Hill next to Maplins that sells Hurricane lamps and Citronella oil. I do not know the name of the garden centre sorry. The lamps are dirt cheap and the oil inexpensive.

Keep the lamp light low as it can produce smoke- if it does you have it on too high. And dont overfill the lamp oil-well as they tend to leak the extra.

As well as being great bug repellents I like the natural light a hurricane lamp provides, plus if you a peeing in your garden to annoy foxes (see earlier in the forum lol) or are just adding nitrogen to your soil these lamps are portable and safe. We use them all of the time when camping.

I hope this helps:)

[Tarot]

Thats very interesting Brum,i will check that out, going on a caravan/camping trip soon.

This citronella is it a plant extract or some kind of chemical,do you know would it give sensitive people headaches like migraine sufferers.

How exspensive would it be this oil,just curious.

[Alec John Moore]

You can buy citronella candles from the 99p shop, either the big ones you stick in the ground or little ones in terracota pots.

Alec

[bkkmei]

Where we used to live, I was a mosquito magnet and got very paranoid about them.

The best indoor solution was definitely an electric fan.

The best outdoor solution was mozzie repellent and covering up.

The best after-bite solution (as mine used to swell and itch terribly) was to cover the bites with plasters! Looks a bit silly if you have loads of them, but pretty effective.

[OliviaDee]

taking vitamin B complex helps too. apparently they can't bear the taste of the brewer's yeast in your blood. you can actually smell it coming out of your skin - well i can - but rather that than bites that swell up to the size of tennis balls and itch and ooze for weeks - horrible.

[Trish]

I'd second Avon Skin So Soft - recommended to me by natural history cameramen at the BBC who use it when they're filming in the jungle.

[LadyAvon]

I sell the Skin so Soft spray which is great for mosquito bites - on offer at the moment at ?1.50 - normally sold at ?5.20

I can order next week for delivery the week after.

Just PM me for further details.

[grecian girl]

Hallo Lady Avon

Could I place an order with you? I am interested in buying a few bottles for my holiday.

[MrsR]

I bought a Click it from Boots for ?5 - it gives you a tiny electric shock and should be used as soon as possible after a bite/sting. I used it yesterday after being stung by nettles and it really works - stopped all itching and swelling. It treats up to 2,000 bites.

[mockney piers]

I used those click-its, did absolutely nothing for me. I found the best way to stop bites itching is to drink four or five large gin & tonics.

You feel nothing and it also acts as phrophylaxis for malaria! double winner!!

[Huguenot]

I found a new one here in Singers that I absolutely swear by - Tiger Balm (the white, not the red).

Try and cool it as quick as possible - it shrinks the blood vessels and slows transmission. Just an icecube from a drink will do. Try not give yourself a cold-burn though ;-)

There are some moderately effective off-the-shelf antihistamines you can gete - Benadryl and Actifed. Combined with booze they might get you more than a bit confused though.

If I know I'm going somewhere where my bites blow up to half tennis balls then I'll usually take a few Claritin.

[Asset]

BTW Tarot, no mosquitoes in Scotland, they be midges. Different kettle of insect.

[sarahstrawberries]

If you do get bitten, apply magnesium sulphate paste (with a plaster or dressing over the top to keep it on your skin). It draws the poison out. It's actually used for boils and carbuncles, but works equally well on mosquito bites.

Use Hydrocortisone cream to help with the itching.

[BB100]

There is no fool-proof way of stopping mozzies - I should know I've been fighting them for years. You have to use a combination of methods to reduce bites. This is what I have found out over the years and works very well for me.

First of all you need to stop making yourself a mozzie magnet. So stop using all the nice smelly stuffs and replace them with non-fragranced ie. neutral soap and deodrant. Then you need to cover up from dusk so wear long trousers not shorts and covered shoes not sandels and long sleeves. Remember if you wash clothes in fabric softner that will be fragranced too. Apply a mozzie repellent that has a high DEET content, however note all insect repellents actually do is confuse mozzies navigation system but it doesn't stop them from finding you! I've also tried tea tree oil and eating garlic but they don't work in isolation.

Then you have to stop them getting in the home by keeping the windows closed from dusk onwards. Air-conditioning helps as they don't like the cold so much. You can also mess up their navigation system by buying electrical plug-ins with tablets.

Then, you have to try and kill the ones that do get in. Do this by spraying insect killer behind the curtains and around lights every day. Try to spray before you go out otherwise you are left breathing in the fumes. Then when you go to sleep leave a light on in the bathroom and all the internal doors open. The mozzies will be attracted to the light rather than you. In the morning, spray insect killer around the light to kill the ones that have collected there.

Then, if you do get bitten 'the click-it' thing can reduce swelling but not the pain. You can buy antiseptic sprays which are cooling and numb for a little while but they don't stop the itching for long. The only truly effective relief is to buy a cream that has hydrocortasone (steriod) in it and use it sparingly and not on open cuts where you have scratched as it will sting.

I haven't been bitten now for a few years with this regime. The most effective bit I think is the spraying insect killer around the lights and windows and and keeping the bathroom light on whilst I sleep. Please let us know how you get on if you do that.

[mockney piers]

"I haven't been bitten now for a few years with this regime"

Or you've been bitten enough times now for you to no longer react much to the anticoagulant in their bite ;)

[ryedalema]

Spray any perfume on them - they stop itching straight away. Or take an antihistamine x

Oh and longer term - plant citronella in your garden. We've got loads as 'them b*ggers lurve me!' works really well and smells nice too.

Let me know if you want a cutting xx

[peckhamside]

Have you considered bites may be caused by bed bugs. They can be picked up on holiday. Far worse than mosquitos!

[Peckhampam]

I got bitten yesterday evening. They must be virulent b*********s because I have never had a bite hurt like that, usually they just itch. And it was through clothing! I shall treat them with respect from now on

[The Minkey]

Peckhampam - there is a certain small black fly known to lurk in the area of Peckham Rye Park which is reputed to have a painful bite. Wonder if you may have fallen victim to one of those?

PS - those few strawberry plants you gave me a couple of years ago are fruiting for the second time this year :-)

[tiddles]

minkey - that's very interesting as my child got bitten on the ankle by a very small black fly in peckham skate park (a couple of years ago) and it caused the whole leg below the knee to swell up!! always wondered what it was!!

[Frankito]

That happened to me not so long ago, my whole calf and foot were swollen almost to the point that I thought the skin was going to break! Very painful to walk on and it took about 4 days to return to normal. I walk my dog there at the weekend but don't remember any black fly specifically.

[Pickle]

When I used to do British Military Fitness in Peckham Rye Park I got bitten a number of times by black flies - bigger than mosquitos and the bites were horrible. Many people in the group suffered, some much worse than others with whole arms/lower legs swelling up. Not nice!

[ifnobodyspeaks]

that's interesting - I've had a couple of really nasty bites in the last couple of weeks - much worse than usual mossie bites. I've been wondering what the beastie is...