Newbie to area needs bug repellent advice for family! (home, neighborhoods)

[K. Dunn]

Help, being eaten alive!! hee hee. OK, maybe an exaggeration, but hard to get use too!! I had like 19, and my 6 yr old had 22 bug bites counted on her legs and arms the other day. Have been using "Off" spray on, but only mildly effective, plus the fact if you read the directions say's for health reasons you should wash it back off everytime when your back inside-pain! Can't be good for your skin, especially on the little ones. Looking for something like an easy spray that doesn't smell, or a lotion that is actually good for you to put on with maybe an aloe? Any recommendations will be whole heartly taken in from those locals in the know! Other than these darn bugs, and maybe this continually heat you get for the summer, we LOVE it here!!

Plus tried those off lantern's with the candle that smokes through an insert in the top, work ok, but don't last long, plus smell horrible, no wonder the bugs don't like it, neither do I! Thinking about trying those Teaky lamps on the poles that run Citronella candles that I see being sold by Lowes. Has anybody tried those and can attest to their working in this area? Thanks in advance!

[VickiR]

I had someone tell me to tie a bounce dryer sheet to your jeans or in your pocket and that keeps the mosquitoes away!

Worth trying!

Vicki

[uncletupelo]

I try and have at least three drinks of whiskey while in my backyard during the summer. It does not keep the nats/bugs away. But it does make me feel better.

[firsttimeowner]

what I wonder is...........how can you love it there when you hate the heat and the bugs? I guess I am wondering what is so worth it about living there to put up with that. seriously. Thanks

[ragdolls4me]

I am trying the new OFF clip-on thing this year. So far so good but I am still a bit skeptical whether it will keep mosquitoes away as summer progresses. I hate mosquitoes and they love me!

[dragonfly0428]

Avon Skin-So-Soft original scent body oil. Stinkiest stuff on Earth, and the bugs hate it. Plus it's safe for the kiddies. I think even Avon capitalized on its "side benefit" and came out with an actual SSS repellant lotion.

[miamiblue]

Originally Posted by uncletupelo

I try and have at least three drinks of whiskey while in my backyard during the summer. It does not keep the nats/bugs away. But it does make me feel better.

That sounds like a great technique!

Being a native of swampy FL, here are my tips. I make no guarantees for their effectiveness, because it seems that some people attract more mosquito bites than others, and we all have different reactions to the bites. I always seem to attract mosquitos, and there is a certain type of mosquito that will give me giant welts instead of the little annoying bites.

Something that I've always heard works (but never personally noticed if it did or not) is Skin So Soft from Avon. It is a skin scare lotion with a sickening sweet smell, and supposedly it keeps the bugs away, even though that is not its intended purpose. It is safe for kids. I remember my mom used to slather us in it - Fourth of July always reminds me of this ritual.

Unfortunately, anything with a higher percentage of deet is going to work the best to keep them off, but I personally get headaches from the stuff (from the moment I put it on until I wash it off = steady headache). If I know I'm going to be out in the woods and will be exposed to mosquitos plus other biting bugs like chiggers, ticks, and no-see-ums, I will use Off or Cutter with a medium percent deet. If I am in a more urban outdoor environment I sometimes won't put anything on, or just put a lower percent deet bug repellent on and just deal with the bites later.

I don't think repellents with a higher percentage of deet are recommended for use on children, though. You will need to check the label. There are also some bug repellents that have a "nicer" smell than just the standard green can. Some come in spray bottles instead of aerosol cans.

My father purchased a personal mosquito fogger for use at their home in Miami from one of the home improvement stores. I think that it uses cartridges with similar fogger to what the mosquito spray trucks would spray around the neighborhoods where I grew up. It is hand-held and seems to work pretty well for smaller areas, such as around a backyard deck or patio.

Make sure you do not have any standing water around your house. Check for things you might not immediately think of that could be collecting water. Stagnant water is where mosquitos breed.

Sometimes you are going to get bites no matter what. Calagel and Benadryl spray are pretty good for the itch, but the best thing that I have found is a bite stick. You can find them in drug stores, they kind of look like a tube. It is basically ammonia that you dab onto the bites, and it works wonderfully.

[lamishra]

Where are you when you are bring in bitten? If you're in your own yard, you may want to consider spraying it to cut down on the number of mosquitos around you.

[4alark]

Try adding B Complex vitamins to your diet. We did it for us and all the kids. It completely stopped the mosquitoes and ticks, noseeums, flies and more. They stopped biting and hovering around us in landing patterns! Takes 1-2 days to work but for our family it really, REALLY WORKS.

[lovebrentwood]

You guys go OUTSIDE in the summer?! Wow!


I, too, have heard of the B Complex vitamins working, and that was during a Caribbean vacation when the bugs were nearly as bad as they are here.