Mosquitoes

I watched an Italian programme on mosquitoes earlier this year which said you would get bitten less if you wore dark clothes - the opposite to this article's advice. Different type of mosquito?

DEET works for us - we use Jungle Juice spray [make sure it is the one with DEET in] - very effective

Ciao e tutti I use the Avon skin-so-soft as I find deet dissolves things! I was going to knock up a couple of these: http://www.diyhappy.com/quick-and-dirty-mosquito-trap/ I was also planning to buy 1l. of citronella oil from ebay & try that too. Pip pip

Toothpaste is wasted on teeth. Water is enough. But it's great on mossie bites.

Products with Deet, especially good is Boots Repel, apply in the morning, and reapply after a shower in the early evening. If bitten use Fargan, an Italian ointment bought in the farmacia, this is the first year that I havent suffered from bites.And at night in the bedroom use the plug in mozzi guard. If you stick to this regime everyday you will have a much more pleasant summer!.

The Avon 'Skin so soft' products are much more pleasant...I think they contain citronella oil, and they can be used as part of your daily routine. Apparently it's widely used on photographic modelling shoots. And no I don't have shares in Avon!! Citronella oil is widely available in the 'erborista' or farmacia in Italy. A little goes a long way

Skin so Soft may be more pleasant and I have tried it here in Italy as an alternative to Deet, it doesnt work for me, but will try the citronella oil as an alternative.

Hi, On Honduras' mosquito coast I tried most things in our desperate attempts to stop being bitten by king-sized mozzies that bit thru T shirts and vicious sand flies. After Deet dissolved my watch face I stopped using that, and we made a concoction of coconut oil and some other recommended ingredients as well as eating as much garlic as possible and taking a supplement of thiamina. I'm not convinced any of this had much effect, but a Scuba diving course at least put us out of harms way! David

They have discovered that people who eat vitamin B1 have a different smell that mosquitoes dont like - so eat the marmite and they'll leave you alone.

Hello Ram, vitamin B1 does seem to have some sort of positive effect. As it was explained to me, it alters the smell of your body sweat to a taste undesirable to the said small insects. You should start taking a vitamin pill once a day, two weeks before (this is the crucial part) the start of your holiday and continue taking them whilst there. I used to travel a lot in the far east and would always do this. I couldn't swear to it but I think it helped.

Has anyone else in Marche been bothered by an invasion of midge type insects with a vicious nip? Fortunately we have not been too badly affected, at 500m perhaps we are too high, but lower houses have been plagued to the point it is not at all pleasant to sit out in an evening! They are tiny midge like things, silent but violent leaving a large red wheal and very itchy.  Everyone keeps saying they are a new phenomenon! Our Italian friends have been using that coloured alcohol cleaner available in supermarkets to treat the bites - apparently it stops the itch.

Here it is folks - the definitive anti-mozzy advice fron an ex-pharmacist. Things that don't work: Vitamin B Marmite Little electrical devices that emit high-pitched noises Eating garlic Things that don't work very well: Citronella oil and other aromatic oils Burning candles Things that work well: DEET as a repellent - don't inhale when spraying and it will dissolve the surface of plastics! Best treatment: 1% hydrocortisone cream massaged in gently as soon as possible after being bitten and repeated twelve hours later if necessary. Toothpaste, bicarb, hairgel etc etc will only give very temporary relief at best Important Against all your instincts read the product information and follow it!

Like a number of people, am feeling like a pin cushion at the moment.  Have also tried most of the suggestions above, with limited success, and am searching for the 'holy grail of a deterent' whilst counting the wonderful positives of being in Piemonte and trying not to let getting bitten to bits by these flaming mossies outweigh them! If I find it, I'll be sure to post it!

I'm a firm believer in vitamin B, myself. I take it all year round and get very little bother. The Italians swear by it. Also, I'm convinced mosquitoes go for pale skin!  

Elliven is 100% correct. The easiest product to buy in Italy is "Autan". Make sure that you cover all the skin by rubbing it over you by hand after spraying it on. Every other "solution" is just an Old Wives tale. Of course, after you have lived here for a few years your body becomes accustomed to the anti-coagulant that the female mosquito squirts into your bloodstream when feeding, then the problem changes to how to keep horse flies from taking mouthfulls of you!   Oh, yes. I should add that mosquitoes like dark colours as they help camouflage them. White is the best colour to wear - black absolutely the worst. Don't believe me? Then just try it out and see for yourselves.

Top tips, 1) get a suntan 2) dont scratch, if you can get over the first couple of minutes it will normally disappear 3) saliva, lick you fingers and gently rub onto bite, works really well 4) avoid grassed areas at dusk

I have been told by an omeopathic doctor that LEDUM PALUSTRE in granules ( you can buy it in farmacia) is very effective. It changes your skin's odour so that the mosquitoes don't like it anymore. I have not tried it yet, but I will next summer!

"I have been told by an omeopathic doctor that LEDUM PALUSTRE in granules ( you can buy it in farmacia) is very effective." It is a homeopathic remedy for the effects of insect bites and stings - not for preventing them. Mossies tend to be attracted by the CO2 you exhale - so changing body odour wouldn't make much [if any] difference Use DEET

well the doctor sayd that by taking this pland our body produces viatmin B which also discourages mosquitos. I have not tried it so I cannot comment. I used a variety of repellents... also olive oil with some citronella essentail oil in it... generally wearing long sleeves and trousers at night is my best bet! Paola

Here I am, back up in Northern Europe after 2 months in Italy. Mosquito solutions we used:  - Boots do a wonderful suntan lotion with ADDED INSECT RERELLENT and it worked!

1. My parents live just outside Rome in an area which Mussolini drained and is a veritable hive of mosquitoes in the summer (I hate visiting, mosquitoes adore my blood). Even before we get out of the car, we spray ourselves liberally with Autan/Off/any insect repellent, I find they all work. You do need to cover every single inch of uncovered skin, leave a tiny bit out and you’re bitten there at least three times!
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3. If you are bitten, and you will be, use Germolene – I didn’t believe my mum, but she was right, it works almost instantly.
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5. It is important to repeat the post-bite treatment after 5 minutes – I don’t know why other than it does seem to ensure that any itching really does disappear.

 By the way, I was bitten twice within two hours of reaching home…Belgian mosquitoes get vicious when they sense the end of summer (if you can call it that) is nigh.

I've been reliably told by a senior source in the NHS that if you hit the mosquito firmly and quickly on the head with your family bible, it will trouble you no more. Ever.

Amazing what the NHS can come up with, probably fortunate I live in Italy, I take it you may be joking, but can someone lend me the bible just in case! Oh and for daytime use have discovered Vape Derm Herbal wipes, have not been bitten but then it is pouring with rain here in Marche today.

We use Autan to prevent and it works as well as you could hope for. For bite treatment I use a piezo zapper (called Zapperclick). You self-administer maybe a dozen small electric shocks to the bite itself and it immediately stops troubling you. I kid you not, it's amazing. If you are in the UK, Sainsburys sell them, or you can get one from Amazon. Terry

I know this is not the right time of year, but this was very interesting after wife got back this week. One of the locals in Thailand said use Tiger Balm if you get bitten, by moquitos in small amounts, she tried it and the itching stopped very quickly. If you look on google for tiger balm and mosquito bites then lots of info. Have now got lots of pots of it for the new summer season!!!

Tea Tree Oil is used in Australia and it is very effective. In Bagni di Lucca I bought Vape Derm Extra Lozione Antipuntura and it really worked for me. Gives you protection for up to 5 hours.

In July I take a 24 hour anti-histamine (my daghter left Allegra 24 here). It doesn't prevent bites but it stops the hectic swelling and burning - they become normal mosquito bites. Hairdryer. If you get bitten hold the hairdryer about 10-15cm from the bite on medium heat. When you get the urge to pull away from the heat - don't. Count to 10 and you will feel the bite getting hotter - be careful not to hold it close enough to burn yourself. Switch off after 10 seconds of good heat. If you are a normal person you should get up to 8 hours of relief - I get 4-5 but I usually swell hectically. The heat attacks and starts breaking down the protein in the bite.Wear light loose clothing. If I want to garden or work outside I use one of those white "spun" onesies that you get for €1 at Bricofer or the DIY stores - found it in the paint section. I am small but I use a large one and a makeshift elastic belt. The best thing I have bought in Italy - the neighbours think I am nuts but it is way better than not being able to be outdoors.