My daughter has such awful reactions to mosquito bites that she's adverse to even going outside when the skeeters start to come out. And forget camping with her. It's interesting that she is the one who gets bitten so often when my son, who has virtually no reaction to bites at all, rarely gets a bite. Whassup wit dat, mosquitoes? The poor kid's eye completely swelled shut while we were on vacation thanks to one tiny bite.
Suffice it to say, we've tried every product on the market trying to ward off the bugs, and have found only a few things that seem to help. In searching for some other options, I came across some interesting stuff!
Here is a round-up of things I discovered — some work, some do not, and some seem to fall into a grey unknown area. But anything's worth a try when the reactions are so bad, right?
Wear Light-Coloured Clothing
I've personally never found this very helpful, but it's the first line of defense to keeping mosquitos away, apparently.
Use Citronella-based lotions/sprays
We use this one from California Baby, with limited success. The upside is that it isn't harmful like DEET, and it smells lovely. Downside is that it has to be rubbed into skin often, and you really need to use other options in combination with it.
Anti-Mosquito Apps
Developers insist that these apps keep mosquitos at bay by emitting high-frequency tones that skeeters don't like. Science says it's totally bullshit. Check out the BBC video in this article to see how the apps work (or, rather, don't work).
Mozi-Q
Alright, so you know how I'm a skeptic when it comes to homeopathic remedies. Naturopathic, fine. Homeopathic, hmmm. So when I was sent some Mozi-Q to try, I didn't expect much. Mozi-Q contains different homeopathics that, when combined, ward off mosquito bites. We had our daughter take it before heading out in known skeeter territory, and when she'd normally be covered in bites, she came out rather unscathed. Impressive! And when we gave it to her after getting bites, it did seem to help with the swelling and itching. This one's a good bet if you're not interested in some of the smellier chemical options.
Clip-On Repellants
Nope. Just... just nope. This idea works exactly as well as you think it might — it doesn't.
Avon Skin-So-Soft
For some unknown reason, this stuff works. As a kid at Girl Guide camp, we all knew it and used it. Avon says there's nothing special in there (and they apparently do make a line of repellant) that makes it work as a mosquito repellant, but it works!
Hang out with Marigolds
If possible, plant marigolds in your yard, as they help to keep mosquitos away.
Good ole DEET
DEET works, period. But DEET is also very toxic to humans so many people don't use it. We spray it on clothing, not skin, and use the citronella-based, natural options on bare skin. Wearing long pants, socks, long sleeves and basically keeping as covered as possible when the mosquitos are out is the best option, and using DEET-based sprays (see Health Canada's guidelines for usage)
What do you do to avoid being bitten by bugs? If you've got a tried-and true method, please share!
Read this! 10 things NOT to say to someone with allergies.
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