An old question but: What's the best prevention against bug bites?

[Elvino]

Bugs the world over seem to like the taste of my blood.
Any recommendations for the best preventative medicine against mosquitos and other like minded blood suckers?

Peace
Elvino

[Marblehead]

The best defense is products containing DEET. The best treatment is Tender's After Bite (the itch eraser!).

[irie always]

Skin so Soft - Avon bath oil - rub that on and your just too sweet for them bugs!

[kaycee]

Definitely Deet. I didn't get any bites on my last trip!

[georgelenard]

Do not eat the sweet bananas and don't scratch the bites you do get!

[Sweetness]

My advice is to wear SOMETHING to repel mosquitoes from afternoon til morning EVERY day. They seem more prevelent to me right now. I got a bite in Kingston under my arm and it made a horrible bruise baseball size. They also carry disease sometimes besides being a bother and pain in the arse.

I do not like to put chemicals on my skin and hate oils. I have used Coppertone BUG and SUN for years and "when I wear it" never get bitten. I love it because it feels like sun tan lotion but has DEET in it (hypoallergenic and water resistent). Feels funny to wear sunscreen at night but the point is the BUG part LOL. Its the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RockRobster]

Bugs the world over seem to like the taste of my blood.
Any recommendations for the best preventative medicine against mosquitos and other like minded blood suckers?

Peace
Elvino

You will need a product containing no less than 40 percent DEET. Try to avoid the 100 percent DEET stuff, as it is fairly toxic.

There are new products that claim success in making rooms bug-free....these are fan units that spread a scent that mosquitos don't like...

I prefer burning citronella candles in the room unless it is hopelessly buggy, then I break out multiple mosquito coils.

You can also try taking mega doses of Vitamin B complex. It will make your urine fluorescent yellow, but it does give off an odor that repels mosquitos. Garlic supplements have been reported to have a similar effect.

[Eden]

Interesting about the Vit. B. Will have to try that one!
I am sure the DEET works really great, but since we don't like to use harsh chemicals on our skin (esp. on our children), we have had great success using Avon's Skin So Soft Bug Guard Plus. It comes in handy individually wrapped wipes, ( in addition to tubes and sprays), which are so convenient for travel. It's supposed to work for up to 8 hours too, but we have only applied it in the evenings, and it has worked out great for us so far!

[goldilocks]

Whatever you choose to use, I was told it is best to rub it into your skin rather than just spray it on.

[gluecipher]

In 10 trips, i have never seen a mosquito. Maybe its the time of year I go (Feb - April). Maybe because I am Canadian and live in a place (North Western Ontario) where there are clouds of insects in the summer, I just dont notice two or three. Having said that, we find that the only thing that works is DEET. They higher the concentration the longer it lasts. They make a version for kids that is about 12%. You have to put it on every hour. Deep Woods Off or Muskol are about 40% and last a few hours. They used to make it 99% DEET, but it would melt your clothes. Skin-so-soft and any repellant that doesn't contain DEET doesn't work.