Mozzie Magnet!

Help!

I'm a mosquito magnet and they've already had a big feed off me, 15 bites and counting! - and it's not even summer yet.  

Does anyone have any tips on what I can do/eat to help deter the little blood-eating beasts? 

Thanks :)

Yes!! My dad used to feed us a teaspoon of lemon juice everyday. We would to go to the sounds boating every summer. If I didn't do the lemon I'd be eaten alive. After a week, my sister and I would start eating lemons like oranges.
Ive been told vitamin B stops them as well

My friend gets them really badly at her house, she uses Lavender Oil and they hate it apparently.   

I feel your pain, I'm like that too - and I get big reactions from them.  Bit nervous about camping at the end of the year, so would be good to see what others suggest too :D

Thanks Ong!  I wonder if that's why when I used to drink lemon juice with water in the morning I got a whole lot less bites?  I just put it down to a bad season for mozzies! I know what I'll be buying tomorrow :)

I'm a mozzie magnet too! Years of camping has made me get used to them... Citronella candles everywhere and a good hand eye co-ordination lol... I got the first one flying around in the bathroom yesterday morning. And no, don't even think about making me feel guilty for swatting the little beasts hehehe!

Ong, I'll have to try that! Have a couple of lemons lying around...

I high five your hand-eye coordination Melly650! I've managed to take out two so far, but there's one sifting about the house that's just too fast for me.  I will get it, mark my words ;)

I have images of all the BR girls going karate chops chasing after mozzies!

It really does work. It's a great excuse to get the gin out now I'm older I'm thinking :D

Fantastic tip Ongelique ;-) I have 2 lemon trees so guess what I'll be drinking all summer hahaha

Fantastic tip Ongelique ;-) I have 2 lemon trees so guess what I'll be drinking all summer hahaha

Fantastic tip Ongelique ;-) I have 2 lemon trees so guess what I'll be drinking all summer hahaha

Add the grog and I'll try help you out hehe

Sounds like a fab plan hehehe ;-)

Such a great tip Ong! Thanks so much for sharing! Mozzies are horrible little buggers.

Grrr mozzies annoy me !!! I'm gonna try the lemon thing. Maybe if I have vodka, lemon and lime that will work ! Just take one a day :)

Hehehe Kellie! Let's do it!

Ong, I'm laughing soooo hard! I can totally believe that!

All the best Kellie and let us know how you get on! 

Ong, eating a lemon like an orange. You are one tough Farmers-wife.  hahah  lemon and tequila, yes.  Eating a lemon on it's own eeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkk.  x

Omg I love this post! Every summer the my body is mosquito central! I literally get thousands and it looks like I have chicken pox! Everyone likes to play betting games and guess how many itchy bites I have! I'm a human toy! Thank you ladies for the tips! I only had a temporary relief which was to wash the are with antibacterial soap and ice cold water! 

Oh great tips. They love me so much, I am definitely a mozzie magnet. Love summer but hate these bugs!

Great tip thanks Ong, I am definitely going to start drinking lemon every morning now!  According to the mozzies, I am another official human sacrifice offered up to them every summer

When i was younger, i went to Sri Lanka, which is the mozzies homeland, seriously there was so many, i fell asleep one night without a mosquito net, and woke up covered in bites.. was not a pretty site! Anyway the point of my story is over there they use citronella oil on their skin, because the Mozzies hate it... and it works a treat.. however it smells really strong so i would suggest a citronella candle or something instead! However, drinking lemon sounds like an easy solution aswell!

I have tons of tips for keeping yourself and your home mozzie free!

Everyone is so right with the advice of lemons and citronella, but its not limited to just them any plant/fruit from the citrus family contains the chemical that repels mosquitoes, so think: lemons, limes, mandarins, oranges, lemongrass...etc

Eat/Drink it - Choosing to drink lemon tea is great but not everyone's cup of tea (pun intended) but just adding the oils to another drink works just as well, add a twist of lemon to your regular tea, or into your drinking water, even a wedge in your diet coke works or substitute for a lime (which I prefer in the summer I love putting a pitcher of water out with a couple of limes in there with ice)   Lemongrass add to your stirfries!  Eat citrus fruit.  And also don't forget the old myth about vampires, garlic deters bloodsuckers its true and tested (watch mythbusters??) adding garlic to your diet helps deter mozzies as well as gives you health a huge boost as its proven to reduce a whole host of common dieases.

Use in and around the house - Not only do garlic, citrus and citronella deter these bugs but so does euclayptus!  Burning any of these in an oil form or incense form creates a cloud of mosquito hating chemicals that are friendly to you, deadly to them.  If you have some gums around where you live (blue gums, mini euclayptus...etc) and you can reach a lower newer branch, trim off a branch and bundle around your shower head, it works to keep the bathroom free from flying insects and also gives your skin and breathnig a boost by the steam heating and seeping out the oils locked within the leaves.   Lemongrass is the ultimate best for outdoor detering, I grow mine in pots on my deck straight outside the back door, they grow tall and rampant in the wild but love having their roots restricted so pot growinig is the best.  How they work is that during the summer the sun warms up the plant and triggers the oils to be released around the area, which in turns deters the flying pests.  Bonus to growing lemongrass is the baby stems can be used in cooking, if left to grow to height they create privacy and shade.

 

Love these tips !!! I love lemons and limes...not entirely sure I could eat one like an orange however haha :)

Both my kids are severly allergic to insects bites and both reacts differently. My daughter will look she has broken a limb and my son will look anything from Kevin Mealamu (the ears) to someone that spend 1 week in a cage for white tail spiders. When we go camping, I buy the mozzie bracelets you get from Mitre 10 and they wear those (so do I as mozzie's love me too). The other thing I will do, specially if they have a bite, is use the Goodbye Sandfly products http://www.goodbyesandfly.co.nz/ really a good product that works to keep them away, but also to help with the itchyness. 

So many fantastic tips! Thank you all so much :) I am buying ALL the lemons today.  There's going to be a lemon shortage in Auckland, and random stripping of local lemon trees.  Aucklanders, you have been warned ;)

thanks for these tips, I have been loved by mozzies since I was a kid, it's one of the most frustrating things ever especially when you get attacked in the same area lots.. Apparently it's people that have sweet blood that they are attracted to so I have always taken that as a compliment, saying it's because I am sweet that they want me hahahaha.. Will defiantly be adding lemon into my water for the rest of the spring/summer season! :) 

I am unfortunately a mozzie magnet too! I have so many scars from when I was little and couldn't control my scratching and itching! I am definitely going to try adding lemon juice to my diet!

I have never heard of lemon juice as a mozzie repellent I am amazed! I'm lucky I don't get bitten often. I must taste gross :P

More Great tips thanks ladies, been following this thread and can't wait to try them out :-)

For me they come at night. I'll be in bed with my partner and will hear it. I'll grab my magazine and try and zap it. I must try lemons. I'll scream at my partner to get it lol. I really dont like them. One time I got bitten on my eye it got so puffy. It looked like someone punched me. 

I get eaten alive too.  Thanks for the tips ladies..will definately be trying some of them out this summer...dreading being itchy! 

I love to go to the woods with my friends or family. Almost every time a forest is full of mosquitoes, so we used a lot of products before to fight them.  There is no product that can give you 100% guaranty of protection. A mosquito spray is effective for 3 hours, and anti-mosquito stick can save you from bites for 4 hours, but no longer. There are also some traditional non-chemical methods of protection such as lemongrass essential oil, but the effect won't last long. You can find some tips on how to get rid of mosquitoes here. It's written about how to treat mosquito bites and allergic reactions too there. Hope it will come in handy.