I’m a bite magnet!

I’m just back from Greece yesterday; I have no bites whereas my daughter has about 20. She was a bit miffed.
I explained that I know what works for me.
I use Boots Soltan After Sun with insect repellent after a shower, then spray or roll Jungle Formula onto exposed bits.
The DEET in Jungle Formula is a horrible chemical and stinks! But it’s the only thing that really keeps the buggers away.

I take an antihistamine (Loratadine) tablet daily. Very cheaply available from Savers or similar. This seems to stop bites from being so itchy, and my body from over-reacting. I used to get hugely swollen areas from bites, but now get very few. Worth trying.

Jungle Formula contains DEET which is carcinogenic.

Use Incognito which contains a natural form of DEET.

Citronella does have repellant properties but less effective.

I used to be bitten by anything and everything. Since moving to live on a farm I find I am living with insects rather than being annoyed by them and strangely, am not being bitten. We have a small field of lavender which is absolutely alive with big plump bees. I've been sitting on a bench at the end of a row regularly in this weather to inhale the perfume and study the bees. Not had one bite, and not covered up either.

Incidentally, although I shower once a day (twice sometimes if doing dirty work), I only use water - no soap or shower gel, perfumed or otherwise. I sometimes think I used to get bitten a lot because I was wearing perfume - don't do that now.

I’m O negative too, I never knew it was blood group related.

Plenty of ideas to try, thanks to everybody who has shared their experiences, I’ll give anything a go (except the onions, as my stomach objects to them) and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that some will work for me too. I hope you all stay bite free, fellow sufferers.

On the theme of being bitten or not. As young woman I was bitten to bits. After my first pregnancy I can’t remember being bitten. Not even horseflies. Incidentally I am A -ve

I'd recommend Smidge. I used it on a holiday to Scotland in peak midge season and didn't get bitten.
I also use Tiger Balm, which I discovered on a holiday to Indonesia. I got so many bites when I first got there (before I knew about Smidge), but found Tiger Balm stops the itching. It's quite smelly but I really like the smell.

Could you try something with a lemon zesty smell………insects don’t like citronella candles…….not suggesting you rub the wax on your skin though.

Many years ago, we used to camp in France for weeks on end almost every summer. We ate a lot of BBQ food and salads which included LOTS of raw onion……and seemingly we must have started to exude a subtle onion odour as nothing bit us after a while. It was the only solution we could think of and we were glad to not get bitten by mozzies.

There was a radio 4 programme a week or so ago. Scientists have said that some people are bitten more than others because of certain enzymes in some more than others. They didn't mention a prevention though. I didn't hear it all though. Toothpaste, containing alcohol stops the itching, that's from me not the programme. As mentioned already upthread certain blood groups too.

(I also have O negative blood).

I always get bitten and get swollen pink lumps, sometimes they last for weeks and often end up lurid red or bruised. Nothing seems to help, and the pharmacy recommended bite cream doesn't seem to do as much as it used to.
I've taken vitamin B for years and it's made no difference.

I am allergic to mosquito bites and develop huge red itchy blisters. I dread going anywhere low lying and near water in the summer months.
Nothing seems to work and have tried everything. Use steroid cream prescribed by gp.

Yes, always bitten badly here too - O Negative blood group - is a thing I gather.

I will be off to buy some Catmint oil (Nepeta Cataria) in H&B or elsewhere soon to try it after reading this interesting article last week.

www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jul/07/catnip-lotion-as-effective-as-deet-at-repelling-mosquitoes-study-finds?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Mosquitoes love me , and no matter what I used in the past I would get bitten badly and have the scars to this day, after a holiday in Australia where bites led to my arms swelling , I was advised to take vitamin B1 daily one month prior to going on holiday. Next holiday I did this and for the first time in years I didn’t get bitten .15 years later I still make sure I take them a month before travelling, I have had the odd bite but my body hasn’t reacted badly as previously. Also a fan of Avon Skin so Soft as an extra protection. Reviews for the Vitamin B 1 are mixed with about 50% of people saying it works for them. It worked for friends that I recommended it to.

Me too Cason,always have been! The best I have found is Cutters but can only ger it in US!

I'm A positive so I suspect it isn't solely down to blood group

My husband says it is something to do with his blood group. He is AB negative. I am A positive and mosquitoes don't seem to care much for me - thank goodness.

I have yet to find a preventative, as I too am clearly signposted "Free Meals, available all roungdthe clock" as far as the biting insects, grass pollen etc. are concerned.

Applying vinegar as soon as the bite starts itching and NOT SCRATCHING it helps a little. If this is not enough, I take an antihistamine tablet.

Unfortunately, I have not found anything that increases will-power with regards to not scratching, the sensible grown-up part of me that knows scratching makes it worse does not work when I am asleep.

I’m a bite magnet too , both abroad and in the uk during this heatwave. I use either a lemon or tea tree oil shower gel . Avon skin so soft and then a repellent with deet . I’ve got the plug in things as well . I do all this on holiday . But this summer I’m thinking I should do this at home . I get bitten watering the garden !!!
Oh and for bites I’ve got this heat thing which you apply to the bite for 30 seconds and it’s supposed to stop the itching .
It’s called Beurer insect bite healer and I got it from Amazon.

We went to the Isle of Mull a few years ago. We were a family of six and I was the only one who got bitten. I couldn’t go outside. I will never go there again in August.

I have six on my neck and one at the top of my leg ( how did that get there) at the moment. Oh, forgot one on my toe.
We went to Skye once….never again. I came home looking as if I had chicken pox. I swear the midges were all lined up waiting when I got off the plane at Inverness.
Nothing seems to work.

I was once told that eating garlic helps. They don't like the smell.
If it doesn't work at least you will be safe from vampires!

Mango19

Have been using patches and bracelet bought from Pestects online. No midgie bites for ages. Would recommend them. No nasty smell either.

I got these to use when my daughter got married in Corfu, must admit I was a bit sceptical, because I'm a magnet for them and react really badly to the bites. However, they worked really well. I only got two bites the whole time we were there - and that was on the one morning I forgot to wear one. My husband, who never usually gets bitten, got loads of bites.

Have been using patches and bracelet bought from Pestects online. No midgie bites for ages. Would recommend them. No nasty smell either.

I'm going to try Avon Skin so soft. I used Boots Insect Repellant spray and Soltan suncream with built in repellant for my recent holiday to the Italian Lakes. I got bitten twice and they cleared up after I took antihistamines and used hydrocortisone cream.

However, I'm now on anti biotics for what looks like an infected bite which I must have got on the day we flew home and didn't clear up with home treatment.

Listerine works for me. Its difficult to apply because its a liquid but I decant some into a spray bottle then smooth it on my skin gently and it seems to work for me.
I don't know if other mouth washes are similar.
I was told not to use perfumed cosmetics - remember things like hair conditioner, deodorant, sun-screen and washing powder/conditioner all contain perfume.
If I am bitten, Anthistan soothes almost instantly (but is also perfumed.)