Just a curiosity question for anyone who's got any old wives' tales or momma's remedies...

I am a mosquito magnet. I step outside and instantly any mosquito or other flying, biting insect in the area will zoom in on me and bite me to hell. While the insect repellants usually work (OFF! and other DEET'ish stuff), I don't keep it on me constantly. So, I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations or suggestions on how to "naturally" go about getting bitten less. I've heard things like "eat more citrus," "take more vitamin B," etc, any others?

I've heard that blood type O (which I am) seems to attract them more often, as well as people with a higher body temperature.

Also, part two -

Does anyone have any recommendations for OTC anti-itch stuff that actually works? I've tried various Calamine lotions as well as Campho-Phenique, and none of them do squat. I even had some left over Lidocaine Hydrochloride from an old Strep infection (topical anesthetic) and even that didn't do much - I guess the bite is too far down under the skin (I'm one of those types that has the bite swell up when bitten).

Help! :banghead_

I am also a skeeter magnet. I am not sure why. I can sit on my front porch with 5 people and I get at least a dozen bites (that turn into silver dollar sized mounds) and the others might get one. I have found nothing that helps naturally.

Regarding after the fact remedies...

Plain white toothpaste: Sure you are going to look funny, and you are going to be sticky and gross. But it helps the itch amazingly. This work much better for those of us that do not get the huge mounds after bites, but the cute little normal ones. (also works on poison ivy)

There is an after itch cooling spray on the market also. It's main ingredient is the hydrocortizone, but for whatever reason it seems to work better then the actual hydrocortizone creams. Perhaps it has something to do with not physically touching the bites with your hands.

I'm not a skeeter magnet, I never get bitten. Type O+. I do tend to have a low body temperature and I avoid eating sugar and starchy foods, don't know if that is related or not. Of course, I don't think there are a lot of them where I live, but even when I travel I don't get bitten. I think I have too much piss & vinegar in my blood. :p

Don't wear blue. It attracts mosquitos. No idea if this is scientific but it seems to work.

Some folks are definite mosquito magnets. I love walking through the bush with them. The bugs head straight for them and stay away from me.

osquitos don't bother me very much. Maybe I have sour blood :) .

Skeeter's are attracted to CO2 so unless you can stop breathing, you are probably out of luck there. The best route is to limit exposure. Dawn and dusk are the bad times to be out. When you are, long pants/shirts limit vulnerable locations.

The itch is really just an alergic reaction to the skeeter's saliva. You're probably just more sensitive to it than most. The easiest method for stopping the itch for a while is to get a steaming (not scalding) hot wash cloth and apply it to the the bite and surrounding area. It will remove the histamine from the area and should sooth the itch for hours. I usually just run the area under running hot water for a few moments, if it's on my arm.

Garlic is a natural insect repellant (http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/COLUMNNN/nn030908.html). If you have a diet high in garlic, you will tend to ward off mosquitos (as well as vamires, other undead, etc). If you like garlic, it's awesome. If you don't, or don't want to ward off the ladies as well as the bugs, you can get it in tastless pill form. Garlic also has lots of other great health benefits (http://www.garlic-central.com/garlic-health.html).

Corticoid steroid lotions.

Anti histamines lotions.

y pharmacist friend recommends against Benadryl lotions though, can help build up a tolerance or something. I am not sold on this yet.


When I was a kid, I would use spit(saliva) to stop the itching. Little drop placed on the mosquito bite. May have been placebo effect though, it seemed to work.

A simple way to deal with the sting from a bug bite is heat - lots of it for short periods. Heat denatures the proteins that make us have the antibody/itch reaction. Use a washcloth, get it wet with water hot enough that you can just barely stand it. Apply to bite. Hold it on there as long as you can. Wait 10 minutes and repeat.

You can also use the hot dashboard of a car or any other hot (but not enough to burn the skin) surface. It even works on old bites that are still bothering you.

As to how to prevent getting bitten - well, I take my husband with me. The bugs like him more than they like me. But I don't think that is a particularly practicable solution for you.

Evidently, between smoking, drinking, and being generally bitter...mosquitos' collective memory has marked me as bad eats. I rarely get bitten.

Avon's Skin So Soft lotion is a great repellent to mosquito's - they even market it that way now. My sister has the same problem, where I cannot remember the last time I was bitten.

The Skin So Soft comes in different fragrences, including fragrence free so that you don't have to smell like a lady ;)

Somewhat related:

osquitoes' Sweet Tooth Could Be Answer To Eliminating Malaria (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060925065545.htm)