Comments on: Why Are Mosquitoes So Attracted To Me?

By: KT

KT — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:17:00 +0000

I’m also one of those people that gets eaten alive the second I step outdoors. One time I went to go walk my dog in my backyard and wasn’t even 20 feet into the woods when I got bitten at least 10 times on my face. Then, as I was swatting the things away, I rolled my ankle and skinned my knee. By the time I got back indoors, I looked like some horrible Doctor Who creature. I drank half of a bottle of liquid benadry and passed out on the couch for a few hours. Good times.

The only repellent that has kind of worked for me is 100% DEET. That stuff is nasty (melting shoes and stuff), but it gets the job done.

As for the bites themselves, dab on a bit of household ammonia with a cotton ball. It is the same stuff that’s in After Bite and is much cheaper. You can refill a used up stick of it, too. I’m partial to the lemony fresh variety.

By: Jen

Jen — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:50:20 +0000

If you take garlic supplements spaced throughout the day, they won’t bite you. It’s a trick I was taught in the Army and it worked without fail even when sleeping next to swamps!

By: Bri

Bri — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:27:49 +0000

I’m one of the lucky ones too. I live in Florida, yet I cannot remember the last time I was bitten by a mosquito. Therefore, I have no skeeter bite remedies to share. I just wanted to gloat, really. :-) Also, I’m pretty sure wasps will sting whatever they darn well please, but I once escaped unscathed from a barbeque beseiged by angry wasps while the people sitting at my table had 3 or 4 stings. Maybe I don’t smell bad; I just don’t smell at all.

By: Christi

Christi — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 20:43:42 +0000

The best post mosquito bite remedy I’ve found is facial astringent! Just use a cotton ball to put some on the bites and they’re itch-free and gone fast.

By: Taira

Taira — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 20:02:46 +0000

See, I knew I wasnt crazy. Unfortunately I’m also one of those people who are extremely sensitive to their “stabs”. Always have been and always will be. A couple weeks ago i was bitten twice on each side of my lower right leg. Within a couple hours my whole lower leg and foot were swollen. I went to the doc the next day and she gave me steroids to calm everything down and some crutches so I could walk. How humiliating it was to tell people that I was injured by a mosquito and then get weird looks from them. It took about a week to finally go away but now I have lovely scars from my stupid scratching.

By: Jena

Jena — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 14:33:13 +0000

Just thought I’d share…when I was a smoker (menthol) I never, ever got bitten by mosquitos. I was one of the “lucky ones.” I quit about a year and a half ago, and now the darn things will not leave me alone. I wonder if menthol is one of those scents that repel mosquitos? Whatever the case, I won’t be going back to smoking just to keep the mosquitos away. I’ll just stay inside in the A/C.

By: Tdave

Tdave — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 06:58:03 +0000

I have found that after eating garlic, they don’t bite me as much.
I grew up near a woods. A couple times, after playing there, my arms and legs were densely covered with bumps. My bumps and itching would quickly go away. My buddy, Mike, would just sit and watch them suck blood from his arm. He didn’t have any reaction to the bites, no bumps, no itching.

(’It’s the females that suck blood’ There’s an excuse for a misogynous joke there.)(haha)

By: Phil

Phil — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 23:20:53 +0000

I’ve realized for a while now that if I go outside (and I’m wearing deodorant) to mow the lawn or, really, any other activity outside, the mosquites will violently attack me and will not leave me alone. However, if I don’t wear deodorant, they leave me well enough alone. I still get some bites (stabs) but not as many as i would have. so that’s my secret, don’t wear deodorant/perfume…just make sure you shower when you get done!!

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:45:11 +0000

Ha! I’m one of the fortunate that gets to sit and laugh as people around me get eaten alive.

I’ve heard two things that are intriguing. One is that mosquitoes are picky about the amount of sugar in your blood. Some friends of mine are hypoglycemic and have absolutely no problems with mosquitoes. And then, today while I was standing in my kitchen, a friend told me that if you rubbed real vanilla (liquid) on your skin it will keep mosquitoes away.

Haven’t tried the second one yet, but that would be nice if it were true. ^^ Kinda sticky though.

By: GTT

GTT — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:08:01 +0000

Follow up question: are all mosquitoes attracted to the same smell or are people attractive to only some types of mosquitos and not others?