Tips for repelling mosquitoes for Greek islands

peachyprice

mo1888 wrote: »

Take vitamin B1 for a couple of weeks before going and continue for the duration of your holiday, yeast tablets also work well. This is the advice I've been given on another forum, but havent tried them yet!!

Yep, I can confirm this works a treat!
Although it will make your pee flourescent yellow!

pinkcandyflossprincess

hi
in greece i would buy a plug in when you get there as they normally work better than ours and are cheaper tbh..if you arrive late at night most hotels will lend you one till you get one ive found.
avon skin so soft is soppsed to be good for your skin but i didnt need it when i went to halkidiki last september as it rained every day and was freezing:eek:

Janeyjaz

a roll on - available from Chemist Direct £6.75 and will last ages - has worked for me for the last 10 years (including swarms of mozzies in corfu) - can't reccomend it enough, I used to get bitten alive

Pottymouth_2

I swear by mossie milk - really good stuff - DEET active ingredient, and smells quite nice (to me anyway)

john-306

I've just come back from 2 weeks in Turkey, done the vitamin B1 and odourless garlic for 1 month beforehand and used that jungle cream, I forgot to put it on 1 night and I got bitten once.. Last holiday got 22 bites so I'm happy.
Once bitten I put after bite on and that soothes things nicely.

ALWAYS_POOR

Definitely anything containing 50% and above DEET. Plugins supposed to be good, Mr Alwayspoor swears by them and DEET, mossies don't bother me, probably because they're too busy attacking him! He's my insect repellant, lol!

liney

In Greece i buy Spirol (sp?) Its a long spiral thingy you light on the balcony to keep them out of your apartment in the evening. Obviously don't leave it unattended.

MrSmartprice

Pollycat wrote: »

I use Avon Skin-so-Soft dry oil body spray before I put on mozzie repellent.
Over 15 years ago, Thomson recommended it in a little book about Goa & Sri Lanka and I've used it ever since.
You need the green one (soft and fresh), not the pink (soft and sensual).

We use Autan Tropical repellent spray and the plug-in ones with liquid in for the room.

I wear trousers or crops and don't wear perfume.

Keep away from stagnant water.

Unfortunately, I think mozzies either like you or don't - and if they do, you'll get bitten.
We've just come back from Turkey and slept with our balcony door wide open and didn't get bitten.

Excellent advice. The Avon stuff certainly works, although I've no idea why as it isn't sold as an insect repellant. But lots of 'outdoor' types like fishermen swear by it. We have used it and there is no doubting its effectiveness.

It is also worth having something Deet-based for evenings as well, I guess. But bear in mind that the little sods are just as likely to get you in the night. So buy one of those little burners that take the tablets and set it going before you leave the apartment in the evening. Don't leave doors or windows open, of course, if you are prone to bites.

Some years ago I used to suffer from hayfever and took a prescribed anti-histamine. This had the added effect of ensuring I never got bitten. I don't suffer from it now so don't take the tablets, and find I am more prone to mozzie bites.

Pollycat

On the subject of Avon Skin-so-Soft (and off-topic), I mentioned the Thomson recommendation to my Avon rep at the time and she confirmed it was good as a mozzie repellent.
She also said it was great for removing tar marks from cars after driving on roads that had been newly chipped :eek: as well as all sorts of other things that Avon didn't really want a cosmetic product to be known for.

The product has changed since then, it used to be much more oily.

davidlizard

I usually put the air con on full blast before we go out for an evening - they do not like cold rooms.

I then put a fair amount of repellent on, paying particular attention to legs. I tend to use the local stuff as I have found it more effective than stuff you can get here - probably because its full of banned chemicals!

If you do get bitten, do not scratch it (!!) - get one of the piezoelectic "zappers" - these deaden the area in the vicinity of the bite, and provide immediate relief. Here is an example, however boots and plenty of others flog their own versions. They are only a few quid and last for years!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/MOSQUITO-STINGING-RELIEF-Medically-approved/dp/B002AXL266