Stop Bugging Me!

July 28, 2023 10:12 AM

My blood is apparently an especially delicious meal for mosquitos, and I'm getting eaten alive! I'm looking for a bug repellent that is effective, easy to apply, and as non-gross as possible.

This question apparently hasn't been asked in a few years, and I'm hoping there's exciting new technology in the realm of repelling mosquitoes. I am specifically looking for something I can put on my own body (or, I guess, carry around with me, if there's some portable anti-bug machine?) because I get bitten when I'm walking around my city, not just when I'm sitting still outside.

I have three specific problems with all the ones I've tried, and I'm hoping there are other options.
1. Many bug repellents just don't work, especially anything labeled non-toxic or eco-friendly or gentle
2. All the bug repellents that do seem to work are disgusting. They smell terrible, they make my skin feel terrible, and if I get them on my hands (which is hard not to do if you already have bug bites and so you absentmindedly scratch your arm after you've applied fresh bug spray) and then don't immediately wash it off, I end up accidentally getting noxious chemicals in my eyes or all over my stuff. And since I also have to wear sunscreen, I'm basically always slathered in a gross, toxic mix of bug repellent and sunscreen that makes me feel filthy and disgusting all the time.
3. Most bug sprays only seem to work on the exact areas you apply them to. I went out last night after having applied a lot of DEET spray to my arms and legs, only to find that bugs had bitten the back of my neck and my feet. I'd love to find a product that would repel bugs from my body generally, so that I don't have to treat it like sunscreen and slather every inch of exposed skin in order to keep the bugs away.

I've tried bug sprays and stick repellents containing DEET and Picaridin (including the one Wirecutter recommends). The ones that don't have Problem #1 all seem to have both Problem #2 and Problem #3.

So, is there a magical potion that will keep me from getting eaten alive?

(BTW, if you also have a recommendation for post-bug bite care that will stop the unbearable itching I'm feeling right now, I'll take that too. Even with Benadryl and a steroid cream, bites from the super-bugs this season are so itchy they woke me up from a dead sleep last night itching. Definitely don't want to live this way for the rest of the summer!)

posted by decathecting to Health & Fitness (28 answers total)

I will be watching this post carefully as I am apparently a carrier of Veuve Cliquot level blood, most desired in the mosquito communities around the world.

I don't have a product rec, but I do have a treatment one (and vast amounts of experience, and a tendency to have massive reactions):

if you notice you have just been bitten or feel an incipient bite coming up, put a thick blob of cortisone cream on the spot. don't rub it in, just put a big blob over the spot and let it slowly soak in. I have found it dramatically reduces the likelihood of a massive welt and does reduce the extreme level of itching. you just have to catch it early.
posted by supermedusa at 10:19 AM on July 28, 2023 [2 favorites]

There is no good bug spray, I'm sorry. Your best bet is to minimize surface area available to bugs and thus minimize how much bug spray you have to use. I recommend a hat with a head net and long pants (loose and linen if you can do it but bear in mind they WILL fly up the open legs) and if you're just putting bug dope on your arms that's at least easy to wash off as soon as you get home.

Try a dab of ammonia on the bug bites. There is a version of AfterBite that has ammonia as the active ingredient and it's way better in my experience than the Benadryl kind.

My friend swears by upping her B vitamins intake in mosquito season but it doesn't do anything for me.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:20 AM on July 28, 2023 [2 favorites]

Sorry, I don't want to abuse the edit window but I thought of something else. Also there are a couple devices on the market that purport to kill the itch of a mosquito bite with heat-- in my experience, they only sort of work. Don't spend money, just heat up a spoon in hot water and put that on there. The heat does kill the itch temporarily if you get it within about 30 minutes of getting the bite, but I don't think it works better than the creams or sprays or whatever. A very hot shower, as hot as you can stand, immediately after you come back in, will kill the itch a little and also remove your layer of goop.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:24 AM on July 28, 2023 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Yeah, I do my best to keep skin covered, but the heat index here is over 100° most days now, and sometimes as high as 110°. My head in particular gets hot so easily, so I'm trading off whether to get bitten, or melt from the heat!
posted by decathecting at 10:28 AM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

Taking an OTC 24-hr antihistamine prophylactically (e.g. Zyrtec) causes me to get the small pink bumps everyone gets from mosquito bites instead of giant welts that itch for days. I also had a prescription steroid cream that worked to stop itching and promote healing, this is a legitimate thing to see a doctor for. I got a steroid shot once. Flooding your histamine response with a very hot bath/shower helps and is worth a shot.

I wear long sleeves and pants, which keeps it down but I get bitten through them. Cutter stick was my bug repellent of choice, not sure if the formulation has changed. Now I live in the PNW and the mosquitoes here are mostly slow and avoidable.
posted by momus_window at 10:29 AM on July 28, 2023 [4 favorites]

As for treatment, THE BUG BITE THING has changed my life. I, too, am manna to mosquitoes, and this product made 2 weeks in rainy Maine drastically more livable.
posted by tristeza at 10:40 AM on July 28, 2023 [8 favorites]

For existing bug bites, this seemingly gimmicky Bug Bite Thing has been a godsend. You use it as soon as you can after a bite and it really helps, every other summer I had huge welts and open sores where I’d scratched and this summer…just a few non-itchy small pink bumps. On preview, jinx!
posted by stellaluna at 10:44 AM on July 28, 2023 [3 favorites]

I picked up a bottle of this Off Botanicals stuff somewhere, and I'm finding it actually works (!?) and bonus, no DEET cancer or fabric melting. It's also pretty low on the disgust scale. Smells good, goes on like a lotion with less residue than most.

As far as treating bites, I've been reading about thermal pens that are based on the hot spoon idea. Something to try.
posted by Dashy at 10:46 AM on July 28, 2023 [2 favorites]

Was going to chime in on the heat trick that blnkfrnk recommended - my bites always swell up incredibly and the spoon heating trick has done wonders for me. You may want to give it a shot - as a contrary data point, I've gotten to a bite more than a day after being bitten and it's still significantly reduced itching and swelling for me!

The trick is get the spoon as hot as you can bear it. It WILL hurt, but this cuts down healing time by 75%, and swelling goes down from quarter-sized (and bigger) to lentil-sized within half a day (for me, YMMV obvi). Itching goes away immediately after heat treating for me.

My protocol is to fill a mug with boiling water, then add some tap water to bring the temp down slightly. I put two spoons in the mug, and alternate applying them to the bite while letting the other spoon reheat. Have a hand towel nearby to dry off the spoon before applying so water doesn't get everywhere. Please do not burn yourself! I really do try to get it to as hot as I can stand though, and probably do a combined total of 1 minute of heat treatment over several spoon applications.

Lastly, you may consider treating your clothes for extra protection. I usually apply repellent to my entire body though, I can't tell you how many bites I've gotten on my butt from getting bitten through shorts.

Good luck!
posted by blueberrypuffin at 10:49 AM on July 28, 2023 [2 favorites]

+1 to Dashy's thermal pen suggestion. Our bug situation has been brutal this year, and I was skeptical but picked one of these up and it works. It's very, very, very hot. You hold it on for six seconds. It relieves the immediate itching, and when it comes back it's not nearly as intense.
posted by AaRdVarK at 10:51 AM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

My go to for mosquitoes is a combo of herbal armor for exposed skin especially the face and deet on the clothes. You’re right that bug repellent only works where it is applied so you need full coverage. Herbal armor smells nice and does work in my experience but requires a lot more frequent reapplication, when I was working I would reapply every hour or so, basically if the smell is gone it won’t be working anymore but it’s pretty easy to do a few sprays on the hands and then apply to face and neck. Deet spray usually lasts at least half a day.
posted by 12%juicepulp at 10:57 AM on July 28, 2023

There are ultrasonic things that supposedly imitate the sounds of bug predators (dragonflies) - but while my ex swore by them, they did nothing.

If you are in your home environment - you can get a propane mosqito trap that will removed them from a large zone - expensive, but possibly worth it.

They love me as well - thankfully, I don't swell-up, just have itchy spots for days. Tend to use "Off" spray, but if I miss a spot - the it is on, and the J-Buffet is wide-open.
posted by rozcakj at 11:05 AM on July 28, 2023

We just got portable Thermacell repellent devices but haven’t tried them yet. They’re supposed to be effective? Sadly, my giant doses of B vitamins that I take to prevent migraines do not seem to be helping with the mosquito situation. Taking an a once-a-day-formula antihistamine seems to help with the itching that keeps me awake at night.
posted by corey flood at 11:09 AM on July 28, 2023 [3 favorites]

Sawyer also makes a bug spray lotion, which is less gross-feeling than any spray I've ever used. I don't immediately feel like I need to shower to get it off me! No weird smell! Not whole-body effective, but definitely an improvement.

On the itch relief front, Cerave makes an anti-itch lotion (pramoxine 1%) that works great on bug bites. Works in minutes, lasts 8 hours, can apply it 3-4 times a day. It's still a topical anesthetic, but no numbing sensation like with lidocaine.
posted by smangosbubbles at 11:11 AM on July 28, 2023 [2 favorites]

To further clarify (because I forgot they have two lotions): the Sawyer PICARDIN lotion is what I'm talking about. The DEET lotion is trash.
posted by smangosbubbles at 11:24 AM on July 28, 2023 [2 favorites]

After literal decades of desperately trying to find an effective repellant that isn't DEET, I finally discovered geraniol oil. My friend, it actually works. And also smells nice. When I'm outside I put a couple of drops into some wax in an oil warmer (heated from below with a tealight candle). I wouldn't suggest applying it topically, at least not without diluting in carrier oil, but instead add a little to one of those coil bracelets (sometimes advertised as "wearable mosquito repellant)". The bracelets on their own don't work at all, but will allow you to wear the geraniol oil without the oil touching your skin.

Also consider getting a rechargable neck fan to keep the buggers away from your face and cool you off at the same time.
posted by mezzanayne at 11:32 AM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

I use this Great Outdoors lotion and it works pretty well. It doesn't feel terrible on the skin either.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 11:37 AM on July 28, 2023

When it comes to relieving mosquito bite pain, nothing is as effective, as simple, or as cost-effective as those thermal bite pain reducers.

We started with the Therapik, which is such a dubious-sounding and dubious-looking device that instead of linking directly to the product, I generally linked to Gizmodo's review: Therapik Bug Bite Relieving Gadget Review: We Can't Believe This Actually Works.

TL;DR: most insect venom is thermolabile (breaks down under heat). A little burst of heat from a bulb at the end of a silly-looking device heats up your insect bite *just enough* for the venom to break down.

The Therapik looks like some bullshit you'd buy off of late night TV for $19.95, but hand to God, it works. (FDA verified claims, too.)

As blnkfrnk and blueberrypuffin recommended, there are lots of variations on this product now. They pretty much all work. They work for my entire family. They work so well, we have developed a practice of making sure we have at least two around, because when friends/family/neighbors try this and see how effortlessly and perfectly it fixes the problem, it is nice to be able to say, "Just keep it" when they start freaking out over how perfect is is and are desperate to get their own.

Oh--these are also cheap.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:41 AM on July 28, 2023 [4 favorites]

I don't think I'm bug manna, so take my rec with a grain of salt, but when I spent a week doing an outdoor science ed course, I got not only DEET spray, but sunscreen with DEET built in. I don't remember this feeling any more gross than regular sunscreen, and as I'm fair-skinnned, I was very good about applying it on all exposed skin. We went through a LOT of tall grass, minor wooded areas, canoed, etc., and I had very few bites and nary a tick.
posted by epj at 12:34 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

OMG lots of answers here and I have not read them all. But FWIW I did a deep dive into exactly this question last year (reading studies etc.), and below I'll recap what I came away with. The upshot is that you might want to try clothing impregnated with permethrin. You can buy clothing that's pre-impregnated, or buy a permethrin spray for your existing clothing. It doesn't hurt fabric, has no lingering scent or residue, and IIRC the effects last for about 10 washes. You'd probably want to supplement it with DEET where your skin is exposed.

Here's my recap:

What attracts mosquitoes most strongly is carbon dioxide. They are also attracted to sweat, perfume, lactic acid, beer, and cheese.

Here is a list of stuff that does not work to repel or deter them: garlic, B12, bananas, mosquito coils, Therma-cell devices, ultrasonic devices, citronella candles, citronella incense, backyard misting, bats, purple martins. Those things may have a tiny effect, but not much effect.

You need DEET, and if you want to also ward off ticks it needs to be 20%. The next most-effective repellent is picaridin, which also repels ticks. It is also effective to wear clothing impregnated with permethrin, which repels all flying insects in addition to ticks and mites.

The most effective natural repellent is Repel, which has the highest-available concentration (40%) of lemon-eucalyptus oil. It is not as effective as DEET.

For deterring mosquitoes over an area (rather than a person), your best bets are mosquito traps (Mega-Catch is the best brand), or mosquito dunks, AKA larvicides, which you put in the water where their eggs are. Bug zappers also work, but they kill tons of beneficial insects too: tests find that only 4% of the insects they kill, on average, are mosquitoes.

So upshot, for you: your best bet is probably clothing impregnated with permethrin, supplemented with a little DEET on exposed skin.
posted by Susan PG at 12:43 PM on July 28, 2023 [14 favorites]

My recipe is:
1. clothing that is bug-proof or bug resistant. Some fabrics, knits, and weaves are more or less protective.
2. Permethrin treat all the clothing. You can get the Sawyer Spray for DIY (link) or send it off to be professionaly treated (link)

I recently tried an ultralight hoodie (link) for backpacking (permethrin treated) and it was great: wicks well, is sun protective, and kept the bugs off.

I find that once I'm wearing enough permethrin-treated clothing, bug tend to avoid me.

But if the bugs are really thick, then:

3. spray Picaridin treatment on any exposed skin.
posted by soylent00FF00 at 2:56 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

I swear by Thermacell devices, linked by corey flood above -- I've used them at outdoor events up and down the east coast for many summers, and they're extremely effective without having to put anything on my body. The only downside is that the pads and fuel get pricey if you're using them constantly.
posted by Pwoink at 3:47 PM on July 28, 2023 [2 favorites]

If you are outside in a yard or garden area can you set up fans? Mosquitos are not good fliers and a couple of box or oscillating fans will do a lot. If you're hiking this obviously won't work, but for backyard activities or an afternoon of gardening it just might help.

From another person mosquitoes line up to bite. . .
posted by citygirl at 5:50 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

I get eaten alive. I highly recommend Off Deep Woods and variations but I'm sure you've tried and they don't suit.

The reason I'm responding though is the aftercare! STRONG STRONG endorsement for Eurax or anything else with crotamiton. I get the huge welts that turn into hives occasionally and Eurax stops this and the itching in its tracks. It's apparently primarily for scabies. https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/31145/eurax-cream-10-20g
posted by hellomiss at 9:08 PM on July 28, 2023

You can buy both short-sleeved and long-sleeved cotton tshirts impregnated with insect repellant that work for 70 washes.

And the profits go towards buying mosquito nets for people who can't afford mosquito nets.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 10:29 PM on July 28, 2023 [3 favorites]

The only thing that works for me (mostly) is lemon eucalyptus spray.
posted by tiny frying pan at 6:36 AM on July 29, 2023

I know this is a bit less concrete, but may work in the long run. Try changing your diet! I have a friend who moved to Costa Rica. He wondered why the locals weren't bothered much by mosquitoes. They indicated that it was their spicy diet, which he was skeptical about. However, after some time living there and adopting a local diet, the mosquitoes stopped bothering him, too! Just as an example.
posted by Don_K at 7:23 AM on July 31, 2023

Gughest rated at Consumer Reports (where the test subjects insert their sprayed arm into an aquarium full of swarming mosquitos):
Ben’s Tick & Insect Repellent Wilderness Formula 30% DEET
3M Ultrathon Insect Repellent 25% DEET
Off Sportsmen Deep Woods Insect Repellent 30% DEET
Repel Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent

I have used the Ultrathon and the Repel Lemon Eucalyptus, and can attest to their efficacy, When I spread the Ultrathon lotion, I have to wash my hands with soap. It is quite greasy and sticky. Recently, I started using a lightweight moisturizer and then spreading the Ultrathon on top, which helps distribute the lotion a bit.

In regards to physical barriers, I wear blue jeans and thick fuzzy socks. The stingers can't penetrate. Knit fabrics and lightweight wovens are completely permeable. I recently bought a hat with attached mosquito netting and it has been effective at distancing eye-seeking gnats. I'm sure that the mosquitoes would slither around and find an opening eventually.

I burn incense and use multiple fans when I sit outside.

Aftercare= Benadry (diphenhydramine)l lotion and Lidocaine 5% cream.
posted by ohshenandoah at 8:25 PM on July 31, 2023