I’m tired of mosquitos biting me. If i can’t stop them biting me, the next best thing is to stop them biting me a second time. So what’s the best (safe for me) way to make myself poisonous to mosquitos, and optionally other bugs that might bite me?

  • @slorcher@lemmy.ml
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    182 months ago

    You need to buy Sawyer picaridin lotion. It’s the most effective mosquito repellent I have found. I use it in high alpine environments where you can be swarmed by literally hundreds of mosquitos.

  • SharkEatingBreakfast
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    52 months ago

    I thought it was more common, but mosquito bites do not effect me, and I only get bit very very occasionally. My kid, on the other hand, gets eaten by mosquitoes and has a very harsh reaction.

    What would cause mosquitoes to naturally not want to bite me & no itching/bumps/reaction to their bites?

    • @Sylvartas@lemmy.world
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      92 months ago

      For the no itching/bumps part, I think the absence of an immune system reaction (or a weak one) will do that

      • SharkEatingBreakfast
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        2 months ago

        Yeah, that tracks. 🫠

        EDIT: Wait… the itching is basically an allergic reaction to mosquito saliva. So, I’m not allergic?

        • @Sylvartas@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          IIRC the itching and inflammation is an immune response to the shit they inject you so you don’t feel the bite as much while they’re drinking, and huge bumps/lots of itching is an allergic reactions of sorts (which is really just the immune system going way overboard with a reaction to something that is not a threat or not a big one). So you may have no reaction to it, or a very light one

  • @Sanctus@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Get one of those bug lights with a sticky pad. Complete desolation of the mosquito population in my house. Then just never leave your house.

      • @Cyyris@infosec.pub
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        92 months ago

        I’ve treated my hunting clothing with permethrin when we were going to an area that was known to have an extremely heavy tick population. We had a spray bottle of the stuff, and did a thick coating all over our outer gear, and then allowed it to dry. Permethrin is fairly low toxicity for humans & dogs, but absolutely killer for mosquitoes and ticks. Worked like a charm!

      • ohmyiv
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        2 months ago

        Exoficio has a line of repellent clothing with permethrin. Craghoppers used to, but I think they stopped.

        The only drawback is washing wears out the treatment, so you either have to buy new gear or treat it yourself, as the other comment states.

    • @nublug@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      2 months ago

      Permethrin is toxic to cats; however, it has little effect on dogs. Many cats die after being given flea treatments intended for dogs, or by contact with dogs having recently been treated with permethrin. In cats it may induce hyperexcitability, tremors, seizures, and death.

      fyi

    • @goldteeth@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      392 months ago

      “Now now, Batman, you should know that when a little pest like you dances with the Bug Zapper… He’d better be ready for a shock!

      • @Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
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        12 months ago

        Hmm? Did you say something? I was asleep in my recliner…why is one shoe on? Oh right…I was going to that party…zzzzz

      • @Nikls94@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I was thinking about the Mosquitoman but since the Swedes call Batman the Läderlappen I’d say we use the Swedish name Mygga and call him Myggaman - drawn to the burning flames of war and he just blasts high pitched sounds from every electric device all night to turn people into rage.

  • @tobogganablaze@lemmus.org
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    2 months ago

    If i can’t stop them biting me, the next best thing is to stop them biting me a second time.

    But you can stop (most of) them!

    My strategy is to deploy their natural enemies into my house. That includes a ground level strike team of two cats that will attack and kill anything that crawls and for support from above you want to corners between walls and ceiling covered with as many spiders as possible.

    I’ve only been bitten once this year!

  • @AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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    52 months ago

    Vitamin B-12. Take 1500 mg of B-12 daily. It will mask your blood’s scent, when you sweat it out. It will make you smell faintly bitter, and prevents ticks, chiggers, and mosquitoes.

  • FuglyDuck
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    2 months ago

    So one thing to prevent the first is to mask/change your odor. Booze increases bites, sitting and smelling of smoke (including things like wood camp fire smoke,) will mask you; sugary things increase. Soaps and shampoos depend on the product.

    Those coils or citronella can drive them off. The noise thingies too.

  • Xanthrax
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    2 months ago

    When you’re out, use DEET and cover yourself. Try to only apply it to your clothes. It’s toxic to humans. Are you out a lot? If so, I’d be worried about ticks and toxic plants as well.

    If you have control of the land around you, make sure there’s no stagnant water nearby. If you want to keep a pond, manage your mosquito population using local species if possible. In some places, you can also report stagnant bodies of water.

    If they’re inside, check your window screens. If you can’t afford that, use a mosquito net and check my first answers.

  • southsamurai
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    172 months ago

    See, if you hadn’t wanted it to be safe, you could get all kinds of answers.

    There really isn’t anything you can get into your bloodstream that will kill the mosquitoes without causing some degree of issues for a human. The only question is how severe, and whether or not you can get it without a prescription.

    Since we already have topical chemicals that keep them away relatively well, ingesting or injecting anything would be silly.

  • @HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world
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    642 months ago

    I do three things and mosquitos avoid me: I eat a ton of garlic, I take a ton of drugs, and I smoke a ton of weed. My blood is semisolid.

    • @mecfs@lemmy.world
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      82 months ago

      After I got long covid mosquitos stopped trying to eat me lol.

      So maybe sickness helps idk.

  • @jet@hackertalks.com
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    2 months ago

    Diet, people with diabetes are more delicious.

    • Keto - changes your blood sugar and hormones probably having the biggest impact
    • SPICY food, hot peppers, hot chilies, also have a impact
    • Garlic - also repels some bugs

    Ever walk into a room, get overwhelmed with the smell of garlic? And there’s no garlic in the room, just people who eat garlic? It’s like that but stronger because mosquitoes have a better sense of smell

    Non-diet interventions

    • Sit in front of a fan, or strong wind, mosquitoes can’t fly very hard, so they cannot fight a breeze
    • When outside keep moving, don’t stay still
    • @Azzu@lemm.ee
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      62 months ago

      I was on keto for a while and always the main target for mosquitoes among all my friends.

    • mommykink
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      282 months ago

      Ever walk into a room, get overwhelmed with the smell of garlic? And there’s no garlic in the room, just people who eat garlic?

      I’m suddenly very self-conscious in a way I’ve never felt before