Joanna Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Help!!! I've been eaten alive by everglade monster mosquitoes the size of dimes!!! DB and I just took a hike in the everglades national park where mosquito control is not practiced. We had 100% Deet which we applied liberally every 15 minutes but the pesky monsters laughed at it and apparently it was free drinks night b/c we were eaten alive. I actually counted over 50 bites just on my stomach and arms. I'm going crazy. I've tried taking Benadryl and using creams but nothing is giving any relief. Does anyone have any suggestions? This is driving me Link to comment
SueC Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Short term either Aloe Vera Gel or a medicated Tea Tree lotion. Calamine lotion might help also. Long term, take either Vitamin B supplements or Garlic in your diet and eventually they leave you alone. But it is long term! I have been taking these suppliments for many years and I finally dont react badly to the bites - still get the occaisional bite but less reaction. Sue Link to comment
cookiejar Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 You can use After Bite topical relief which you can get in walgreens and such. But, really, that main ingredient in it is good old ammonia! Also, a real old style help is to crush plain cheap aspirin (non-coated) in a pestle, make a light thin paste with water and dab it on the bites. I do After Bite to quell that maddening itch then the paste if it's still irritated and puffy. Witch Hazel is supposed to help too. good luck Link to comment
Vic303 Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Benadryl gel (topical application), or hydrocortizone creams. Link to comment
HSmom Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Oral Benadryl or Claritin (non-drowsy). Topical hydrocortisone. Topical witch hazel works very well for me, and I get welts the size of a quarter from EVERY mosquito bite. If you take oral Benadryl, you should not use topical Benadryl, but if you take oral Claritin, you may use topical Benadryl. Caladryl brand lotion contains both calamine and benadryl. You also might try an oatmeal bath, either the fancy stuff from Aveeno, or just put some dry rolled oats or quick oats in your blender and whirl them into a powder. Then add the powder to your bath. I have no idea how much. Maybe a 1/2 to 1 cup per tub. Watch out, it may make the tub slippery. Good luck! Link to comment
Necie Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 We always made a paste of baking soda and water or mud (yes-MUD-dirt and water) and applied to bites. Works for bee stings, spider bites and mosquito bites. Link to comment
GoatLady Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 chew up a plantain leaf and apply (or use plantain ointment LOL) Link to comment
westbrook Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 come here my pretty..... got a PetsMart or PetCo? go to the meds isle.. look for "Biocaine" in a white 4 ounce bottle with an orange cat and a white pup on the frons made by Tomlyn. About $6.00. Lydocaine, Novacaine, Cocaine, Biocaine! Biocaine is a topical with other anti-swelling, pain or in this case itching... I use it all of the time.. sits next to my computer! Once used up.. save the bottle!!! clean it out and put in oil and tea tree oil to use in dogs or cats ears (or rabbits) to deal with mites and yeast infections. the top is perfect for it. Link to comment
Jewlzm Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 My mother always used clear fingernail polish on ours.. yes it made you smell funny.. but it worked. Works well for chiggar bites to:) Link to comment
Necie Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 As a side note-all these things (except my earlier post) are things that people told me to do this last summer when I got a bit of poison ivy. Link to comment
8thsinner Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 I don't get bites the size of some of you, but I would quickly add three or four cups of echinacea tea to your diet to help your internals fight the infections caused. Link to comment
Nett Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 Melaluca gel works real well too. Adding garlic and onion to your diet in the long run keeps them at bay. Usually others too but oh well. Link to comment
Jewlzm Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 oooo Thats right I forgot about my Melaluca oils! Good advice there Nett! Link to comment
Nett Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 No problem. That melaluca gel is the bomb! Link to comment
Cat Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 When I was a mail carrier, I learned that if I came home and showered, etc. so *I* would feel better, the mosquitoes attacked like I was a buffet dinner. Mowing the grass or gardening was torture. If I mowed the yard or worked in the garden *sweaty and stinky* after work, they left me alone. Just my Link to comment
theyd Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 our dear Cat we all would leave you alone when you are "sweaty and stinky" LOL love ya galfriend Link to comment
mommato3boys Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 Oatmeal bath awwww soothing.... oh and any and all of the above. Link to comment
PureCajunSunshine Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 My favorite weapons against skeeters: Homemade catnip lotion is wonderful for repelling mosquitoes. I make it the same way as the honeysuckle tinture (below). If'n I'm caught without it, and the skeeters get me, I use a honeysuckle tincture or a good quality tea tree oil to relieve the itching. Tea Tree Oil...Stick with known brands because there's more "watered down" and almost useless adulturated stuff sneaking into the market these days. I use honeysuckle tincture externally for all kinds of insect bites and itchy skin. For those who are new at this tincturing thing, most all tinctures are made for internal use, but PLEASE NOTE: This recipe is a rubbing alcohol preparation...for external use only! Harvest new growth vines, leaves and flowers. Chop, put into a blender. Add barely just enough rubbing alcohol to cover. Whiz-pulse in blender for a couple of minutes. Pour alcohol and whacked up honeysuckle into jars. Cover. Shake once or twice daily for two weeks or longer. Strain and pour into clean jars. Cover and keep away from light. For ease of application, I store the season's juice in empty rubbing alcohol bottles, and empty well-cleaned hot sauce flip-top shaker type bottles (For longer term storage, my tincture goes into glass canning jars.) ...This year I'm going to "test drive" a few batches using vinegar...instead of alcohol in my catnip tinctures). --Sharon Link to comment
Leah Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 It's that time, again! http://www.skeeterbite.info/ Link to comment
PureCajunSunshine Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Originally Posted By: PureCajunSunshine Homemade catnip lotion is wonderful for repelling mosquitoes... ...This year I'm going to "test drive" a few batches using vinegar...instead of alcohol in my catnip tinctures). --Sharon Here 'tis...a year later already!!! I did the vinegar/catnip thing...lo and behold! It works! Ta-da!! I must add that the homemade repellants works really well for a couple or three hours, then a reapplication is needed. It is not the "8 hour' variety of bug dope. But oh hey, vinegar and herbs 'taint bad at all. LOL Leah! You have a perfect picture for everything! That hole looks almost like the one in my bathroom screen. A little wad of plastic wrap is being used as a temporary plug until I get around to patching it properly. It is amazing how 50 gazillion skeeters, 8 fireflies, and 16 moths can all find that teeny hole in the screen, all in one night. Link to comment
Stephanie Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 I just found this, thought it might help. haven't read the whole thread so if it's a repeat...forgive me! http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/4DMG/Pests/mosquit.htm Link to comment
MommaDogs Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 I just don't scratch them. If you see a mosquito on you, blow on it. Typically, they fly away and don't come back. Never could figure out why. Now, if you're in the everglades, which I remember well, with those killer, determined mosquitoes, and they do bite, try not to itch it. If you don't itch for the first couple of minutes, it will not itch at all. Something they release in their saliva (either the enzymes or the anticoagulants, not sure which) gets activated when you itch it within the first few minutes. If you restrain yourself despite how much it itches for a few minutes, the swelling will go down and it will virtually disappear shortly. Learned that when I was a kid at camp, some old man told me, and it's worked for me ever since. Link to comment
JCK88 Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 The only thing that worked to repel mosquitoes in the Everglades was Avon Skin so Soft, but you had to wear so much, you reeked. ANd, you need to carry it with you and spray around you once in a while. Hubby and I probably left a Skin-s0-soft oil slick in the Glades,LOL but we didn't get bit! (Despite helicopter-size bugs that seemed to attack the car before we got out) Link to comment
Crazy4Canning Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 I'm very sensitive and Avon SkinSoSoft worked well, as did Burt's Bees Lemongrass repellant. I also refrained from showering and that helped too...I couldn't stand me, but I did get bit less. For relief, I've found that pure tea tree oil really rubbed into the bite helps. Also, a bath of epsom salts will draw out the sting. A baking soda bath will help soothe the itchies. Link to comment
zzelle Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 thanks for all the wonderful advice Link to comment
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