How to Prevent Mosquito Bites & Stop Insect Bites from Itching

I walk in woodland or near swampy ground most days and am always being bitten despite using insect repellent. I react really badly to mosquito bites – I usually end up with a swollen area at least 5cm in diameter! If like me you attract mosquitos, here are a few ways that you can try to prevent mosquito bites along with effective ways to stop mosquito bites from itching.

How to Prevent Mosquito Bites Using Insect Repellent Products

There are many insect repellents available that aim to prevent you from getting bitten by mosquitos. They come in roll-ons, sprays, gels, and wrist bands. Whether you chose one that contains DEET or not is a personal choice. One of my preferred brands is Incognito, especially the roll-on. I’m super sensitive to scents but I love this one.

Other top brands include Jungle Formula, Smidge, and Mosi-guard. Many supermarkets sell their own brand of mosquito and insect repellent too, so it’s easy to pick up one when you’re doing your weekly shop.

Although not sold as an insect repellent, many people rave about Skin So Soft by Avon. It didn’t work for me at all, but I have not found anything to be totally effective at preventing me from getting bitten by mosquitos.

Of course, if you are out walking try to avoid the times and places that mosquitos are out in force, such as early evenings near lakes, ponds, and canals, and wear long sleeves/trouser legs if possible.

How to Deter Mosquitos from your Home & Garden

There are several things that you can try to deter mosquitos from enjoying your home and garden. They are similar to measures that you’d take to prevent flies.

If you have a garden, plant lavender, lemongrass, citrus plants, and herbs such as basil. Avoid having garden ponds and uncovered waterbutts as these will attract mosquitos. If you are sitting outside, citronella candles and torches might be useful, but keep them at body height.

To prevent mosquitos from coming into your home, install insect nets or flyscreens at your windows and doors, or hang a large canopy net over your beds and cots. Again using candles, infusers, and essential oils of lemongrass, eucalyptus, or citronella might help deter the little biters.

You can also get plug in insect repellents for the home.

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Mosquito & Insect Bite Relief – How to Stop Mosquito Bites from Itching

If you are like me, you will still get bitten no matter how many deterrents or insect repellents you use, so you will be looking for effective mosquito and insect bite relief.

If your mosquito bite looks at all infected or swollen, seek medical advice from a pharmacist or doctor so they can provide suitable treatments. They will be able to suggest an insect bite relief treatment relevant to you, possibly an antihistamine, or even antibiotics.

Aloe Vera Plants

Up until recently, using aloe vera plants was my favourite and most effective way to relieve a mosquito bite.

A well established aloe vera plant can be a very worthwhile plant to have in the home for its medicinal uses. Once they have got fleshy leaves of 1cm plus in width, you can break the ends off and use the sap for many calming applications – they can relieve itching from mosquito bites, ease sunburn, and are effective on many other medical uses too. I’ve used the leaves on both sunburn and mosquito bites and have found that they give relief for a few hours before I need to reapply.

However, I’ve recently found something that tops everything for me and has given me effective relief from mosquito bites.

[AD: PR Sample. Moskinto kindly gifted me a couple of samples for an Instagram review. However, I am so impressed with the relief achieved from Moskinto, I wanted to share my thoughts here too, even though it wasn’t requested. Legally I am obliged to mark this as an AD even though they didn’t commission this article. ]

Moskinto Patches

Moskinto is a company that makes patches to stop the itching from mosquito bites. These patches are quick and easy to use and come in a pocket sized case so are perfect to carry with you when you’re out and about. Simply peel off the backing and stick the small “lattice” sticky plaster over the bite. They claim to stop itching within 10-20mins and stay stuck on the skin for 4-7 days, by which time your mosquito bite should have healed.

Now I’ve got no idea how these work as they contain no nasty chemicals but somehow they do! Whilst they didn’t stop my itching totally every time, they reduced it by about 95% on my first bite and 100% on a further two bites. More importantly, I got none of the usual swelling around my bite mark. I couldn’t be happier and highly recommend giving them a go. Available from Moskintouk direct and on Amazon. 

Other Methods for Insect Bite Relief

There are many products on the market that claim to give mosquito bite relief, along with several natural methods and “old wives tales”. My mum would always use calamine lotion or witch hazel when I was a child. Both are still available and used for relief from itching of all sorts, not just mosquito bites. You may also like to try:

• applying an ice pack or ice cube
• gently rub banana skins on the bite
• applying a paste of bicarbonate of soda and water
• dabbing the area with apple cider vinegar
• laying a cut onion slice over the mosquito bite.

Always seek medical advice before trying any new treatment.

Have you found an effective way to deter mosquitos, or perhaps you’re like me and react badly to bites and have been looking for an effective mosquito bite relief? I’d love to hear about your experiences.

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