I'm travelling to India at the end August and am wondering does anyone have any tips on avoiding mosquito bites. Is DEET really as effective as it claims on the bottle? Are there any good natural alternatives - I don't really like the idea of smearing extra-strong chemicals on my skin the whole time if there is an equally good natural alternative. Also I've heard that taking various vitamins (vitamin B complex, vitamin C?) for some time before travelling will help - is this true?

Thanks for your help!

You go should go ahead with all those vitamins as they sure are good for you ---and good for all those mosquitos that will feed on you.

You can help avoid mosquito and midge bites by taking vitamin B1 up to two weeks before travelling. It omits an odour through the pores, not detectable to humans, but the insects recognise you as vegetable rather than human!
Take 300-500mg of B1 daily and a good multivitamin. Health food shops sell the best ones even though they are a little more expensive you take less.
'Herbal Insect Repellent' by Bioforce is also good at deterring them. It contains neem and essential oils. (www.neemcare.co.uk)
Also if you get Lactobacillus Acidophilus a capsule that contains healthy bacteria, this can stop you getting upset stomaches when your body gets used to the change in food, water etc.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Orla:
I'm travelling to India at the end August and am wondering does anyone have any tips on avoiding mosquito bites. Is DEET really as effective as it claims on the bottle? Are there any good natural alternatives - I don't really like the idea of smearing extra-strong chemicals on my skin the whole time if there is an equally good natural alternative. Also I've heard that taking various vitamins (vitamin B complex, vitamin C?) for some time before travelling will help - is this true?

Thanks for your help!

---

Deet is meant to be pretty effective as I understand it. Check the % of deet that the products you look at contain.

And of course check that it is medically safe for you with that % of deet.

Aaron

AardvarkTravel.net
The world's leading travel search engine and forums
http://aardvarktravel.net and http://aardvarktravel.net/chat

When I was travelling in India and Southeast Asia, I tried to make sure to wear light long sleeve shirts and pants or skirts. I used whatever local mosquito sprays were available when not wearing long shirts or pants. They were effective and not as harsh as a high percentage DEET spray. Don't forget to spray your feet, I got some nasty bites before I remembered all the time to spray them.

Also, don't forget those daytime mosquitos that carry dengue fever.

www.blurrytravel.com

Hi,

You can eat garlic regularly ( if you like it! ) before you go, and carry a clove of garlic around your neck ...

this repels mozzies as they hate it even more than they hate us!

I used it in Southern Turkey (around my Neck) and had hardly any bites!

At least it's a good back up

Happy Trails

Philip

'Just land the damn thing'

Buzz Aldrin to Neil Armstrong, July 1969

Photos of 'Las Fallas' Festival 2004 from Valencia, Spain in March

there's a new type of clothing available, from Ex Oficio i think, that has a type of repellant built into the fabric that lasts through 25 washings. It's quite expensive though...something like 80 USD for a shirt.

if u land in india.and need any help let me know.i have travelled extensively around india.....hope i could be of some help

I was recently out in Spain visiting the folks and I got talking to some of the locals about this very topic as I was getting eaten and they weren't. All of them from young to old suggested drinking Tonic Water of all things! With or without the gin, vodka or other choices of spirits. My mum has given it a go and reckons it does help. We think it must be something to do with the quinine in it which is also used in the cure for malaria.

Although I agree chemicals are probably not too good for the environment.
DEET is the best way to go. Use at least 50% spray, I used this throughout my travels and will use it again.
Remember your ankles, as the mozzies love to bite you there in the night !!

i had deet on in both russia & japan & i still got bit all over by the little buggers...i had a family feasting on 1 part of my leg over night...lovely! lol

i have been away since then & have taken oudorless garlic pills for 6 mths before i travelled..I also wear teatree oil because that is supposed to help repell them along with insect repellent & inscet repellent in my after sun...

i got bit in florida this year & my legs swelled up...a first aider thought i had venemous spider bites they were that bad...

going to try other things on my next trip

If you don't want to poison yourself with Deet try two thirds baby oil to one third disinfectant such as Dettol (though you could try T Tree Oil as it might work). Leave some room in the bottle so that you can give it a good shake each time you use it. Just smear it on paying particular attention to ankles and exposed areas of feet. Little things like midges and sand fleas can't get through the oil and the bigger mossies hate the smell of the Dettol. You can up the proportion of Dettol to oil if desperate but you might start to repel humans too!