1. Relax.

The mosquitoes primary means of finding food is via CO2 from our breath and the more we produce the easier we are to find. Therefore if we don't exercise we can lower our metabolic rate and become less visible during their feeding times.

2. Be fashionable

Mosquitoes fly close to the ground and if they don't detect your breath or scent then they'll look for you against the horizon. Camouflage during dawn and dusk means not standing out like a bold silhouette so anything that stops you appearing as a solid block of dark colour will do. That could be an excuse to keep wearing your bright hawaiian floral outfit!

3. Stay in the breeze.

Like most things that fly the smallest breeze makes a big difference and mosquitoes are so tiny that the slightest breeze is a real problem for them. Staying in the wind works well and if there's no breeze then an electric fan can create an effective solution.

4. Avoid Dusk and Dawn

The main feeding times for mosquitoes unfortunately coincides with the most popular times for a beer and alfresco dining. Choose your venue wisely.

Mosquito Nets

These are highly effective and you can purchase pop up tents to go over beds.

Have you worked out why you're likely to get bitten at night? Before bed most of us will have washed off any insect repellant and do not apply more. In a closed room there's little or no breeze to hide us, there's a higher concentration of CO2 to locate us, the limited choice of who to bite and so whatever the bedsheets don't cover is a meal opportunity for the mozzie.

Wear loose fitting clothing.

Covering your skin is not always going to work since it needs to puts distance between mosquitoes and your skin.

Cotton socks are skin tight so not enough on their own whilst some Sports shirts allow the skin to breath and are also woven tightly enough to prevent mosquitoes bites from penetrating.

Creams

Most of us have tried different varieties and there's a chance you've discovered what works in the locations you visited.

There are more than one variety of Mosquitto so naturally there's a selection of barrier creams and the local pharmacy will have the popular local brands.

Creams containing 50% DEET (diethyltoluamide) have repeatedly shown to be effective. It's not fully understood why but one theory suggests that it interferes with and suppresses the Mosquitos appetite and they don't bite if their not hungry.

The lotions potency wears off and they also come off in water, with our sweat and when skin rubs on clothing. Anywhere missed is a potential dining experience for the mosquito.

Perfume

These usually attract attention from insects and some more than others and also includes soaps, shampoos and deodorants!

Citronella, lemon, lavender or any natural scented plant hides our own scent and make us less interesting to biting insect. However the camouflage often fails in a gentle breeze.

Being surrounded by the plants doesn't really work since you frequently need to rub the leaves to promotes their scent so it's far simpler and more effective to purchase and rub the oil on your skin or obtain a spray.

Candles often smell great but the warmed scents rise leaving your legs and feet exposed.

Foods

Eating garlic, spicy curries, smoking and generally eating any food will affect the scent of the air that we exhale but that doesn't appear to deter the predators. The scent of food attracts a variety of curious creatures looking for a meal.

To discover how much you would actually need to consume for it to come out of your pores isn't really a healthy experiment for anyone to try!

Alcohol

This doesn't really make a significant difference apart from our impaired ability to react or even spot mossies. It raises our metabolism which increases the amount of carbon dioxide we exhale and alerts the mossies to our location. However we don't tend to drink alone and one person in the crowd not drinking alcohol is not going to make much difference in avoiding being bitten.

Tonic water was once thought to be a preventative treatment for malaria although it now transpires it was more of an excuse to have a drink every day. There's not enough quinine in modern day tonics to be effective and no guarantee comes with any anti malaria defence.

To Stop the Itch

This is often the bodies first line of defence to draw your attention to the fact you've been bitten. The bodies alert isn't a sign for you to start scratching and further enrage the wound but to simply move away from the location and not get more bites.

To make it stop itching use ice or even better antihistamine cream, such as loratadine, since it's your body's own defence system that causes the swelling and itching as it attempts to seal the wound. It's also trying to defend against the mosquito's saliva which acts as an anticoagulant.

Calamine is another cream that will stop the itch.

Similar to ice you can also cool the skin using Menthol, Aloe Vera and Toothpaste. Being frank just use ice it's cheaper, often quickly available and far more distracting and less fussy than the others.

When to get emergency medical help

We're not joking.

Dial 112 for an ambulance immediately if you or someone else has symptoms of a severe reaction and Emergency treatment in hospital is needed in cases such as:

wheezing or difficulty breathing,

a swollen face, mouth or throat

nausea or vomiting

a fast heart rate

dizziness or feeling faint

difficulty swallowing

loss of consciousness

If you can't relocate then you could trap those bugs that are in you location.

UV Lights with electric zappers are quite effective but they also attract them to you from quite a distance away.

You could simply get to like spider webs!

A simple home made trap is explained in this link where a plastic drink bottle containing Sugar, Yeast and water is quite effective.