Mosquitos

[Monika]

I have already been bitten by mosquitos and it is only June and that in Normandy! And a tick as well! The bites have come up huge (they were huge mosquitos) and I felt quite faint in the night.  O.K. our garden is a mess (a haven for wildlife!) and we are surrounded by forest which has encroached into our garden. What can we do? Will clearing the garden help or can we spray? I am sure it will get worse in August and then we are going to stay for 3 weeks. Help?

[Christine Animal]

We have never had any here before, but in the past couple of weeks we have great big ones too.

[M]

A tic bite? If you didn't find it straight away, be aware of Lyme disease! I contracted it in 2004 from a tic in Brittany - potentailly very nasty if not treated. The tic has to stay on you for several hours for you to be at risk.

M

[Patf]

Last summer husband made some fine mesh ( moustikit) covers for the

bedroom bathroom and kitchen windows which are usually open. He made

light wood frames to fit the windows. This made a big difference, but

you need to keep the internal doors shut. Outside the only prevention

is to cover up, especially in the evening. Pat.

[Monika]

Just saw some advice when I was browsing my medical books: These three tips are from an American Home Remedy Book:

Wash in a weak solutuion of bleach (yuk!), it gives you a few hours peace!!

Take a Vitamin B Compound, starting at least 4 weeks before your holiday (the mosquitos hate the taste of it which will be coming through your skin).

Take Zinc, again start 4 weeks before the holidays, again the Mosquitos hate it.  

Should that not help: once bitten, wet the sting and rub an Aspirin over it!!

I think the tip with the Vitamin B Compound is a sound one because I remember my sons having to take it before they went to Island with the school.

 

 

[andyh4]

Citronella diluted with baby oil and rubbed into the skin will keep them away.  Makes you smell all lemony too.

 

[Wendy]

Monika, mozzies will breed with great enthusiasm in stagnant water. Do you have an old pond or similar in your garden?. It will be a haven for the larvae. If so, drain it and keep it empty. The mozzies here seem to be mutants! never seen them so big. and dont try to pull out a tick as the body will detach and leave the damage-doing head in. Dabbing some kero, or spirit, on it will usually kill it and it should drop away.

[chris pp]

Squitos, love em, great for the bats. Simple solution, cover up as soon as it gets to wards dusk, doesn't have to be heavy clothing just something lightweight and keep out of very shady sheltered places during sunlight hours and put a fan in the bedroom directed at the bed.

 The size of them makes no difference what so ever.

I use ether on tiques, which I get quite frequently. Put some on cotton wool and hold it on the tique for about a minute, this renders it unconscious and it relaxes its hooks, it should then pull out easily, or use the little plastic job that you can buy from the vets to twist it out. You can buy ether from the pharmacy in France, but keep it somewhere safe.

Lyme's disease is only dangerous if it goes undiagnosed when and if symptoms manifest.

 zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.Chris,

 

 

[londoneye]

in similar vein - i was eaten alive last night and am positively demented today - like a flea ridden monkey probably describes it best!

anyone used any good local products for the bites themselves?   or a good spray for deterrent ?   once found a fantastic anti-mosquito roll on thing in greece and bought up practically whole shop worth but sadly all now finished.    i must be especially tasty because even if i wrap myself head to foot i still seem to get munched up.

[Patf]

Does anyone know the proportion of ticks that carry Lyme disease? I

would think it's very low. Pat. ps Londoneye - try Tic'Aouta, in a

spray, about 9-10 euros.

[chris pp]

Does anyone know the proportion of ticks that carry Lyme disease?

It has to be very few given the number of people that actually get it, it's not exactly headline news and it is very easily treated, but it's shock, horror, panic with many people. Far more dangerous to sit in the sun as skin cancer cases climb in France and elsewhere.

On a lighter note, I had one on the end of my ......once, they like the hot spots.

Chris

 

 

 

[Kitty]

Mosquitos adore me - plenty of scars all over my body attest to this.  They don't eat my four children nor my husband but they LOVE me.  So I am an expert at this.

They are flying all over the place in my part of France (33 - Bordeaux region) at the moment.  I find that I can't stop the buggers from biting.  (a) Not sitting out on the verandah in early evening and (b) using an Ikea mosquito net (10 euros and very, very good) at night both help.  But last week one even bit me three times on the leg (through clothes) in a queue at a newsagents in the middle of the morning.

A brilliant product is APAISYL gel, which I buy at the pharmacy in quantity.  It is an anti-itching agent and it works.  I apply the gel on the bites, especially before going to bed.

[tetley]

eat marmite!!! i think it has the vit b in it....eat lots of garlic...and the apaisyl is good for the bites.  Unfortunately you must be V tasty....it is easy for those of us who don't get bothered by the beasties though isn't it? don't mean to laugh at your suffering

[KathyC]

I'm surprised that nobody's mentioned the electric plug in thingys(sorry to be technical.) We have them in every room and when we're travelling, the first thing I do is plug one in as soon as I arrive in the hotel room. As we've not moved yet I'm using the Boots ones but would be glad of a recommendation for the best working French versions, preferably the ones with a bottle of liquid rather than the ones with the pellet thingys(there I go again!)

If you do get bitten I find that there's nothing better than Piriton tablets and I do get a very nasty reaction to bites.

[daryl-et-elaine]

[quote user="andyh4"]

Citronella diluted with baby oil and rubbed into the skin will keep them away.  Makes you smell all lemony too.[/quote]

Even better, add the Citronella to Tea Tree Oil.

Daryl

[Kitty]

Am I right in thinking that tea tree oil may be banned by the EU or is it one of those (European) urban myths?  [8-)]

[daryl-et-elaine]

[quote user="Cathy"]Am I right in thinking that tea tree oil may be banned by the EU or is it one of those (European) urban myths?  [8-)][/quote]

Another EU myth I think Cathy. There was a question raised in Parliament with regard to Tea Tree Oil in cosmetics. You can read it yourself here: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmhansrd/cm050407/text/50407w45.htm

If they do decide to ban it, I'll love to know the wisdom behind such a move. From cold sores, to zits, to mozzy bites, to athletes foot - marvellous stuff. (But I wouldn't recommend it for piles - and yes, I know someone who tried it!!!)

Daryl

[levisiteur]

I agree nets are very good at night.

I find vinegar dabbed on the bite excellent, but only really effective if treated immediately, i.e. before the swelling & itching starts, just the tingle. When I hear that buzzing I start looking.

 It’s only the female before she lays her eggs, that bites.

A French lady told me that faintly touching the bite with a lit cigarette takes the pain away. I’m not up to that one!

 

Levisiteur

[Jonzjob]

What you have to do to keep mossies out of you rooms is to make the sound of a male mossie [geek]!! Easy really. All you do is have a look at this site if you don't believe moi... http://www.brighterimage.ie/products.asp?CategoryID=5 . It works by making th sound of the male and the females, being females, leg it somewhere else, headache pert etra. As said before the female has to have a blood feed before she lays her eggs or they will be infertile.

I think that they only go for bad meat 'cause they very rarely bite me. Could be the amount of blood in the alkool streem too [B][B]?

We have one of the 2000 models in our bedroom. we do get mossies, but not many and when they are about I am not allowed to sleep until it's dealt with !!!

John.

P.S. We also have 2 water buts at the back of our house. I put a couple of drops of citronella in each, plus a drop in one of the drains that holds water. A few drops of washing up liquid does the trick too, because as the larve hang onto the water miscus to breath and soap breaks the miscus and the little perishers drown [kiss]...

[westland]

Patf, just searching for any threads re Lyme disease having just started on a course of anitbiotics due to finding the telltale bullseye rash on the back of my leg which my doctor informed me indicates that I have been bitten by an infected tick.  Can you tell me if the Tic'Aouta spray which you mention is a deterrent or for use after a bite. Thanks.

Also if Chrispp is around at the moment could you let me know any other information you might have about the use of ether.  My doctor also suggested it for the tiny weeny ticks that you struggle to get out even with tweezers, but I have read conflicting info on other threads and internet sites that this cause them to release blood back into the host (not quite the technical words but hope you know what I mean).  My OH always says why go to the doctor if you aren't going to listen to his advice!  But doesn't hurt to get another opinion, or  two or three.

[Cassis]

When we painted our guest bedrooms last year we painted all the ceilings with insecticide paint.  We notice have never had any flies, bugs, cobwebs, mossies or anything else in the guest bedrooms.  Maybe coincidence, but we put it down to the paint.  We don't get mossies but we do get plenty of spiders and flies if we leave the doors or windows open in the rest of the house, but not in these bedrooms.  The insecticide in the paint is supposed to last for about 3 years.  We got this paint from Mr Bricolage but I suppose there are plenty of other outlets selling something similar.  It was just in among all the other wall paints.  It goes on and looks just the same and is odourless.

[Hiver]

Hi Cathy,

I live in the US and want to buy Apaisyl - do you know of a website were I can purchase some? I love that stuff. It's the best stuff for mosquito bites I've ever used!

Thanks,

Tracy

[Athene]

We bought some bite relief cream from our local chemist and as I smeared it onto my legs my ancient white cat came haring over and tried to lick it off! It had vanilla in it and she thought that I was rubbing in perfectly good custard and that was a criminal waste!

[M]

Yes, Chris - Lyme disease is easy to treat, provided it is spotted early. The problems arise when it is not spotted (and only about 50% of those infected develop the tell-tale red raised patch which alerted me in my case) because the spirochete which causes it gets into the central nervous system, and once there it is very hard to get rid of. Then (often some years later) - facial paralysis, heart failure, meningitis and crippling arthritis are some of the possible outcomes. So I wouldn't dismiss Lyme disease so lightly. I think there are about 6,000 cases a year in the UK alone.

M