I’m tired of mosquitos biting me. If i can’t stop them biting me, the next best thing is to stop them biting me a second time. So what’s the best (safe for me) way to make myself poisonous to mosquitos, and optionally other bugs that might bite me?

    • goldteeth@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      4 months ago

      “Now now, Batman, you should know that when a little pest like you dances with the Bug Zapper… He’d better be ready for a shock!

      • Nikls94@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        I was thinking about the Mosquitoman but since the Swedes call Batman the Läderlappen I’d say we use the Swedish name Mygga and call him Myggaman - drawn to the burning flames of war and he just blasts high pitched sounds from every electric device all night to turn people into rage.

      • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Hmm? Did you say something? I was asleep in my recliner…why is one shoe on? Oh right…I was going to that party…zzzzz

  • HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    I do three things and mosquitos avoid me: I eat a ton of garlic, I take a ton of drugs, and I smoke a ton of weed. My blood is semisolid.

    • mecfs@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      After I got long covid mosquitos stopped trying to eat me lol.

      So maybe sickness helps idk.

    • nublug
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      4 months ago

      Permethrin is toxic to cats; however, it has little effect on dogs. Many cats die after being given flea treatments intended for dogs, or by contact with dogs having recently been treated with permethrin. In cats it may induce hyperexcitability, tremors, seizures, and death.

      fyi

  • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    I think sugar makes you more attractive to mosquitoes. I know from first-hand experience that if you’re always hung over, and you smoke cigarettes, then the city mosquitos will leave you alone. The high country mosquitos don’t give a fuck though, they’ll take whatever they can get. Otherwise you want 97% DEET. Don’t bother with any other stuff, it doesn’t work. 97% DEET! Someone’s going to come along and say “nooo, skin so soft mixed with water repels mosquitoes!”. They’re liars. 97% DEET.

    • scrion@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      DEET works, but is also not exactly healthy and does irritate both skin and mucus membranes. Also, applying DEET over sunscreen reduces the effect of the sunscreen by about 30%. Unless you are in a tropical environment with dangers of Malaria carrying insects, (P)Icaridin is a good alternative:

      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25936273/

      https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/icaridin

      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25522134/

      https://academic.oup.com/jtm/article/25/suppl_1/S10/4990399

      • Fondots@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Purely annecdotally, picaridin has worked as well or better than DEET for me. I barely get bitten when I use it, and I usually get bitten up pretty badly when I use DEET (though less than when I don’t use it)

        I also find picaridin bug spray to not feel greasy and has less odor than deet, which is nice.

        DEET is also fairly toxic to dogs (and cats, but I don’t have one of those) and while it’s not licensed for use on dogs, it doesn’t appear to be toxic to them, which I appreciate as a dog owner (I’m unsure about cats, that info seemed less readily available but I also didn’t put much effort into finding it)

      • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        I never had any success with it. It might work in the cities, and populated areas where the mosquitoes have other easy options, but literally the only thing that has ever worked reliably for me in the mountains is 97% DEET. Even the lesser concentration of it, I think it’s 36%, didn’t work. I’ve tried just about everything trying to get away from DEET, and none of it works reliably. If mosquitoes are bothering me in town it’s usually enough to just wear one of those electric repellers that make dragonfly noises, but I only bother with that if I’m out golfing or something, and they’re not particularly bad there. Wherever they’re out in force, I whip out the DEET. Forewarning though, don’t spray it on polyester because it can melt it, and like you said, keep it away from eyes, nose, and lips. We spray it onto our hand and then wipe it onto our face and ears.

  • slorcher@lemmy.ml
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    4 months ago

    You need to buy Sawyer picaridin lotion. It’s the most effective mosquito repellent I have found. I use it in high alpine environments where you can be swarmed by literally hundreds of mosquitos.

  • Paragone@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    DEET is the only chemical that I know-of which they HATE.

    I use mosquito-netting to keep them away from me.

    I don’t want DEET touching me, at all, ever again.

    No, I’m not a mosquito.

    : p

  • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
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    4 months ago

    See, if you hadn’t wanted it to be safe, you could get all kinds of answers.

    There really isn’t anything you can get into your bloodstream that will kill the mosquitoes without causing some degree of issues for a human. The only question is how severe, and whether or not you can get it without a prescription.

    Since we already have topical chemicals that keep them away relatively well, ingesting or injecting anything would be silly.

  • Junkhead@slrpnk.net
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    4 months ago

    dunno if it affected it or not but i was tripping massive balls on lsd and a mosquito sucked blood from me and seemed to get distorted and not be able to fly right lmfao

  • Xanthrax@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    When you’re out, use DEET and cover yourself. Try to only apply it to your clothes. It’s toxic to humans. Are you out a lot? If so, I’d be worried about ticks and toxic plants as well.

    If you have control of the land around you, make sure there’s no stagnant water nearby. If you want to keep a pond, manage your mosquito population using local species if possible. In some places, you can also report stagnant bodies of water.

    If they’re inside, check your window screens. If you can’t afford that, use a mosquito net and check my first answers.

  • Sanctus@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Get one of those bug lights with a sticky pad. Complete desolation of the mosquito population in my house. Then just never leave your house.

    • emmanuel_car@kbin.run
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      4 months ago

      Anecdotally I have to disagree, for years I didn’t like or eat bananas, and most of my meal bases start with garlic and onion, but I’m always the first to get attacked by mosquitos.