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I'm living close to the sea, so during the summer I'm bothered and attacked by many mosquitos and was wondering what kinds of repellents have been proven successful to get rid of these little critters. Are the candles any good?

Update:

Thanks for the answers provided so far. Maybe I should add that we have them indoor. One thing I don't wanna do is putting these mosquito nets in the windows, because they would destroy our beautiful sea view.

We sleep under a mosquito net, so that is perfect. But I'm looking for something for the 3-4 hours before going to sleep, sitting on the couch and reading.

Maybe I should also add, that I'm living in Spain, so if you recommend specific products they most likely are not available here. But I can try to find something similar.

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Not sure how well it works (haven't had a chance to use them, yet) but the Off Clip-on Mosquito Repellent seems quite convenient. You can clip them on and keep mosquitoes away while you work in the yard, this way you can't mistakenly wonder out of the protected range of candles, and you don't have to spray chemicals on your skin (that wear off as you sweat anyway).

WebMD says

"Mosquito traps, a relatively new product, may be the answer. They work by emitting substances that biting mosquitoes find attractive -- such as carbon dioxide, heat, moisture, and other mosquito-friendly byproducts. They attract, then trap or kill female mosquitoes. When placed strategically near breeding spots, "they have knocked [mosquito] populations down,""

Placing one of these Mega-Catch™ Alpha Mosquito Traps a little way from your deck or patio, should lure the mosquitoes away from you and into the trap.

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  • My wife uses those Off clip-on things quite a bit in the yard, and they do work well during the day. When the mosquitos come out in force at night though they don't work quite as well.
    – Eric Petroelje
    Aug 14 '10 at 13:24
  • Do these solutions also work inside or are they bad for your health if used inside a semi-closed environment (windows are open)?
    – znq
    Aug 14 '10 at 15:21
  • @Stefan Klumpp: The Mosquito trap is listed for indoor-outdoor use, so I imagine they would be OK for an enclosed porch or patio. Though I would rather put it away from where I was to draw the mosquitoes away from me.
    – Tester101
    Aug 14 '10 at 21:09
  • I sent them an e-mail and they told me, that they only have it for 110V. In Europe we have a 220-240V system :-( Thanks for your answer anyway. That was so far my favorite system.
    – znq
    Aug 15 '10 at 22:59
  • @Stefan We travelling Americans have been dealing with that for years! You can use a "travel" step-down transformer to move the 220V to 110V like this one available from Amazon.com. It can handle up to 200 watts which should be good enough to handle the 12VDC adapter it comes with. The adapter may even be able to handle 220V with just a plug adapter - you would have to read the specifications on the adapter to be sure, though.
    – Jared Harley
    Aug 15 '10 at 23:33
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I have two citronella torches out on my deck. They provide a nice ambiance and I guess maybe they help a little, but we still get eaten up if we don't spray ourselves (or the yard).

I've been thinking about some sort of mosquito netting to cover the entire deck area so we don't need the chemicals...

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Cutter Backyard Bug Control works pretty well. It will clear out the mosquitoes for a couple of weeks but of course it is a chemical. Just attach it to your hose and spray your yard. The mosquitoes will be gone in the morning.

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Mosquitos are repelled by lemon-scented items, so another possibility would be to plant lemon balm, lemon verbena or lemon eucalyptus around the doorways and under windows.

It's also worth looking around for areas of standing water, to make sure that there aren't prime breeding areas close to your home.

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Try taking Vitamin B1 (thiamine); there's something in there that, I'm told, female mosquitoes do not like and steer clear when you have enough of it. Many people swear by this, some swear at this, so your mileage may vary, and it is not an instant-on solution when it does work.

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  • 1
    The following paper reports on a 1969 clinical trial. I don't have the paper or abstract, but the title indicates that taking vitamin B1 did not protect against mosquitos. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4389912
    – Vebjorn Ljosa
    Aug 20 '10 at 11:39

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