https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 16 May 2026 01:29:40 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mosquitos#post-2264282 Sat, 15 Aug 2015 19:05:59 +0000 Pancakes 2264282@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MenagerieMama: This was just published in the Wall Street Journal this week: <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/burning-question-is-it-safe-to-use-deet-to-ward-off-bugs-1439220228" rel="nofollow">http://www.wsj.com/articles/burning-question-is-it-safe-to-use-deet-to-ward-off-bugs-1439220228</a></p> <p>Maybe it will make you feel better if you do decide to use DEET (tl;dr: DEET is pretty safe, but it's better to spray your clothes than your skin). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mosquitos#post-2264199 Sat, 15 Aug 2015 13:23:38 +0000 MenagerieMama 2264199@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Synchronicity: I will have to look into that! I like the idea.</p> <p>@chopsuey: @Andrea: @blackbird: I think for next summer we'll look into getting the yard treated. It's a mixed blessing that our yard is a disaster right now so it's mostly just for our dogs. I wonder about how safe the treatment is for kids and dogs though? Our dogs eat grass all the time and LO puts everything in her mouth!</p> <p>@blackbird: I think that's what we're going to have to do. It just worries me because LO puts everything in her mouth, so I will be constantly worrying about her ingesting too much. But right, I also don't want a bunch of infected bites on her face!</p> <p>Luckily for our family this is why we need to eventually get back to the PNW to get away from these bugs! Thanks all! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mosquitos#post-2264160 Sat, 15 Aug 2015 11:10:52 +0000 blackbird 2264160@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You won't want my answer. But DEET. 7% solution. I have tried everything. Natural doesn't do shit for either of us. Picaridin works OK but still some bites. 7% DEET and zero bites on either of us. I make sure she gets a bath afterwards. But.....it's the only thing that works. Bug bites that get inflected are worse! I use the deet on myself, and I feel them jump on me, then immediately leave my body! E's not licking her arm or anything at this age, so I'm not concerned </p> <p>We looked into having our yard spray, but for it to be most effective, you have to start in April and it's pretty expensive to go all summer. My SIL had it done and said she couldn't tell if it was that much more effective or not </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mosquitos#post-2264148 Sat, 15 Aug 2015 10:21:11 +0000 Astro Bee 2264148@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My parents' place has always had terrible mosquitoes. My mom found a "recipe" online for a less harsh repellent, suitable for babies. We were going to try it out while we were home with LO, but the weather wasn't very nice, so we didn't spend any amount of time sitting out in the garden. </p> <p>I'll ask her what the recipe was and post it here. Maybe someone can try it. I do know it contained blue mouthwash, and only reputedly needs to be sprayed every month or so. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mosquitos#post-2264147 Sat, 15 Aug 2015 10:20:10 +0000 Andrea 2264147@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would get someone to spray. Our yard was unusable to me because I used to get so many bites (pre-treatment). Now I get zero bites! We never have to use bug spray on ourselves. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mosquitos#post-2264144 Sat, 15 Aug 2015 10:10:03 +0000 chopsuey 2264144@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have a little stream running through the back of our property so we get soooooo many Mosquitos during the summer. We have someone come every 2-3 weeks to spray the property and it's helped so much! My kids have gotten maybe 8 bites between the 2 of them. And most of those bites happened bc someone took them to the stream -.- When it gets close to spray time, I spray the kids with California baby mosquito repellant and burn Mosquito repellant candles too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mosquitos#post-2264136 Sat, 15 Aug 2015 09:45:59 +0000 Synchronicity 2264136@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was also going to suggest looking into having your yard treated, if you are out there frequently enough. I don't know much about it but I've been hearing it advertised a lot this year. </p> <p>Have you tried the Off Clip-Ons? My MIL swears by hers when she is gardening, and their yard backs on to a forest with a stream, so there is a lot of bugs. My dad uses one on his hunting dog to keep the bugs off him, lol. I've never tried them but I like the idea of that better than a spray! Might be worth a shot. Otherwise, I'd use DEET. I can't deal with being under a constant attack! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mosquitos#post-2264134 Sat, 15 Aug 2015 09:45:06 +0000 MenagerieMama 2264134@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@babynumber1: Do you have a bug spray that you like? I'm starting to feel like DEET is the lower risk to all these bites! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mosquitos#post-2264132 Sat, 15 Aug 2015 09:40:01 +0000 babynumber1 2264132@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have to do bug spray. We have woods and it is pretty terrible. LO and I are also very sensitive to bug bites and get huge wells that take forever to go away. There are company's that spray your yard for Mosquitos, maybe that's an option. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mosquitos#post-2264130 Sat, 15 Aug 2015 09:29:17 +0000 MenagerieMama 2264130@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So apparently LO inherited my insane sensitivity to bug/mosquito bites, and sadly our new house seems to house the entire town's mosquito population in our backyard. I set up her kiddy pool yesterday afternoon and in the 10 minutes we spent out there, the entirety of which was me watching for mosquitos and getting them off of her and myself, she has about a dozen bite marks (mostly on her face, poor thing, I put her rash guard on, but she even got a bite through that) and I only have a few less. Luckily they don't seem to bother her like mine do, but she looks horrible!</p> <p>How do you fend off these beasts without DEET? I just don't feel comfortable keeping LO and I covered in DEET, but the "all natural" spray I tried last summer when I was pregnant basically did nothing. I feel like we need mother/daughter bee keeper suits to go outside!</p> <p>We don't have any standing water in our yard, though there are a couple puddles in the alley a little ways from our house. I don't know why it's so bad in our back yard! We're getting it redone (it's a hot mess) so maybe that will help? Does planting lemongrass, etc really help? </p>