One mosquito in the bedroom keeps you awake all night. Outside on the terrace it is barely better around dusk.
Our skin spray protects for up to eight hours against mosquitoes and ticks, and works without DEET. Apply to all exposed skin, and again after swimming or heavy sweating.
Are they actually mosquitoes?
This question comes up more often than you would think, so start here. Small dark flies hovering around your houseplants that rise when you water them are not mosquitoes but fungus gnats. Those do not bite, so a skin spray does nothing against them. They come out of the potting soil and need a completely different approach, namely the larvae in the compost. In that case go to get rid of fungus gnats.
Rule of thumb: if the insect is at your plant, it is a fungus gnat. If you hear it by your ear at night and have bumps in the morning, it is a mosquito.
Do fungus gnats bite people?
No. Fungus gnats have no biting mouthparts. They cannot get through skin and carry no disease. What people sometimes take for a fungus gnat bite is usually a reaction to something else, or a bite from a real mosquito they did not see.
Why do mosquitoes find you in particular?
Mosquitoes home in on the carbon dioxide you exhale, on body heat and on the scent compounds on your skin. That scent is largely determined by the bacteria that live on your skin, and it varies a lot from person to person. It explains why one person at the table gets drained and another notices nothing. Movement, dark clothing and alcohol in your blood raise the odds a little further.
Where do they come from?
From standing water close to the house. A water butt, a plant saucer, a blocked gutter, a bucket behind the shed, a pond edge or even an upturned lid is enough. A mosquito larva needs only a thin layer of water and is fully grown in about a week. Emptying the saucers and flushing the gutter once a week removes most of the next generation at source.
When do you apply it?
Mosquitoes are most active at dusk, so just before sunset and early in the morning. Apply shortly before that, not once you are already being bitten. Wear long sleeves and long trousers in the evening, which helps more than most people expect, and use the spray on whatever stays exposed.
What about ticks?
The same spray works against ticks, which matters as soon as you head into grass or woodland. Check your skin afterwards anyway, especially behind the knees, the groin, the armpits and behind the ears. A tick removed within a day carries far less risk.