now,thank god/allah/whoever, it's nearly the end of the season for mozzies, ticks, etc. what have you found works, or not. what is the least messy, does least damage to clothes, whatever?
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 For mosquitos, simply take somebody more attractive to them. They'll get all the bites. I'm such a person, alas.
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 Brewers Yeast tablets taken as a food supplement daily - it is a mix of b vitamins - are said to be good for keeping insects at bay, as one sweats it out through ones pores in the skin, and the mozzies etc do not like it.  You can get these quite cheaply in fairly big tubs from your local health foods store most usually.
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i've tried that and taking garlic as a supplement, don't work for me . i've even tried going veggie, to see if i don't smell of meat (which i love) would stop 'em biting, didn't work! i guess i'm one of those people that they find irresistible! at the moment the only thing that works for me is deet, but i'd like to find something else preferably less toxic. H
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 DEET is the only thing that works for me. Using a chemical is better than blisters and raging itches which sometimes turn into epic infections. Lifesystems do a special Midge formula with smaller amounts of DEET and some herbs. Anything greater than a 50% DEET concentration is no more efective than a 50% one. Hope this helps.
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 Drinking Guinness increases the Vit B levels in the blood. Midgies seem to leave me alone, but not ticks. B******s!
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 apart from deet (horrible nasty stuff) i'm not sure there is anything as it seems to depend upon personal attractiveness to the things. mozzies love the Angel and leave me alone whilst fleas have the opposite effect.
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I agree with Parky about the deet, it is also worth mentioning the higher concentrated it is, the more destructive it is to most plastics (including jackets, rucksacs etc) to deter ticks I spray my clothes with permethrin, seems to work, lots of info around if you google it.
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you also need to consider that the most of these things merely make you unattractive to being bitten. they either won't land on you or they'll take a bite, go yuck!, and naff off. they will not keep the blighters away from you. pyrethrum, and it's derivitves, kill insects. the best source for application to clothes etc is from agricultural suppliers but i think you may well need a licence or somesuch thing to order them. smells horrible in fluid form but this disappears when it is dry - such as fly spray does.
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What have I done wrong . Never been bit before but this year like a driveby for anything that bites. Blisters bites you name it has grazed on me. No ticks yet though ...
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 adopt a pleasant expression then apply two coats of clear varnish to all exposed skin!
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 Long sleeve tops, trousers not shorts and a midge net.
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Lindsay is right - best cure is cover up. Second best it Avon Skin so Soft. Makes minging climbers smell nice too. They are selling it by the container full to the US army and it certainly does the trick fro me. You MUST get it on first before the little Bandits bite though otherwise they just bite harder as they die!
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tried that too, unfourtanatly didn't work for me, i read on a u.s. gov. site that mozzies prefere certain blood types, and that mine ORh neg. is the one they like best! f^*king typical of my luck!
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This study and others pretty much cite DEET as the only thing that works really well.
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Also my impression ed h, but I have not a study to prove it. The mosquitos in the areas I hike vary a lot in numbers. We do a lot of cloudberry picking at the end of july, and the problem is just minor. DEET is the best way to survive. One warning though, never go to this place in midsummer http://www.vuonatjviken.com/ You never would believe the numbers of insects, just breathing is difficult without physical protection (ie: net).
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Never mind think positive! of the hundreds of Midgies varieties there are only about a dozen that draw blood and even then it is only the female of the species! Most midgies don't thus bite humans.
Alas the ones that do make up for their less fearsom cousins.
Bats! now that is the cure! sponsor a bat today! and hope that they eat several thousand per evening!
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typical! just like every girl/female i've ever known - including the missus- they want BLOOD!!! only joking girls. H
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