Q. I am very sensitive to mosquito bites, and mosquitoes LOVE me. If I get one bite, I have ten. A friend suggested a shot glass of tonic water each day. While she was on her honeymoon in a tropical country, a local told her about this.
I tried it, and it works! When I lived in Colorado, I took liquid B complex to ward off mosquitoes, but since moving back to the east coast, only tonic water works for me.
A. Thanks for the tip. We’ve not heard before of drinking tonic water to discourage mosquitoes and we could find no scientific studies to support this strategy.
We did hear about a slightly different remedy from another reader: “I used to get covered with bites whenever we went camping. A friend told me to drink 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in a cup of hot water daily.
“I start a week before departure and while we are camping. I have used this remedy for years and mosquitoes leave me alone.”
Other readers have recommended using coconut oil on the skin, and there is a commercial product called Bite Blocker that combines coconut oil, soybean oil and geranium oil. You’ll find more remedies to help prevent mosquito bites at PeoplesPharmacy.com.
