Quote: Originally posted by TethersEnd on 05/2/2013
Quote: Originally posted by longcol on 05/2/2013
Quote: Originally posted by TethersEnd on 05/2/2013I've taken my mozzie magnet wife to banks of Dordogne many times in August and she was always happy to return
Same here - one mozzie in a twenty mile radius would usually make a bee line for our lass.
Camped at both Soliel Plage and La Bouysse on the banks of the Dordogne half a dozen times with no problems.
Worst problems have been when we've camped near still water - she nearly gets etang alive.
I think that as the Dordogne has so many fish the larvae get eaten
Thinks it's because the Dordogne is fast flowing and mozzies prefer stagnant water for breeding.
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We went to the Dordogne last May and the mozzies were horrendous, very nearly ruined the holiday as you couldn't even sit outside the tent, spent a fortune on candles, creams etc but we still got badly bitten. Everyone did . The site owners sprayed the hedges but nothing made a difference. It was totally gutting and has made us reluctant to go back , however it had rained previously and so maybe it is to do with that and at other times it would be ok ? Just luck I suppose !
Most likely to be a flooded ditch after heavy rain where they breed - they don't breed in flowing rivers.
Also there are a couple of river channels I can think of close to Soliel Plage / La Bouysse where the river gets cut off in summer to make stagnant pools but far enough away from the sites not to have any effect
We got bitten to death in June last year in the Dordogne, and I normally don't get bit at all. We were camped by the river though, and the campsite owner said they hadn't had them for a few years previously.
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I've been bitten really badly in the past in the France. Terrible reactions to the bites made me swell up and the itching would drive me Mad!
Ha ha - no more! Last year I started taking Brewer's Yeast tablets a few weeks before we went. I also took anti-histamines every day of our 5 week trip to France. In addition I used some anti mosquito wipes we bought in Lidl, along side the Skin So Soft and a very pungent cream I got in Boots !!!! Overkill? Maybe - but I didn't get bitten much and if I did I then zapped the bite with a little electrical zapper thingy.
No long lasting agony - maybe the answer is don't rely on just one thing - use EVERYTHING YOU CAN LAY YOUR HANDS ON!
We camped near Sarlat in August last year and found there were very few mosquitoes at the campsite which was not by a river. We went canoeing and noticed more mozzies by the river but still relatively few.
I work for a travel health/ international health charity which provides advice to patients travelling internationally often to mosquito ridden areas. Try using a repellent with 50% DEET and reapply frequently! You sweat DEET off more quickly in hotter weather. Wear light coloured clothing and pay particular attention to ankles, wrists & the neck area. Consider wearing loose long sleeved clothing and covering up as much of your skin as possible.
Put sun cream on first and then use a 50% DEET spray over this - not the other way round.
You can also consider spraying Permethrin (sold under the name Bug Proof) onto socks and other clothing (not suitable for children). It acts as a contact killer for mosquitoes & ticks. One treatment lasts for 2 weeks with washing in between.
Hope this helps!
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if it were that easy to stop the mozzie then there would be no need for all the pre during and after lotions creams sprays tablets etc and no need for the candles and the lights etc they are there and you need to cover up at night if you have a problem my wife has various levels of medication because she comes up huge with the bites indeed, we all get bitten, it how we respond that makes the difference some of us respond dramatically others very little but we all get stabbed - not bitten there is a suggestion that blood type o people are attacked more often but my wife and I are both o she reacts badly and I don't