Don't use "Off" or any other chemical toxin on your skin because the absorption and damage to organs from these chemicals is more than most people realize -- i.e. the effects can even show up years later as the body's system deteriorates as a result. Use a chemical-free natural repellant or make your own concoction. I'll tell you at the end how to make a topical repellant. DEET products are toxic and have been known to produce terrible symptoms to children. Catnip is not toxic and it actually works more effectively than DEET by scientific studies...it just can't be patented like DEET. Some people have had success with a variety of foods and herbs in their diet in order to deter insect bites. Garlic is one. Even the odorless Kyolic (garlic) can ward off insects. Brewers Yeast seems to help some people. Also, you possibly could have success with eating fresh Basil or Thyme or Oregano or Mint leaves or Cinnamon. Cayenne with any of these could help. Eating some freshly ground cloves will probably help. Herbs and foods which handle parasites will probably help. B-vitamins, especially B-1, could help. As an aside: B-1 is good to take if one is having nightmares...it stops the dreaming. MSM (sulfur) as a supplement could help. You might try eating the fresh rind of an organic lemon or lime also. A healthy and balanced diet goes a long ways towards reducing insect bites. Lots of green leafy vegetables are important. Very little sugars or refined starchy foods in the diet will help. Poor diets without a whole host of nutrients and minerals sets a body up with a weaker system. Often, in nature, pests are attracted more towards a compromised body system. I personally notice that I am less bothered by mosquitos or bugs than some other family members (even though I am outdoors and in the woods much more often), but my diet often includes many of the above mentioned items. Whereas, other bitten family members do not include many of those items in their diet. There are probably many, many herbs and foods other than what I have listed which ward off insects or their bites or the effects of their bites. I think that by adding lots of variety to your diet with assorted and diverse spices and produce can help provide "missing links" of minerals and nutrients. This, in turn, will help to deter insect bites. If you read my answer about fertilizers, it will give you insight on how most vegetables are deficient in many minerals and nutrients...after all, the three main synthetics plus the probable heavy metals of chemical fertilizers deplete the chance for plants to draw all the available nutrients. Here are some plants and herbs which repel insects ranging from worms to aphids to ants to mosquitos, depending upon the plant. Bazil, borage, henbit, lamium, marigold, nasturtium, pennyroyal, peppermint, rosemary, rue, sage, spearmint, thyme, lavender, tansy, onion, chives, lemongrass, catnip, lemon balm, osage (horse apples), juniper berries, ginger, garlic, cayenne, hot peppers, mustard, cloves, oregano. There are more. Some of these plants if consumed, would be better as a tea or perhaps only some parts of the plant used. Some edible flowers are nasturtium or garlic or chives or clover or mustard or oregano. There are others. Neem oil is a topical. Here is a home-made concoction to help keep bugs off when you are outdoors or in the woods. Get some cold-pressed organic olive oil and pour about a half cup into a bowl. Break open some liquid Kyolic gelatin capsules (4 or 5 will probably do it). Add about one teaspoon of orange oil. Stir and mix the three together. Apply to your body when "braving the bugs". This works extremely well for me. You will find more on orange oil by searching this site or by clicking my name. Another home-made recipe to help ward off mosquitos: Get a spray bottle. Pour in about 2 ounces of vanilla extract (not the vanilla artificial flavoring) and about two ounces of orange oil. Add water. Shake and spray on yourself and clothes to keep mosquitos from biting you. Of course, don't spray in your eyes. It has a refreshing aroma to it also. You don't feel sticky or oily from it. By the way, using Bt (a bacteria) on your yard or garden or where there is water will handle the mosquito reproduction and also will handle other bothersome pests which may damage your plants. You may want to click on my name or go to the gardening area or pest control for more information on handling harmful insects. Spraying the yard or garden with a tea made from a couple garlic bulbs will chase away a lot of bugs. Add some habanero pepper tea for an added effect and it may even keep animals out of the garden. Some people throw in a little ginger. Of course if you are spraying the yard, an ounce of liquid kelp (seaweed) and an ounce of molasses per gallon of water will help on the insect control longterm and feed your plants. A manure based compost tea (about a cup to a gallon) really helps because of all the beneficial microbes which help to handle the pests and also they help feed the plants. Taking a bunch of dead bugs, grinding them up into a tea, and spraying this on the yard will deter bugs. Neem oil is a topical, but it is very effective at spraying and handling bugs and diseases on your plants (and fungus on your skin). However, some parts of the neem tree are edible and the twigs and leaves are often used for things such as brushing the teeth, etc. A native from India ofr the region will give you first-hand information. Just by applying cornmeal to an area of soil, it not only will handle detrimental fungus (unless you are using chemicals which kill the beneficial microbes), but will handle certain types of insects. Cornmeal has an anti-fungal property. For example, placing on a mound of fire ants, it tends to knock out their food source... ...in short, they feed on the fungus of the larvae, but the fungus is thwarted by the cornmeal. By University tests, just a concoction of a mix of aerobic and anaerobic microbes (fungus and bacteria) performed better than some pesticides and repellants. I am not suggesting that a person dowse themselves, but it goes along with the basis for good organic healthy soil which naturally handles pests such as insects and diseases and weeds. A sidenote: The mosquito population in a Florida county actually increased after being sprayed with chemical pesticides... ...the pesticides had killed the natural enemies of the mosquitoes. There are hundreds of different natural concoctions which a person can use to deter bugs.

Peppermint - Repels Ants a whole lot. Bananas - Attract mosquitoes

Actually, garlic is very healthy indeed, preventing not only insect bites but acne and a variety of infections. If you are worried about the smell factor, odourless garlic tablets/capsules are available.I've also been told that eating some fresh parsley after the garlic neutralises the odour. Drinking a little tonic water each day will keep the mosquitos off you, because of the quinine it contains. However I am not sure that's particularly good for you.

I have 95 % confident level that eating tabasco and hot sauce may also repel bugs.

I was told that Vitamin B- anything- 6,12 any of them will work. It produces an oder on your skin that insects ecspecially misquetoes don't like,.... it's like a natural repellent. Also I have heard that Avon skin so soft works too!~! Good Luck!!

Don't eat bananas.

Vitamin B1 for mosquitoes. It works like a charm.

Marmite.

garlic, milk, salt, olive oil, onions, orange and lemon peels, apple cider vinegar, vanilla, and vitamin B2.