The FDA a few years ago approved an alternative ingredient (I think it was citronella, if not it was eucalyptus) that is just as effective as DEET. I have All Terrain bug spray and it works brilliantly.

Please don't build a bat house. While it's true that bats could eat tons of mosquitoes, the truth is, they don't. They eat larger, slower bugs instead. But, now in addition to the annoyance of mosquitoes, you've invited the danger of rabies into your yard.
I've tried many of these methods and have found them to be ineffective. This year I hired a company to spray the yard every three weeks. They use a chrysanthamum extract which is not toxic to people and animals, according to the EPA. Much to my amazement, tt works really well. For the first summer ever, we are spending all our evenings in the yard and really enjoying the warm weather.

Certain bats DO feed on mosquitoes like the Indiana bat (please provide studies people if you want to argue biology and be credible) but more to the point you won't get rabies from building a bat house.

According to the CDC, across the entire United States only two rabies deaths have occurred since the 1990s. That's from any exposure, not just bats. The treatment is 100 percent effective. You literally have a better chance of being killed sleeping on your couch or a falling coconut (10 deaths per year) than dying of bat rabies.

Chimney swifts eat mosquitoes, by the way. Don't cap your chimney or build a swift house for them.

http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1674/0003-0031(1998)140%5B0280:DOTEIB%5D2.0.CO%3B2

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1017/S0952836902000419/abstract

http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/location/usa/index.html

And ps Pyrethrins (chrysanthemum pesticides) are highly toxic to aquatic organisms.

http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/reevaluation/pyrethroids-pyrethrins.html

Just stand next to me - mosquitoes love me.

Eating lots of garlic and avoiding the color blue on your clothes helps a ton. I manage to only get a few bites a year doing this.

@Home body, I'm like that, too! The human bug zapper.

Pyrethrins (chrysanthemum pesticides) also kill bees and other beneficial insects. Don't think just because it is flower-derived it is not hurting anything.
I love watching bats swoop overhead in the evening, but they don't even put a dent in the mosquitoes in my yard.
A compound from catnip is the ingredient that was found as effective as DEET. For some reason, I have not been seeing a ton of catnip-based products, but I plan on trying the essential oil in a spray to see if it is effective.

Mosquitoes love me too. Often, I am the only one out of a group of people getting bit and nobody believes me that they are out.
The alternative to DEET is Picaridin and I find it works just as well. I just have to reapply it more often.
Bats do eat mosquitoes. Ever since bats moved into my parents' neighbor's attic, the mosquitoes disappeared (unless that was a coincidence, I have no scientific proof).
We use a Mosquito Magnet for the yard (http://www.mosquitomagnet.com/), it runs on propane and works really well (we don't even use the attractant they sell you).
I don't like spraying the yard with chemicals.
Citronella never works for me.
I get bit regardless of the color of my clothing (was wearing grey + green this AM and got bit).
A screened in porch is great too.

Dang I hate when I mess up this bad, I said 2 deaths from rabies since the 1990s. What I meant was PER YEAR. I'm not an idiot, I just type too fast. Well, maybe a little of both.

Dryer sheets rubbed on your skin. SWEAR! Found that gem on Pinterest and used it. Totally bite free!

I worked for two summers at an outdoor theatre company. Bats flew all over all the time. The lights attracted bugs which attracted bats. The summer we had more bats, we had fewer mosquitos. And absolutely no one got rabies.

My city has a bit of a problem with bats getting into older homes. They can shimmy in thru amazingly narrow crevices. I would think building a bat house might draw them away from your house. And eat bugs.

We finally gave up and built a screen porch on our back deck so we can be "outside" in peace. It is worth the cost to not have to struggle with mosquitos from now until eternity. A sleeping porch is really a must in the south.

Since I was asked to provide scientific research in my comment, in 2010 over 6100 people in the US got rabies. http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/pdf/10.2460/javma.239.6.773 I didn't say, "If you buid a bat house, you will get rabies and die." But, rabies is transmitted by bats and it's kind of an unpleasant thing to come down with.
I am also aware that pyrethrins are not harmless, despite being derived from plants. I should have specified that they are not harmful to people and pets (they are harmful to some animals- especially mosquitoes.)

The easiest, cheapest and most effective solution I've encountered so far is limes. Just rub a lime wedge over all exposed skin and you'll stay bite free. It dries quickly, and save for the few pieces of pulp that you can easily flick off it doesn't make you sticky or smelly.

@EK6 please READ the links you post. It said 6,000 ANIMALS got rabies, and TWO humans contracted it. You do realize once the symptoms begin that it's fatal, right? You don't come down with it and survive. Most people have plenty of time to get treated even if they do get bitten, and the treatement is 100 percent effective. I know what you're saying about the pesticide. :)

If 6,000 people got rabies in one year in the United States it would make headlines every day for a month.

Thanks.

Now, maybe a post on poison ivy prevention/cures? (In my current condition, prevention is too late...)

Dryer sheets work wonders - rub it on the skin, tuck one under your collar, etc. The limes tip is also definitely one I'll try too, though!

Bats eat all of our mozzies. I might get one bite a summer, if any. I love to watch the bats dip over the swimming pool at dusk or in the moonlight.. If I go out to throw the ball for the dogs at night the bats will dodge by my head, getting the critters that are out to bite me. That might freak out some people, but I love the bats. They live in our outdoor umbrellas if we don't keep them unfurled.

@rustpatina -- for poison oak/ivy rash, when full blown, it's very comforting to make a baking soda poultice. Make a thickish slurry of baking soda and water (about like wet sand when you make dribble castles at the beach) and dribble/ pack it on your rash (best done over the tub or a sink). Leave it for about 10 minutes and rinse with cool water. It takes the itch out for a bit and dries the blisters.

@Rural And Rueful: Many thanks... I'll def. be trying this.

I also saw on the web that rubbing the inside of a banana peel over the affected areas can be soothing.

Hey, whatever it takes! ;-)

The best thing I've used is mosquito coils. Light one up and put it under the table and you'll be mosquito-free all evening. I don't know if they're common in the US but I'm sure they can be tracked down. Try to find an Australian brand, though: the Asian ones sometimes use questionable ingredients.

@Rustypatina I've used the "juice" of a jewelweed plant for stinging nettle. Made the pain disappear instantly, and I heard it was the same for poison ivy. Double check though before you go trying it. Also make sure it's not endangered in your region before picking some.

All-natural garlic spray has worked wonders in our yard. The smell dissipates very quickly and it's easy to apply. We live in a heavily wooded area and it works very well! The product is called Mosquito Barrier and you can buy online.

I also find mosquito coils effective but assume they're pretty toxic so don't feel great about breathing them. I have a couple from Thailand that seem like they're mostly ground clove and cinnamon that are much more pleasant but I can't evaluate effectiveness since we live in CA where it's pretty dry and they're not a huge problem. So most of my tips are from the "*might* help but certainly can't hurt" perspective:

I read once that citronella, eucalyptus and peppermint were all repellents so when we go camping I make a spray of one or a combination of those essential oils with rubbing alcohol and spray down the tent each night as well as socks and pants if we're heading out in the evening. I also put dryer sheets in our socks and tent as suggested above. I believe it helps, but it certainly can't hurt.

A friend told me if you take a Vitamin B supplement mosquitoes won't like your smell/taste, but have still gotten bitten when trying that.

If you're in serious mosquito territory, I cannot recommend enough a headnet - just a net with a drawstring around your neck. When we went camping in Glacier where the mosquitos hovered in thick clouds, my husband totally laughed at me in my headnet - for about two minutes and then he was begging to trade off for the rest of the trip. Just having them away from your FACE does wonders for your sanity. Challenging to eat in, though!

Oh also? If you have a sadistic bent, I read once that if you see a mosquito already dug in on you, you can stretch the skin taut on either side, which apparently prevents the mosquito from being able to pull out and they keep sucking and die in an explosion of blood. I'm more of a slapper, but just passing that one on if someone wants to verify.

To keep bugs and mosquitoes out of your home.....

I know this sounds strange...in fact, the night I was told about this and came home and filled up Ziplock bags 3/4 full of water and nailed them to the side of our back door and front door, my husband thought I had finally lost it!!! But then it worked!

Insects fly by their radar. They don't rely on their eyesight necessarily. The water bags are "soft". They bounce the radar signal differently than a hard wood surface or a brick surface. The insects then fly away. That's all there is to it! It also works next to the doggie/kitty door. Just hang them near the ground in the lower 1/4th of the doorway on either side of the door.

I've found that a body cream with a strong menthol scent works to repel mosquitoes. I'm a magnet for them and since I've been using the scented cream they have not bothered me.
For a bite remedy, I use a facial clay mask, just a dab, applied immediately after being bitten. It works like a charm to stop the itching. I believe it works by drawing the toxin out.

Mosquito coils! My father was in the Navy and we lived in Okinawa for a couple of years when I was a child. Hot, tropical and a mosquito haven. My parents would lite a mosquito coil in our bedroom during the night to keep them away. Yikes! I just remembered that they also used the now banned insecticide DDT!!!

I agree with the bat comment, whilst your chances of getting rabies are slim bats carry a myriad of diseases some of which are becoming problematic. The hendra virus is something that has caused widespread fear in Australia as it began affecting our horses and only later did we realise it was due to horses eating bat droppings, from there it was transmitted to horse trainers many of whom died after coming into contact with infected horses, and whilst I am not an alarmist by any means I don't think it is something that should be played down either

Some good tips in those various posts - thanks for aggregating. Mosquitoes are a major problem in the Maryland/Virginia area. A local company called Backyard Bug Patrol has an article on their site with a few additional tips for avoiding/preventing mosquitoes in your yard. Thought I'd share:

http://backyardbugpatrol.com/mosquito-proof-your-yard/

Hope it helps.

vitamin B-1 and vicks vaporub (eucalyptus oil)

lemon grass is another good planting, plus it is good for cooking. Fans are good, screen porches and bed nets [if you cant put up a screen porch, plus with a tall pole they're portable. i'm mosquito fodder myself, so these are my tips, no science involved..

lilypond you answered my question i forgot to ask.
we had lunch last week, here in s florida, and they had bags with water hanging on the porch!
I will try this right away, thanks!

I was looking for information about how helpful purple martins are, but instead I found this article about how mosquitos only make up a small portion of their diet. Derp.

Actually, the best tip I can think of is airflow. I feel like mosquitos have a hard time flying and landing when I'm sitting on my deck on a windy evening, but on still nights, I end up covered in bites. Has anyone else had this experience?

I live in a wooded area and must keep doors and windows closed at certain hours of the day so bats and mosqitos don't fly in.

The bats here do not take care of the mosqitos nor are they interested in any of the bat houses that are around the area I live. I like bats but I do not like moquitos so I use a non toxic herbal spray around my windows and doors that keep the mosqitos away. I also use this spray when sitting outside in the warm months. I do keep an eye on any water not draining properly for my potted plants and got rid of the plants that attracted the mosquitos which was a horror to discover how many mosqitos were hiding out under these plants.
I planted catnip which they hate. I also stopped watering plants after 3:00 PM, only first thing in the morning.

You can make your own spray or purchase it, it works really well-
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/safe-mosquito-control.html

This is a product I use in fountains, gutters, anywhere water can pool.

http://www.amazon.com/Mosquito-Dunks-117-6-30-Ounce-Bits/dp/B0001AUF8G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1365082127&sr=8-2&keywords=mosquito+rings
Animal safe, used here in Oklahoma in troughs and livestock ponds, and birdbaths.

We have had several deaths in my area due to west nile virus, so it is of greater importance than before. I also know that it is essential to really walk your property and eliminate any chance of standing water, even a tablespoon is enough to breed. Gutters can be a bad culprit, as are potted plant bases.

More information, although I know this doesn't apply much to apartment dwellers...
http://www-rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/house.htm