Don't Bite Me! mosquito patch

Like a no smoking patch - but for insects

Product

Don't Bite Me! mosquito patch

Promise

A peel-off patch that sticks to your skin and supposedly reduces human odours attractive to insects. The Don't Bite Me! Patch delivers Vitamin B1 topically. The body's natural response to excess Vitamin B1 is to excrete it through the pores, covering up the carbon dioxide that we emit naturally. And carbon dioxide is the thing that insects – particularly mosquitoes – are attracted to.

Performance

There is a debate about whether Vitamin B-1 actually has an impact on mosquitoes at all – but there's no denying it's good for your heart and nervous system. The Don't Bite Me patch gives you far more than the recommended dose but in the interests of furthering the cause of science, WideWorld took the plunge. The big question: does it work?

Verdict

OK, so our test wasn't that scientific. It was a warm summer night and we were in an area where the little blighters are usually poised, tiny pricks at the ready. We applied the patches two hours before going outside (as per the instructions) and... we didn't get bitten. A few nights later and I'm sitting here with bites all over my stomach and legs - so the patch could very well have offered the protection it claims to. We're going to try it again, but initial signs were good. Plus these don't smell as bad as Deet.