Believe it or not, using fabric softener sheets works great as a mosquito repellent. Just take a fresh sheet, and gently rub it across any exposed areas of skin (arms, legs, neck, and face if they're extremely aggressive) and the chemically based scent of the sheet will keep the bugs off of your kids.

My friend has been using this method for years, and it's never failed him yet.

My friend has an aunt who works out on a farm, and she swears by vinegar. Apparently it does work. My friend has a blood-sucker problem here too, but not when he wiped himself down.

Try adding members of the mint family to gardening, especially pennyroyal: That is an especially good herb for repelling biting bugs. There is one thing, though You may want to keep it in containers so it won't take over everything else.

Use Bounce dryer sheets. Rub them on the clothes a bit then stick the sheet in your pocket with most of the sheet hanging out. Sheet smell keeps the mosquitos away and you smell nice. My neighbors even started using it, so now we have 12 kids running around the cul-de-sac with bounce dryer sheets hanging out of thier pockets.

Another simple to control mosquito is that light a candle in a water container and keep the room dark and all the mosquito's will fly to the candle and will burn themself and fall in the water container.