Installing a wildlife pond is such a romantic idea. Imagine the frogs, the dragonflies, the newts who’ll make it their home. Little did Jo realise that the first to colonise this peaceful area of water would be… mozzies.

The bats are helping with mosquito management (!), but meanwhile, action is called for – and we’ve had cause to put two products that recently landed on our desks through their paces.

First of all, the deterrent. We’ve written about BODYGUARD before (here): a range of spritz-on, gorgeously scented mosquito-repellent that don’t contain nasty chemicals, and which smell so great, you’d honestly wear them as a fragrance. We’ve never had a problem spritzing the original formulation on our notoriously touchy skins, but BODYGUARD have now formulated a version specifically for the whole family (babies aged one year and up), for sensitive and atopic skins, and for breastfeeding and pregnant women.

Jo now keeps BODYGUARD Sensitive in her shed, near the aforementioned pond, for spritzing of ankles in particular – and even though more subtly scented than its other versions, it definitely seems to keep the little blighters at bay. (The scent is described as ‘lotus’, which translates means lightly floral, while the formula has slightly less alcohol, with glycerine added for moisturisation.) And you don’t just have to take our word for it: in the UK, BODYGUARD has been proven to protect against mosquitoes for seven hours, and six hours against ticks.

But occasionally… having hauled a tray up to the terrace for supper next to the pond, Jo is stupid enough/hungry enough to forget to spritz her BODYGUARD… Which has afforded a useful (if annoying) opportunity also to try Moskinto patches, which look like little portcullis-shaped sticking plasters, and (DON’T ASK US HOW!) take the itching right out of a bite within about 20 minutes. You leave them in place to combat itching and swelling, and they happily stay put for a couple of days. (The grid design does attract a few interesting looks, when wearing sandals – mosquitos consider Jo’s ankles to be a particular gourmet treat – but hey, who cares?)

What we will say, as ever: whether on holiday, or dining by a ‘wildlife’ pond, protection is better than cure. It’s just nice to know the cure exists…

BODYGUARD Sensitive/£12.90 – buy here

MOSKINTO/

Prize Draws