Protection from mosquitoes? These are your best bets Published: Updated: Tags: Just hearing a mosquito’s buzz can bring back the memory of an itchy bite. While no one necessarily wants to stick their hand in a box filled with mosquitoes, some people are willing to do it to keep you from wasting money on products that don’t work. That’s how Here’s how the testing process worked: The repellent was applied to the arm of a willing volunteer. Thirty minutes later, the volunteer stuck their arm in a cage filled with 200 mosquitoes for five minutes. (Don’t worry: the insects were not carrying any diseases.)