Mosquitoes hate Marmite. Well, there's a surprise. If you want to stay bite free on your next rip abroad, health experts are now telling us that Marmite holds the key.

Dr Martin Schweiger, a public health consultant in Communicable Disease Control at the Health Protection Agency regional laboratory in Leeds, revealed his secret weapon for the launch of a new advice leaflet for travelers. He told the Leeds Co-op Travel to make sure you pack a jar of Marmite.

"I can't give you an academic, scientific reason - but people who eat Marmite report getting fewer mosquito bites," says Dr Schweiger.

"It's nothing to do with spreading it on the skin - but the effect of eating it could be linked to the Vitamin B1 Thiamin that it contains. This theory is supported by the rise of malaria in countries where staple rice has been de-husked and the thiamine-rich outer coating is discarded.

Marmite aficionados have long known this jewel of a tip and have been bite free for years, but many suspecting it is the Vitamin B12 that wards off the mossies.


A Marmite spokesman said: "You either love it or hate it and mosquitoes are clearly not in the former category."

Seamus Waldron, from I Love/Hate Marmite.com suggests that "Eating Marmite on your travels repels mosquitoes, but attracts ex-pats, so make sure you pack a large jar."