Another itch reliever that I forgotten about and works well, is toothpaste - a good paste like Crest - not a gel variety. I got a wasp sting on my hand several years ago, and the itch and burning was maddening! I had heard about the toothpaste treatment and tried it - and it worked. This also works well to dry up cold sores/fever blisters in short order.

As far as repellants go - nothing works very well for me - so I just tend to stay in the house when the bugs are too bad.