Am on STX at the moment and was recently on STT and the bugs seem to love me even with DEET repellent at the strongest strength. I found that Avon Skin So Soft works well as they seem to have stopped biting me. Apparently taking vitamin E can work as well.
Emma

We are leaving in the morning for camping at Cinnamon Bay, so are also a bit curious. I thought that I would give you some info on Deet products. Once therr is 23% deet by content that gives you maximum protection. Any higher concentration just prolongs the effectiveness. The maximum effectiveness is 6 hours with 50% through 100% deet. Therefore buying greater than 50% is of no advantage. 23% gives about 1.5 hour effectiveness. Deet is the only product tested that has been shown to be effective based on government reports. But Deet should not be worn under clothes. It degrades some fabric.

please let us know how you find things, bug wise

I can't remember exactly how I found these bits of information, but I would guess entering a search engine like Yahoo with deet as your desired search would bring up a USDA site.
With regards to your question, as they say about getting to Carnegie Hall: "Practice man, practice" 😉
I'm a Professor of Biology at the University of Texas and have done a bit of research on insects.

Greetings all.....

Here is a cut-and -paste from some earlier post on the topic....
Andrew

Author: Brad (---.tnt1.st-thomas.vi.da.uu.net)
Date: 11-27-03 14:10

Everything you always wanted to know about mosquitoes (what attracts them, how long they live, etc...):

http://science.howstuffworks.com/mosquito1.htm

DEET-based repellents work well.

There's a DEET-free alternative (all natural, with coconut, soybean, and geranium base) alternative called Bite Blocker that you can get online (they ship to St. Thomas! Yay! They realize we are indeed US and will ship to PO Boxes! Glory be!) I've asked a local store to carry it, and they have ordered some. I'm already halfway through my bottle- the stuff works great.

Avon's Skin So Soft works for a few hours, but doesn't touch the repellant properties of DEET or Bite Blocker.

Citronella candles work to some extent, but I personally dislike the way they smell. The theory goes that mosquitos are attracted to a combination of color (hence gravitating towards black/dark clothing), smell (sweet toiletries, chemical compounds on the skin and breath), CO2, heat and movement. Thus, any candle might attract them since they give off CO2 and heat.

There are several studies about gadgets like the MosquitoMagnet (which works off a propane tank and sprays CO2 in the air) and handheld devices that mimic the sound of a male mosquito (apparently abhorrent to a pregnant (biting) female mosquito).

I've ordered the Sonic Web (hard to get- having friends stateside ship it to us- sometimes people just *cannot* comprehend "We are the US, too! Only USPS will get here! Please please ship to a PO box!"). We'll see how that works.

Here's what *hasn't* worked for me: (all suggestions from locals)

Get a tan
Eat more meat
Take B12 (a waste of 10 bucks at Kmart)
Eat tons of garlic (repels humans, but not mosquitos!)
Rub vodka on your skin
Rub vinegar on your skin
Eat lots of vinegar on your salads (ugh)
Just wait- you'll become immune! (hah!)

a: apply don't bite me lotion late in the afternoon, (this is critical! late afternoon) and
b: once they bite'cha, you can apply the same companies don't itch lotion. Both are available at Sunset Pharmacies, mine in Red Hook recommended it, and it's on the counter right next to the Pharmacist. It does NOT contain DEET, which I'm not sure is too good for us humans.

It's called Bug Off and is produced by Caribbean Lifestyles, Inc. The label claims it was fromulated and developed by a pharmacist chemist, with the tag line - " we strive to make living here even better than it is." Amen to that.

Author: Andrew McGregor (---.vanion.com)
Date: 11-20-03 23:41

Greetings All....

You know, I never considered the blood type thing before.....After living on a boat as a child, my mother always gave us kiddies a 1000mg vitiam E gell cap every morning.
She said that it produces an oil on the skin that the critters just dont like.

I must admit to this day, I dont have skin problems, and the critters, including the dreaded "biting fly" never bugged me. If I was sweating or had just come out of the water, they might visit for a short while, but never stayed.

I have no idea is this works for others, but I still carry a jar of them when I visit there, and I was just there the last half of Sept. And it worked then too.

I always thought that it was infared heat seeking sensors that they used to find us with?. Hate all the other stuff, sprays, lotions, candles, etc.

Anyone else ever try this?

Andrew

i wasn't questioning how you got your information. i was asking you to let me know via a posting how you found conditions once you return from the cinnoman bay campgrounds.

again thanks in advance

andrew
thx for the earlier postings

Darn it Mark.....

I wanted to un-post everything......now I have to call back my therapist
and explain it all over again.....

No problem, did'nt understand your post.....hmmm.....not the first
time for me......a repeat offender.....

Have a happy trip Mark, I always enjoy the visitors to the board.

Andrew