Manta:

The gin doesn't work. Someone suggested that to Mrs. F.I. last week. All it did was make her smell good (lol). The NOSEEUMS still bit. We'll try the B complex next time.

Sorry.

F.I.

Sorry to hear that Future Islander....maybe her body chemistry just makes her yummy to those bugs...I have seen it work on many people (having worked in a bar for over a year....that's ON a beach too...that's mostly where I needed the Cactus Juice)

Noseeums are a real problem in Florida. Especially on a humid, no wind day...after a good rain too.

The only that that works is if you run like hell.

How long did it take to stop itching and the bites to go away. I have a ton of bites from boating this past weekend. Thanks

After several years of vacationing in St. John, this is the best advice I can offer...my first time in St. John, on my honeymoon, I stopped counting at 180 bites...I was miserable, as you can imagine:

- VERY important: when you're in your villa at night, keep the windows closed...the little b@stards can fit through the holes in the screens

- take unscented shampoo, deoderant, etc. with you...and don't ever wear any type of perfume or body spray while you're there

- if you're going to be at the beach past around 3 or 4 pm, take bug repellent...you'll need it

Good Luck!

Something to talk about besides beer and ferries for a change! We went in Nov and while they left my husband alone, they went to town on me. I didn't see anyone mention SAND- they live anyplace there is sand so by all means, clean every speck off your sandles and legs when you get to your room to help cut down on them in your room. I tried a local organic spray, came out green and funny smelling but it did nothing at all. DEET, (Off) which I brought helped a little. I don't use perfumed anything on my legs due to sensitive skin so I don't know why they went for me and not hubbie. We met others with the same issue. Much worse this past year than on our previous trips. By all means, stay off the beaches at dusk on or kiss your ankles goodbye.

Nichole,

The same thing happened to me during my first visit to the VI.

Try using some Cortisone cream or Benadryl cream on the affected area.

These creams will definitely take the edge off the itching, if not stop it altogether. You might need to reapply for a few days or after showering.

I live in STT now and I keep a tube of either Cortisone or Benadryl cream close at hand at all times.

As a preventative I carry bug spray with me at all times too. I keep some in my car and in my beach bag and carry the wipes in my purse. Many restuaurants will also have it on hand for their patrons to use.

Hope this helps :)!

I've always used Avons Skin So Soft to repel noseeums and it works great and smells nice too, I know alot of people that use this and swear by it. They begin biting late afternoon and I have been bitten (if it is still) all evening. If I have been at the beach early, also, before the sun really starts to shine I've been bitten. I would apply sun screen first then the repellant.

I just returned from a wonderful weekend at Captiva Island, FL. It was truly paradise but now I can't stop itching. It's three days since I'm back home (Davie, Florida) and I just found out today thru talking to friends that these awful bites I have all over my legs are from noseeums!! My girlfriend whose from Florida said that it will just run its course in two weeks but my legs are getting covered with more bites. My question? Does it take some days for some of the bites to surface or somehow did I bring them home with me? My neighbor suggested that I wash my sheets and now I'm really freaked out thinking they could be in my house and bed? Does anyone know if that is true? Are they like fleas where you have to wash everything that your pet was lying on? Or do these noseeums just fly around and wait to bite you? I would appreciate if anyone could answer these questions because I'm now afaid to go to my bed!! I definitely have a lot more bites than I did Sunday night when I left Captiva and it's now Wednesday night and my legs look like I have chicken pox! Could they have traveled in the car with us and then stayed on my dress when I got home? That was suggested by one of my neighbors. Another neighbor said that they stay under your skin like scabies but I don't think that's true. Any info would help calm my nerves. Thanks!!

Linda

Yikes! I'm interested to replies to your questions also. I don't think I brought any bugs home with me from St. John, but I definitely think I'd tracked them into my rental car and the place I was staying. I'm sure they don't live under your skin like scabies. Washing your sheets hopefully worked.

Are the Noseeums as bad in December as they are in the summer? Or do the seasons not matter to them? Ha!

I was in B.V.I's in May and got bitten to death by noseeums. We went there to buy a boat but after a week of agony and about $40 on creams and sprays decided to shelve the idea. I had about 30bites at any one time.
We live in France , Sth Brittany and we get them here also in the garden. I have cut back hedges and sprayed insecticide n the hope of eliminating them. Considering moving to an apartment or back to living aboard a yacht!

Thanks for asking this question, Dawn, as I have been wondering the same thing. I've been reading about them for a few months now, ever since we starting planning our trip for next year. I couldn't quite get a grip on what NoSeeums are, whether they were sand fleas, gnats or what. I even wondered if they were in the water. There are some little bugs that are in the water and get under you skin and cause welts. Don't know if they are in the caribbean or not, tho. This thread has been very helpful, but I'm still not clear on whether they are flying around like gnats or coming out of the sand, like fleas.

We have a dog that is in and out of the house, and I have to make sure he has his Frontline and Sentinel right on time - not a week late. If there is one flea on him, it finds me and bites me 50 times - while leaving everyone else in the house alone. Misquitoes also love me more than anyone else in the family. I will pack tons of Skin So Soft and Off and Benedryl and whatever else is recommended!

BTW, I'm so glad I found this message board. I have learned so much from it, far more than any other I've found on the internet.

Hey Ya'll i live in southwest florida and have scars all over my legs and feet from those pesky critters

They do come through our pool cage so definatley keep all windows and sliders closed
We get OFF citrinella candles that are in a tin pail
and also skin so soft
usually when they bite us you can feel them biting and they look like a black dot

I have never had them in my sheets even when we keep the sliding glass doors open in the spring

Early morning and 3:pm on is when they come out full force and especially after alot of rain
I would take the candles and bug spray with you
Good Luck

I live in Hollywood Florida and the noseeums can be really bad here, especially at dusk. Sometimes it takes a while for the bites to start bothering you, but I don't think you brought any home with you. Don't worry about the bedding, or your car or being under your skin. Try not to scratch the bites, it tends to make the itching even worse.

Hey Gobucks!! Are you planning a trip to the VI ? Ya'll can stay with Mark!! I'm sure he would'nt mind but he lives on a houseboat. You'd have to watch Branson!...Gail

The VI also have sand fleas, though, which will definitely get into your car and your sheets if you let them.

Yea, we'll be their on Sat
Cant wait
Sorry but we have a place to stay but maybe next time!!!

If anyone else is going that same week let me know

Were meeting C URCHIN on Thur in Red HOOK

GO BUCS

No-see-ums are small biting flies (called sand flies, black gnats, biting midges, punkies, etc. depending on where encountered) that appear during the summer months. These tiny biting insects are barely visible to the naked eye, but their bites can be very painful and annoying. The bite usually starts as a small red welt (1/8” or so) or water-filled blister that itches. Once scratched, the welt can break open and bleed, but the itching usually continues. Allergic or sensitive individuals may develop long-lasting painful and itchy lesions. Generally repellents effective against mosquitoes are effective against no-see-ums as well. Probably more than you ever wanted to know!

up to now i dont think we have noseeums in the U.K., but what we do have is THRIPS also known here as thunder bugs, as they were thought to come when a storm was due,but they are really an aphid of grain and apear at harvests Like noseeums they are so tiny that can only just be seen,but come in thousands. Here in the U.K, we are buying AVON SKIN SO SOFT, like mad people. As a cyclist and mountaineer ,i just went tothe south of Scotland and out of a group of 10, i was the only unbitten by the dreaded midge. THANK-YOU AVON