Mosquitos, mosquitos, mosquitos :(

waterguy · Post by **waterguy** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 9:35 am

Theu are the best thing I have ever seen sitting it a tree stand for hours in swamp and never even have one buzz around your ears let alone get bit

nothintolose · Post by **nothintolose** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 9:54 am

Is it possible ya'll could buy them (the butane things) on St. Thomas or find a sporting goods store on STT that could have them ordered for you when you get there?

California Girl · Post by **California Girl** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 3:28 pm

Hi all... I'm back finally!! This all sounds so familiar! Like when we were there last May. Jorge, I'm wondering if you could order the butane online and have it shipped to Pia?

Amy · Post by **Amy** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 3:38 pm

Forget what I said before about the mosquitos not getting to me--today I am a mass of welts! I think I got attacked when I was rinsing off the snorkel stuff last night, and they were bad again today at Francis.

Jorge, you gotta figure out how to get that thermacell thingie down here--otherwise, the bikini boat trip just won't be the same! Honestly, I look like I have smallpox. The good thing is that Luna Vista has really good screens, so once we're in and we kill the skeeters that got in while we had the door open for 3 seconds with the swatters, we're okay. But forget eating outside at dusk. You have to wait until the sun sets and then they calm down.

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California Girl · Post by **California Girl** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 4:53 pm

Amy wrote:Forget what I said before about the mosquitos not getting to me--today I am a mass of welts! I think I got attacked when I was rinsing off the snorkel stuff last night, and they were bad again today at Francis.

Jorge, you gotta figure out how to get that thermacell thingie down here--otherwise, the bikini boat trip just won't be the same! Honestly, I look like I have smallpox. The good thing is that Luna Vista has really good screens, so once we're in and we kill the skeeters that got in while we had the door open for 3 seconds with the swatters, we're okay. But forget eating outside at dusk. You have to wait until the sun sets and then they calm down.

I could have written that! It was exactly like that for us last May. We couldn't sit outside at all. I think I counted maybe 15 - 20 mosquitos on Rick's back & arms when he carried our luggage into the villa. You can see the bites on my arm in the photos we took http://www.pbase.com/thegripps/image/80105859. The skeeters started the day before we got there and were dying off by the time we were leaving... the last two days of our week were not too bad. So hang in there. In spite of not being able to enjoy either of our beautiful decks and having to be inside the villa while we were there, we still had an amazing time. The key to your itching is Benadryl Cream. Get some and carry it with you...it's amazing stuff.

Carry your bug zapper with you when you get in the car to go anywhere. At least 10 mosquitos would get in the car with us every time we opened the door, so Rick or my friend Sharon would zap them while I drove.

I know it's miserable for you now, but the bites get better, and you only have a short time on STJ, so I hope you won't let the little buggers ruin it for you.

Even though I remember the skeeters, I remember snorkeling at Maho and a day with Capt. Phil and eating at The Balcony much more!

pjayer · Post by **pjayer** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 4:56 pm

Welcome back CAG. We missed ya!

Jorge, maybe everything will dry up and they'll be gone by the time you get there. Sounds miserable right now.

California Girl · Post by **California Girl** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 5:01 pm

Thanks PJ!

Unless it rains a lot more it should be fine for Jorge. But from the looks of the weather map, it could be "iffy."

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NoTanLines · Post by **NoTanLines** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 6:13 pm

Jorge, definitely scratching here. Just went out to start the grill for a couple of steaks and the swarm hit me. Ana had 20+ on her when she went out to pick carrots.

Maybe check with St. John Hardware to see if they carry the butane cartridges? If they carry them (or could carry them), you could pack the unit in your suitcase and pick up the cartridges there.

Christine

Scratching and itching while trying to cook dinner.

nothintolose · Post by **nothintolose** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 6:18 pm

Jorge - I agree with CA Girl and the others that said that they won't be as bad when you get there.

If Home Depot carries the thing Waterguy recommended, check with the Home Depot on STT and see if they carry them and have them in stock.

You'll be fine by the time you get there. We went a few weeks after you guys last summer and didn't have a problem with them. I was worried like you are this time, and they really weren't any worse than normal for us.

Pia · Post by **Pia** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 6:20 pm

I think you will be fine Jorge - unless we get loads of rain it should be back to normal by your trip.

They only came out in full force on Friday evening - Thursday night we were sitting on the deck and it was perfect

I'll let you know how my new spray works (the Repel Lemon Eucalyptus - see the "other" thread) - also there is a candle that works really good - my WAPA meter reader saw that I had one and waited for me as he wanted one sooooo bad and didn't know where to find one (I got him one for Christmas

) I'm going to pick one of those up, and the good thing is you can use them inside too

Let me know if you want one

Here is the link - the oil works good but I haven't been able to find any here for awhile - candles I can still get (I think they are in the $15 to $18 range here so you might want to order a few and bring/send them down) I might order on-line as well (and save some $$ but buy one for now to get me through

)

http://www.starfishoils.com/categories.php?category=7

Pia

designbyroe · Post by **designbyroe** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 8:32 pm

Jorge
There was a home depot on STT. Maybe Pia or Ruth, Hugo would know if they are gone.
if you are worried, couldn't you get the butane in STT and take it to STJ?
Rosi

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Amy · Post by **Amy** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:58 pm

Thanks for the well wishes, Cali Girl! We bought 3 bug zappers, and we're really glad we did. We definitely take them to the car, to the beach, to dinner, basically everywhere. They are sold out everywhere, so we were smart to buy them our first full day here. I packed Benadryl Anti-Itch spray, so even though my bites look bad (Ruth can attest to that), they really don't itch much. My sister swears by Neosporin on bug bites, so I'm trying that, too. And honestly, the skeeters aren't wrecking our vacation at all. As long as we stay in the water (which is where we like to be anyway), it's fine. We are up high on Mamey Peak with lots of breezes so there are times of day when it's not bad, and tonight in Cruz Bay I didn't get bitten up like last night. My big mistake was rinsing snorkel gear at the absolute worst time of day. Won't do that again!

Pia, that's exactly what our villa owners told us--the mosquitos appeared on Friday, which was the day we arrived. We're here until the 31st, so I'm hoping they will calm down a little before then. But we are having a great time, despite the bugs! How can you have a bad time hanging out with Ruth and Ron at the BB, and eating Uncle Joe's for dinner?

usvi-on-line