USVI-On-Line

I've been researching about no see ums and have gathered some info and I need to make sure I have it right......

They come out in the morning before the sun heats up the land.......does this mean on the hiking trails 0700 is too early to start out? I'd like to beat the heat on a hike.

They come out in the evenings......what is considered evening? I'd love to stay on the beach until late afternoon. Also, what about after dark at one of the beach bars? Will we get eaten up then?

They are primarily in sandy areas.......how far away from sand do they travel? Are the Cruz Bay and Coral Bay areas ok for late afternoon/early evening drinks without spray?

DEET seems to be the best protection........I've also read about some sort of lemon mixture that is chemical free that I can find on island. Has anyone tried both and which seems to work the best? I'd rather not use DEET, but would if necessary. If the lemon mixture works, where can I get it and what is the name it is sold under?

They live in sand, therefore if you track sand in the jeep/villa you can transport them in.......It seems to me that it'd take a LOT of sand to do this. Am I wrong?

One last thing, our villa is up the hill in Coral Bay. As long as there's a breeze we should be ok from the skeeters and no see ums, correct? I don't mind the mosquito's so much because you can usually see them and squish them. Living in the hot and humid deep south, mosquitos are part of life.

As paranoid as this post may sound, these little turds WILL NOT ruin my vacay! I'd just like to have all this knowledge so my day can go like this......Hey, since we'll be at the Beach Bar tonight after hiking this morning we can't forget to grab the XXXXX spray!

Thanks for reading!

The lemon stuff is Repel with lemon eucalyptis. You can find it at Walmart or Target and it is awesome stuff. We started using it for our kids, but then started using it ourselves after we found out how well it actually works.

I don't know how true this is, but I've heard that Gin, applied topically, works.

Try the gin..
Pueblo was selling a liter for $ 1.99 of Hallmark gin last month.
It's cheaper than water !! why not try it !!
Scoob

I'm pretty sure that if you drink enough gin it has the same effect. I've noticed after 3 or 4 gin and tonics sitting on the villa deck I don't notice any insects biting

I'm worried about the morning no see ums. What's cereal goes best with gin?

Ha, more boozy undertones. I think that the topical application should be reinforced with the oral route. One cannot be too careful these days.

JIM

Drink enough gin, or rum, and you won't have to worry about them in the morning. seriously, from around 3:30- 4:00 pm until sundown they can be brutal at Maho and Francis particularly. I'm a firm believer that the more fragrant soaps,shampoo, lotions, and perfumes that you wear the worse that you'll get bit. If you don't smell "nice," but another member of your party does, they'll be the one with the bites.

KingConch I think you may be on to something, pretty sure cherrios won't stand up to gin but perhaps granola or maybe frosted mini wheats. . . .

Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids. Lucky Charms.

Erin go bragh! Lucky Charms sounds great-

They have always been less of a problem the higher up you are and away from vegetation! The breeze definitely helps. Around 4PM at Francis is killer!!! (probably any beach, but I have noticed them the most there!) I posted in another post about West Indies Itch Relief. It is an amazing all natural product made on St. Thomas that brought instant relief! They also make an insect repellant. I think if you are sensitive to them they will bother you anywhere though! My brother gets eaten alive while my husband and I only get a few bites.

Gin? I thought it was all about the rum?!?! Gin and I got into an altercation in high-school so we no longer talk. Ha!

I suspect the sweet, sugary smell of rum in your veins is what attracts them! LOL!

Hate to be a downer, but we were about as high up as you can get in Fish bay, and they ate us up Didn't apply bug spray at first, so that was part of the problem....but, they were there.