Question About ( No See-ems )

[jkandls]

Are No See-ems mostly a problem when on a sandy beach or can they be equally bad on docks or paved areas near beaches ? My wife had bad experience in Belize, on Glover's reef beaches. Thanks

 

[hopefulist]

In my experience they can be anywhere when the breeze dies - bedrooms, restaurants, sidewalks, beaches, boats even - though closer to breeding grounds they'd be at their worst. We didn't see any on Glover's and, in 3 weeks between Utila and Roatan, saw them only part of one day. We always take vegetable oil to slather on but have really lucked out and the breezes have kept them at bay.

 

[Scuba-Jay]

Vegetable oil is a no-seem's deterrent? I would have thought it would attract them!!

 

[DennisS]

I have them bad where I live. There's a lot of mangroves between me and the ocean but I'm in a regular neighborhood inland about a mile. They get active at dawn and dusk. Dawn isn't a problem but I like to have a cool beverage now and then at sunset. I've tried Avon skin so soft, with its supposed bug repelling quality but it doesn't work. I usually have to spray my ankles with repellant, if I don't, the no-see-ums drive me nuts. If I do that I get an occasional nip elsewhere but if I don't they drive me inside by devouring my ankles. I love cold fronts and west breezes.

 

[Hank49]

They're just part of life here. You get kind of used to them. But some days they seem more voracious. The worst is coming home after fishing or diving, and getting mauled while your skin is still soft from the water while washing the boat or cleaning fish. They bite through my hair on my scalp.

 

[Doc]

Are No See-ems mostly a problem when on a sandy beach or can they be equally bad on docks or paved areas near beaches ? My wife had bad experience in Belize, on Glover's reef beaches. Thanks

They can be found anywhere south of the freeze line near sandy ocean beaches. Certainly- all over the Mar Caribe, but Belize has some very good ones. The best no-see-ums are 90 miles South of there in the Bay Islands

They are called No-see-ums, Sand Flies, Sand Fleas, and sometimes misnomered as Garipitas and unprintable names.

They live in decaying vegetable matter. Old leaves, coconut husks, moist loam, sticks, sea weed... oh? Was I just describing the intertidal wash zone. The area along the sandy beach shoreline that the tide and waves work over, leaving long strings of detritus? Yes- that place where humans love to walk innocently and feed the blood sucking micro predators.

Stay in areas that are bathed with breezes, open resorts areas that are devoid of dead plants. That's why better places have "yard boys" that swarm the place with rakes and wheelbarrows constantly

Why they just do not take their blood meal and depart? No, they have to leave you with a delayed intensely insane itching. Benadryl lotion or the Walmart Equate Brand will soothe you. Benadryl capsules are a good relief if they gotcha.

How to avoid them: Stay away from these areas entirely, certainly between the hours of 1600-1900 hrs: Stay away from moist wood, even wolmanized green treated 2x4's and out of dark moist buildings (wet room gear lockers). Avoid ill-kempt boats, 100% fiberglass boats (very minimal wood) with synthetic lines (yes, cotton lines they enjoy!).

They are insidious: Sunbathing on a hot wooden deck- but look....what moist leaves and decay have been trapped between the slats? They'll come on up and getcha.:kissbutt:

Repel them? Some swear by Skin-so-Soft , others use Cactus Juice Repellant, but I think the bugs drink that stuff. The Cactus Juice Soothing Gel is every bit as good as the Benadryl Lotion- not a preventative, but an after bite remedy. Of course, the commercialy available "after bite" stuff works fine, as well.

Give me DEET. I spray as I leave my cabana, I spray as I am returning and before offloading from the dive boat. I rinse the stuff off with a shower just before I go diving- the reef doesn't need the chemicals. DEET in the correct concentration and inert carrier will melt plastic and cause paint to come off of thermal mugs. I am beyond the age of fatherhood, so my DNA is less important than my comfort. I stink of DEET for the two weeks of any trip.

The percentage content of DEET has one meaning, Higher concentrations take longer to wash or sweat off. A 30% application is no better than a 99% solution of the stuff- at least in the short term. If you don't sweat the cheap 22% stuff is sufficient. If you do "glisten", use the Heavy duty or even the mil-spec stuff. Again- be careful of anything plastic- from a watch crystal to a camera housing. (Yikes!)

I have noticed that my body developed natural antihistamines after about 20 days on any given trip and the bite reactions grew less and less each day. It did amaze me that in the first few days, when one would sneak through, he would always leave a welt on my elbow, always in the same place, like radar. Yes- they like my scalp, too!

Long term citizens of the Caribbean have resorted to waterbeds if they plan ahead in their purchases. Sleeping on "bags of straw" (regular mattresses) as we are wont to do- the little critters may be confused by us with bed bugs. :007: In the US, we reacted violently to our obvious over-use and cavalier attitude towards DDT that we outlawed it. Suffice to say, the 16 ounce aerosol spray can of DDT is still in wide use in the Caribbean- many guest rooms have a can.

My advice? Spray the bed cover with it, wash your hands with soap and leave the room. Later, when it's bed time, peel this thin covering off of the bed and hang it away. Wash hands again. Sleep in peace. Sensible controlled application of chemicals is a personal choice and a viable option.

Here's the deal. Invent the Neutron Bomb for Sand Fleas:dead:. Buy all the land in the Caribbean. Then sell the cure to the general population. Land prices will quadruple in hours!

 

[abdiver]

Deet three times a day. Watch out for your glasses and such. The stuff melts plastic.