Princess Cay Sand Fleas?

[lrm]

Some people insist that "Skin So Soft" by Avon deters bugs. It is not designed to do so, and instead is a skin softener, so it should be fine for sensitive skin. Whether or not it actually has the collateral effect of repelling insects I can not speak to. But many, many people insist that it works. I read it on the internet!

 

Skin So Soft Bug Guard Plus works quite well. I have used the spray and the towel wipes.

[Potstech]

After having very bad reactions to bug bites I will use the most effective products I can find to prevent them from biting me. Be it DEET or Permithian I will use it at my discretion.m Sorry folks but it works both ways.

[caribill]

Even if you don't think you'll need insect repellent for sand fleas, you'll probably want to bring some along to guard against this mosquito-borne illness. Note the list includes many places visited on a cruise. http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/watch/chikungunya-saint-martin

 

Due to that notice, I always had DEET with me, but on a recent Princess cruise did not encounter one mosquito on the five islands we went to, all on that list.

 

One possible reason is that the ship was not at the islands during the hours (near dawn and early evening) that mosquitoes are likely to be most active.

[MauiLvrs]

Not sure if Sand Fleas are one and the same ... but no-see-ums (also referred to as Biting Midges, Biting Gnats, Punkies or Sand Flies) can be a real pain wherever they bite and are frequent in the Caribbean. Especially around sunset time.

 

A bug bite stick provides somewhat effective relief.

 

Edited January 24, 2015 by MauiLvrs

[Homosassa]

Yes, sand flies are no-see-ums. They also like shady areas during the day.

[Kingofcool1947]

Due to that notice, I always had DEET with me, but on a recent Princess cruise did not encounter one mosquito on the five islands we went to, all on that list.

 

One possible reason is that the ship was not at the islands during the hours (near dawn and early evening) that mosquitoes are likely to be most active.

 

Re: Mosquitos. Did you ever get off the ship?

Re: Sand fleas. Did you go to any beaches?

Edited January 25, 2015 by Kingofcool1947

[caribill]

Re: Mosquitos. Did you ever get off the ship? At every port

Re: Sand fleas. Did you go to any beaches? At least four. Was bitten at Princess Cays.

 

See above in red.

[lolane1]

I too, have been to the Caribbean countless times. Never carried repellent. Never gotten bitten. Went out on every island, many, many beaches, Princess cays too and other private islands. The only time I was bitten was in Naples, Florida at the beach by a sand flea. However, in the light of the more recent warnings about Chikungunya, I will be carrying DEET.

 

Last year, my daughter was doing biking in the woods somewhere so I purchased DEET for the trip. Doesn't hurt to be cautious.

 

I remembered reading an article in the New York TImes, so I looked it up and included a link.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/travel/a-mosquito-borne-virus-sweeps-the-caribbean.html?_r=0