Shannon

I have booked a bare site camping trip (march 2002) to cinnamon bay in St. John and keep hearing about the torturous No see-ums. Is there a particular time of year when they are worse? I need help/tips on repellants that work and remedy's for after bites--this could potentially ruin my holiday so any help/input in this regard would be greatly appreciated.

peterb

When we were on St. John last Feb., there were no-seeums in the shade at the beaches. They wouldn't follow you into the sun at all. We brought (and will be bringing again on our trip next week) a small mister bottle of 100% DEET. I would spray it on my hat and shirt and exposed skin and it worked well. It was drier there last year so, since it seems to have been rainier this year, I expect that they'll be worse. I never noticed them other than at the beach. I'm hoping you have a tent with no-seeum sized screening or, if your site is near the beach (as I think it must be), you may be vulnerable. I'm pretty sure there's nothing more effective than 100% DEET. If there's an REI store near you, they should have it. That's were I just got some for this trip. I heal quickly so, I don't have nay help for you regarding afterbite treatment. I think I saw 1 mosquito last year, maybe there'll be more this year. Happily, DEET works on them as well.

nancy

was in st. john in late january and would agree with peter that the bites came in the shade in the late afternoon. I used some bug repellent that had less than 100% and would definitely take 100% deet next time. as for after bite treatment...the bites are not any worse than mosquitos in my opinion, but a cool rum punch sure took my mind off my itchy legs. have a great trip. nancy

joan

I camped at Maho Bay a number of years ago, and the noseeums were atrocious. I wore long pants and long sleeves to bed at night, but still got an incredible number of bites, since they came up through the platform slats in the canvas lean-to we were in. I think it was after two weeks of rain, though. That can make a huge difference. You should be much drier in March. Deet lasted about 20 minutes, during which time I tried to drink as much rum as possible. Whatever I had leftover I dabbed on the bites. Also, I don't think they make tent screening with small enough holes to prevent the little darlings from flying in. After all, that's why they call them noseeums...<BR>Sorry if this is a downer, but you asked!

c.larify

What the heck are noseeums???? Never heard of them before. And why would you go someplace where you can't defend yourself against them???

peterb

no see ums are also known as biting midges. You can (barely) see them. If you look closely with a magnifying glass, you'll see that they are little more than wings and mouth. If you want to learn you can go to www.google.com and enter no see ums and you'll learn more than you ever wanted to know. Yes, they do make a tent screen mesh small enough to stop them. It is actually a selling point that you'll see when shopping for a tent. We can be afflicted with them even here in Upstate NY so, my tent is equipped with no see um screening. On my last visit to ST. John, we were in a villa higher up and never had them there, only in the shade at the beaches. We're staying at Concordia in an eco tent this time so, who knows? You can deal with them and they aren't always present. In my case it isn't enough of an issue to deter me from visiting St John but, I'll admit, they had me diving for the DEET on more than one occasion. The best solutions get into the sun or the water. Since you're camping I'd make sure to bring a supply of DEET and perhaps some of those insect repellent coils to burn in the site.

lmmn

Not everybody has an allergic reaction from the bites. If you're allergic, you will have large welts that itch like crazy!

RoamsAround

This thread is 10 years old!!!