Traveler07

We're leaving for safari in Tanzania the second week of December and I'm in bug spray/clothing panic mode. We're going to Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, and the Serengeti (Olakira and Migration Camps). I've already bought the Ultrathon 12-hour time release deet, which I imagine will work against most of the mosquitoes. But I read somewhere that you're not supposed to put it on under clothes. Here's my questions:

1) If the mosquitoes bite from dusk until dawn, when it will likely be cooler and we will be wearing long pants/long sleeve shirts, does that mean you only use the deet on the exposed areas (basically, hands since I've read you're not supposed to use on face and neck)? Can't mosquitoes bite through clothes? Or is that only tse tses?

2) And speaking of tse tses, is there ANYTHING that repels them? I was going to spray my clothes with Repel or buy a Buzz Off shirt before we left, but if they don't keep the tse tses away, I'm not sure it's worth it.

3) Also, am I worrying for nothing because we're not likely to see tons of mosquitoes or tse tses this time of year in those places?

Thanks in advance.

Traveler07

I forgot one. Question 4) Are tse tses just a problem from dusk until dawn too? Or are they day time only or 24-hour predators?

Thanks!

sandi

Nothing repels Tsetse, but you should avoid wearing dark blue clothing which they seem to be attracked to. Tsetse are often found in heavy woodland areas. Best to just roll up the windows when passing thru these areas.

Mossies bite between dusk/dawn. You should wear long pants, sleeves & socks, use the repellent on exposed skin - hands (feet, if not wearing socks) not on face. Do remember to wash off before retiring for sleep. Spray your room/tent before going out to dinner (avoid your pillows) and you should be fine.

I've never washed or sprayed my clothing with any chemicals and in 13/years haven't been attacked by mossies. Got 1/tsetse bite 10/years ago and they are nasty because they hurt; short lived sting... then that's it. In fact, few people have had biting mossie experiences.

However if you're one to attract flying critters, then spray to your hearts content. It's usually not as bad as people think. But do have whatever you might need, just in case.

cougfan

On our Sept. safari we took bug stuff but never felt the need to use it. I wore either long sleeves or 3/4 length sleeves. My husband wore short sleeve polo shirts. We never got bit.

The worst park for tse tse's for us was Tarangire. They were everywhere when we would stop the vehicle. With the top off there is really no way to stop them from flying into the vehicle. We would just wave our hands at them or try to smash them. We were lucky, none of us got bit.

The worst place for mosquitoes was Kirurumu tented camp by Lake Manyara. We couldn't sit on the porch of our tent because of them. We never sprayed our rooms, but sometimes they were sprayed while we were at dinner by the staff.

Have a great trip.

Julie

GreenDrake

I have not found DEET or natural based deterrents that employ eucalyptus or citronella to be effective against tsetse flies. This is probably is explained by the theory that they primarily use sight and not scent to locate targets. They generally look for large objects in contrast to the landscape.

I think it's wise advice to not wear black or dark blue as I have definitely seen them concentrate on those colors. For example, on a long 10 hour drive on a recent trip they would always initially land on my black camera bag or my vehicle mate's blue pants and not on my leg or khaki shorts.

I have also heard that the dust kicked up my moving vehicles also attracts them. This would seem to make sense to me as a various grazing animals would also kick up dust.

emdee

Nothing seemed to work when the tsetses attacked and attack us they did. We also found that they were attracted to greens as well . Only the light beige's and creams seemed to work.