I've seen some discussion about clothing colors and was wondering about dark colors. I know no blue or black for the tsetses. I have a pair of zip offs in a very dark khaki similar to the ones in this link. Is this too dark?

http://tinyurl.com/268g42s

Dark Khaki is fine. The picture though looks more like a "dark taupe."

Either a person attracks tse-tses and gets bitten or not. I've worn dark blue, black and even dark taupe and never been bothered.

I agree with Sandi - the colours you wear or the shade (dark, light) do little to determine how much you are affected by the tsetses. During our self-drive through Tanzania last August, I was eaten alive, while my husband was certainly bitten, but not nearly as extensively. It didn't seem to matter what colours/shades/fabrics we wore and, believe me, I tried everything to avoid being bitten. The bite is painful and the subsequent itchiness kept me awake at night - I had to take an antihistamine to sleep. My ankles were raw from scratching by the end of the trip and my scars are still clearly visible (almost a year later). I grew up in the outdoors with a camping family, and am not normally bothered by bites (mosquitoes, black flies, deer and horse flies, spiders etc.), so history is no indication of how you will do with tsetses.

By the end of our 6-week trip, we had concluded that the only way to avoid being bitten is to keep the windows of your vehicle shut (not an option for us - it was too hot and we like the sounds and smells during a safari) or to stay well covered. I wore two pairs of thick socks and a heavy fleece over a T-shirt to avoid being bitten when we were in an area with lots of tsetses - the Western Corridor of the Serengeti, (the southern part of) Lake Manyara NP (the worst) and (the northern and western sections of) Tarangire. That was about all that worked for me! Robin

...and before someone asks - repellent with Deet (which I tried on my ankles) was no help whatever!

Most reputable guides stay away from areas that are notoriously bad for tse tse flies, although not <i>all</i> can be avoided. You won't miss much by <i>not</i> going to these areas, because the flies keep the wildlife away too.

Thanks for your advice. The pants are a ver dark olivy greenish grey. My plan was to not take them but I'm finding it difficult to find my size and length for a replacement pair.

Robin- you're scaring me. The nephew we are bringing seems to be more of a target than the rest of us when it comes to the average mosquito in the east coast of the US. He also seems to have more of a reaction (swelling) to bug bites than the average person. So I just want to make sure we aren't adding to the issue but as you mention this may not be an indication of who the tsetse's find tastiest.

I will take the dark zip off if no one thinks it will be an issue. I don't want others glaring at me because I'm the one attracting undesirable bugs.

BTW, I'll only be in Samburu, the Mara and Nairobi which I hear may be less of an issue to start with.

Not to worry - I never react to any bites and yet I was a mess with the tsetse bites. Hopefully, your nephew won't react at all - it'll be the rest of you.

I didn't swell - the bites just itched unbearably, then drained, bled a little and then scabbed over a week or so later. Unsightly and the itching nearly drove me crazy, but otherwise harmless. I can still recall sitting at a picnic table at Naabi Hill, while my husband was signing paperwork to get us into the NCC, scratching my ankles with a rock - my husband was horrified but that is how desperate I was. It was so itchy! Just be certain to take an antihistamine - that made a world of difference to me. Unfortunately, we had packed just a few in case my husband's hay fever acted up, so I had to ration them to nighttime.

We didn't encounter any tsetses in the Mara - it was only when we reached the Serengeti. Robin

Thank you. I'm going to bring the darker color pants as well as antihistamines and lots of anti itch stuff!

BTW, people do wear bright colors or white around camp, correct?

No restriction on what you wear in the camps, but be aware that the dust is insidious and gets into everything, including your suitcase, so bury the whites amongst your other clothes. Robin
BTW - Calamine Lotion and After Bite had little (read no) affect on the tsetse bites. Someone on this forum suggested another product to me - I'll see if I can find the thread. I think it was a prescription medication.

I also am interested in what the medication is that will help with tsetse bites.

As with most bites, a cream with a corticosteroid and an antibiotic will be great. There are many such creams, eg betamethasone/garamycin or hydrocortisone/fusidic acid etc. The corticosteroid will help with the redness and the itching, while the antibiotic will prevent a possible infection.

Somewhere on this forum someone said that Colgate toothpaste worked, the white paste. I think they said their guide recommended it. I'm willing to bring that one as my travel toothpaste just on the outside chance.

Thanks MicMic - that may well have been the recommendation. I am still searching through old threads that I have commented on, but can't find the info. I've checked the obvious threads, those with "tsetse flies" in the title, but no such luck. Given that I took to scratching the bites on my ankles with a rock, I suspect that I am fortunate that the bites didn't become infected. Robin

Found it! - from sdb2 (Steve):

"Any time I travel I bring Cortaid and something stronger (e.g., triamcinolone acetate cream, 0.1%, Rx needed, but just super for itchiness) in case of severe itchiness. I'm sure your doctor would tell you if he prescribes it for you, but the triamcinolone cream should be used sparingly, i.e., a little dab on the end of a finger rubbed into the affected area works very quickly to stop itching."

Below is the thread, if you want to have a look at the discussion. Robin

http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...onth-in-tz.cfm

Thanks! I will add this to my med kit.

We were in Tse-tse country 2 weeks ago. The flies only came out in the afternoon. Our experience, although only for 4 days, was that deet (close to 100%) did indeed work to keep them away, also light colors were better than dark particularly dark blue and black. Also, those who were bitten did not have any after affects at all. We were eight in all and no one suffered. However, as I said, the flies were active only in the afternoon to sunset.

Costaid or Corate is a mild corticosteriod cream and Trimacinalone is a little bit stronger.

Depending on where you live, Cortaid/ Cortate can be bought over the counter but not a cream containing Triamcinalone or Bethametasone.

The Bethametasone/Garamycin is a combination of a steriod cream and an antibiotic cream.

One small tube of any of these creams will be enough....but also

go to the drugstore and get a "pen" of " After Bite. "

This comes in the form of a fat 4 inch high pen with a pocket clip on it to clip inot your shirt/blouse pocket.... not unlike a ballpoint pen.!!

it is for fast relief of insect bites and when you remove the cap off the "pen" there is a soft wet pad, with an ammonia smell.....

When you get a bite ( hopefully you will not ) , just take the cap off the "pen" and press the soft wet end directly on the insect bite...right there and then, whereever you are.

No need to grease up your fingers with cream , you can do that later if you still need to.

I took this with me last August when I went on my Safari.. never got a bite .... so did not use it .

I am holding the "pen" in my hand now..it is 4 inches high and has large orange printing that says:

AFTER BITE( FAST RELIEF FROM INSECT BITES AND STINGS).

Sorry I am not shouting !!

I bought zip-off last year and never wore them .!

Too much hassle to zip them off during the mid day.

I wore long pants in the mornings only when it was coool at the Ngorongoro Crater.

Have a nice trip

I had After Bite with me and it was of no help whatever. It did absolutely nothing to relieve the itch of the tsetse bites. Neither did Calamine lotion. Robin

I've gotten really proactive with tsetse fly bites because I do tend to react pretty badly. This June when bitten I put on some kind of anti-itch cream with cortisone immediately (I had some prescription stuff with me b/c I had been at the derm for poison oak about a month before I left) and then band-aids over that. I also use mint toothpaste--not the gel kind--and band-aids. The band-aids are to prevent me from scratching, especially at night, and making it all worse. I ended up using all my band-aids, and I had brought quite a few. They fall off and the itch of the tsetse fly lasts much longer than a mosquito bite for me. Weeks.

Also, as soon as I got bitten I started taking a Benadryl in the a.m and one before bed. This regimen seemed to work pretty well. I was itchy but it wasn't unbearable. I've been back almost a month and my marks have nearly disappeared, much better than the last time I was there.

But I am just one of those get-bitten, get-really-really-itchy people. If you're not you probably won't have these problems. Plenty of people aren't bothered at all.

Well that is nice to know that the After Bite has no effect on relief rom Tsetse flybites.

Thanks for the heads up on Tsetse flies.

It helps on backyard insects here .

Never used it on the Safari because I never got bit at all !!

Yes,I did not think Calamine would help much, it is one of those cream that is applied to young chidren ,when they get covered with mosquito bites.... mom applies it until the kid is almost pink all over.... it make Mom feel better .

Leely2:

Were you drowsy when you took the Bendryl in the AM..probably not, did you take the 25 mgm or the 50 mgm pill?

Of course at bedtime it does not matter if Benedryl makes you drowsy.

There is a Benedryl cream that is over the counter.

Once you get these itch-scratch cycles set in , you are only looking for a degree of relief...it itch can continue for days in spite of cortisone cream and oral meds.