mosquito's
 

What's the status now in Arusha, Ngornogoro,Serengeti since the rains?
Many mosquito's?

Regardless, just spray "peaceful sleep" mosquito repellant on your clothes.......

Enjoy!!!

Hari:

Where can we statesiders buy Peaceful Sleep? I think there has been a previous discussion re this stuff, but I don't reember where it can be purchased. Any places in LHR, Nairobi or Arusha?

It is usually found at camps and lodges....you dont need to carry with you.

Thanks Hari: I'll do that faithfully. I'll be taking 30% Deet as well as permithrin (sp?) and a totally organic type mossie spray too.

On a similar tangent...I'm seeking opinions re vacc for Rift Valley Fever and typhoid for No. Tz in a few weeks.

The only reason I ask is that I've already exceeded my expected "expiration" date by 5 years, but I don't need to add insult to injury.

The travel doc that I went to in Santa Barbara convinced me to get a yellow fever jab (which I guess I DON'T really need!) but shrugged off RV Fever and typhoid. Seeking opinions and a knowledgable travel doctor between Santa Barbara and L.A.

well.. there seem to be a lot of cases of Rift Valley Fever lately (so I heard), so maybe you'd better not take the risk?

unfortunately Peaceful Sleep is not available in the states. Someone could make a killing importing the stuff and just selling it on Fodors. Love the smell!

Thanks Nikao...I think there is a vaccine for RV fever, so I'd prefer to do that as I am going, tho I won't be having any African BBQ and I will certainly be using extra mossie spray, vile stuff that it is.

Hari:
I don't know about the "Peaceful Sleep" brand, but here in San Francisco I went to the local Army Surplus store and bought "Repel Permanone," a permethrin spray (a synthetic form of the insecticide that is extracted from chrysanthemums) that I sprayed on my clothes before venturing to a malarial area (Vanuatu). Usually I am beseiged by mosquitoes, but this seemed to do the trick. The brand is not so important but permethrin, whatever brand it is, seems to discourage mosquitoes from lingering or even alighting on your clothes. I was delighted. I plan to use it again before going to Kruger. I have read that you should treat your clothes not more than one week before exposure and that permetrin is supposed to last through a couple of washings. In fact, these days you can even buy clothing that has been pretreated with permethrin.
You might want to look at this web page on insect repellants:
http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic540.htm

Diamantina: Good link, thanks.

Natalie

thanks....

Hari

sorry, good to go, but I can't resist it -

"mosquito's" what?

Regards,

Ann

Travelnat -- if you're not happy with the travel doc you went to, please try to connect with another one ASAP, since vaccinations take a while to be effective.

Also, I don't know if this is standard policy or not, but my travel doc did not want to give me multiple 'live' vaccines at the same time (although she was ok with giving one 'live' and multiple 'dead' at the same time). So the timing can get a bit tricky.

<b>What's the status now in Arusha, Ngornogoro,Serengeti since the rains?</b>

We were there three weeks ago ... in 12 days we only saw one mosquito and zero tsetse flies, though there were plenty of normal flies, especially around the animals. Didn't get bit once.

This was at Lake Manyara, Ndutu and Ngorongoro. I'm guessing there are likely more tsetse flies in the woodlands north a bit (we ran into a thick zone of them last year around the Serena Serengeti) but where we were we had no problems this last trip.

Bill

we had quite some mosquito's in Arusha,
(and don't get me started on those tsetse flies in tarangire!)

I have had good luck with 3M's Ultrathon Insect Repellent here in Minnesota. It was developed for the military.

3M™ Ultrathon™ (google Ultrathon)
Insect Repellent 12 Lotion

* Splash and sweat resistant to protect even in the most challenging environments.
* Lotion, with 34.34% DEET, provides continuous protection for up to 12 hours.
* Patented Controlled Release Technology prevents DEET from quick evaporation from perspiration or rain.
* Ultrathon™ insect repellent provides protection from mosquitoes and deer ticks, the two insects that may carry West Nile virus and Lyme disease.
* Also repels biting flies, chiggers, gnats and fleas.

NEW FINDINGS support the use of DEET
With Ultrathon™ insect repellent’s Controlled Release Technology, you get durable long-lasting protection without reapplication. The Centers for Disease Control recommend that DEET-based repellents are the most effective way to protect against insects and are very safe when used according to label directions.

I'm sure it was only a typo, Bill. Bloody spellchecks...I don't know why people put so much faith in them ;)

John

There you go...we need post-checks, too! Above post was meant to go in &quot;Did you feel safe?&quot; :D

John

There are two controlled-release formulations of DEET that I'm aware of -- the Ultrathion mentioned above, and a version by Sawyer. Supposedly, the time-release means that you get a better effect with a lower percentage of DEET, and less skin absorption.

I just got back on Sunday from a 2-week trip (Amboseli, Tarangire, Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Masai Mara) and we had very few mosquitoes. We arrived literally days after the rains stopped. The worst of it was at dinnertime when I wore sandals, so I was just sure to put insect repellent on my feet. I used Jungle Juice that I buy at REI. It's only 18% DEET I think and worked fine. Most of the lodges also had insect repellent wipes in the rooms. There was a band of tse-tse flies below Serena Serengeti Lodge so we had to roll up all the windows for about 30 minutes.

I got 4 mosquito bites the whole trip, when I was careless and didn't use repellent when I should have.

Sorry to be in the dark but what is RV Fever? Different from Yellow Fever? The cdc says to get Yellow Fever, Malaria drugs, optional Hep A, oral Typhoid and meningitis....going to Tanzania in June, please help.

at first I couldn't open the link to Arusha Times but have now been able to. Has anyone heard of suggestions to avoid this? Not eat meat and milk I guess?