Cockroaches, bugs and creepy crawlies
 

I have heard the caribbean can be a dirty place to travel to with all of the bugs running amok. Is it true that a traveler should expect these creatures to be right in their hotel rooms? I have talked with people that just come to expect it and don't think anything of it? Let me know if this is a problem and where I should avoid traveling to. I like things clean and wouldn't enjoy a place that was dirtier than my own home.

I don't know what places you've heard about, but I've been to about 11 islands in the Caribbean and rarely been bothered by insects. To this day I have never seen a cockroach. My husband, on the other hand, used to spend a lot of time in Maui and was just telling me the other day about the giant cockroach (?) that came flying right at him sending him running in the opposite direction. And my mother recently returned from eastern Canada with tales of fish flies covering the windows and every available surface. She even found them in her purse. Then there's my friend in Taipei with constant stories of huge cockroaches and other assorted insects... <BR> <BR>Relatively speaking I wouldn't worry too much about the Caribbean. This is not to say they don't have any bugs. I'll never forget the time my friend and I were strolling along a street in St. Martin and got blasted by a spray of malathion from a passing truck. <BR> <BR>There are probably times of the year that are more insect free than others.

Peggy, I've been going to the Caribbean, the BVI and USVI in particular, for 20 years or more and have seen fewer cockroaches there than in the US. I used to carry bug repellent, but found I had no use for it. Mosquitos? None in my experience. <BR>Still, if you are squeamish about mother nature, you might try to ensure you choose a place that has a good 24 hour/day sea breeze such as Frenchman's Cay Resort on Tortola in the BVI. That's usually where I go. The breeze makes it impossible for any flying insects to annoy you and I can personally vouch for the fact that they don't have anything there that crawls or creeps except for the occasional human child. <BR>What you can expect in the islands though, is lizards. Lots of lizards, generally 2-4 inches long. They'll stay out of your way, I assure you. <BR>

<BR>The only things that I saw in the Dominican Republic were mosquitoes...easily avoided by using a mild bug spray such as Skintastic...not like our Canadian ones!! Didn't get bothered at all on both costs of Mexico. The interesting thing about the mosquitoes is that some people were really prone to bites and some people never got a bite? I have the same problem when camping at home...I must be tastier than your average human!

Keep in mind that when you are outside, bugs do not mean a place is "dirty", but that it is OUTDOORS! We only saw one insect when we were on Antigua, and that was outside in a garden. None ever came in our room. The lizards were cute- we enjoyed watching the children in the resort chase them, but they never managed to catch any.

The hotels in the major tourist areas have good housekeeping generally speaking. Hotels for locals and transients will ignore the crawlies which would send N,. Americans into desperation. Bring good moisquito lotion <BR>and a can of roach repellent, if you really feel it would calm your night jitters. My only fears have been in <BR>"on the economy", as opposed to hotels' <BR>when I encountered the giant red centipede whose bite is viscious.