owa

Luisa, We are staying at CocoLa Palm owned by a Minnesota couple. We are getting very excited. I just worry about the kids and bites. Maybe my daughters, granddaughter and I will be the only victims. As I said I'll buy everything mentioned that I can find. Are you writing a trip report on eats and activities while you were there? Owa

Pat2003

We are going home this afternoon. My bites slowly disappearing but I can still feel some of them on my legs and arms.

Owa, I feel about Cat Island, Bahamas just like you about Roatan. I got too many bites to fully enjoy my beach vacation. I will never go back there.

We visited places right on the beach where I never got one bite.

Now we are thinking about our next beach destination where those nasty pests are not present. Any suggestions for a great places to stay right on a beach in Caribbean?

CaribbeanSoul

owa: Relax. Just protect the kiddies with Off Deep Woods with 25% DEET. Make sure the ankles and feet are well taken care of! The sand fleas in Negril come out around sunset...as they do in most of the Caribbean. They were not nearly as bad this past trip in Nov as they are during the summer months. We have been taking B12 for the health benefits and we thought that may have something to do with the reduction. Who knows. Anyway...sand fleas are everywhere in the Caribbean...time of year and precipitaion has a lot to do with the activity of them.

faithie

Sorry guys !! The " green " part of me coming out , children are not supposed to use anything stronger than 10% Deet ... Try ordering Cactus Juice ..... supposedly works wonders for travellers to Roatan ( Bay Islands ) in Honduras ( the SANDFLY capital of the WORLD ) !!! lol .

owa

Pat2003, I think CaribbeanSoul is correct. I don't think any beach is a "free" bug zone. All I know is that Roatan was the pits for me. When we were on Vieques last week, Green beach proved to be the only place I had a problem. I knew that from posts on this forum, but failed to take spray. We had to walk 1/2 mile to get to snorkeling, and it was the only beach where I received bites during our stay. I guess we women just need to have supplies for prevention and comfort. Owa

faithie

Look for After Bite at Good old Wally Mart , or just about anywhere ! ( also in Canada ) . seriously look into buying some cactus juice , and again , nothing stronger than 10% Deet on kids !! ( I can supply scary info. from the American Pediatrics society if u like )

Pat2003

We are back home! Still itching but it is not so bad any longer.

I don't know what more could I do to prevent those ugly bites. FYI, I never went outside without a bug spray with DEET. Nonetheless, I was bitten AFTER coming out of the water and before reapplying the same spray. It never happened anything like this on any beach.
Once again, thank you all for your ideas and help.

Callaloo

Pat, where did you stay on Cat Island? The sand fleas aren't always a problem -- it really depends on the weather and other conditions. The first time we went there, I was eaten alive; the second time, not so much. And I never got bitten on the ocean beaches; only the Exuma Sound side. If it's breezy and there hasn't been rain in recent days, you'll have better luck. Also, we stayed at Fernandez Bay Village, which had a comprehensive spraying program -- when they spray, you'll be OK.

Also, and it's probably too late to help you, I've found relief from my itching from a little device called a Zanza Click. It shoots a little piezo-electric current into the bite (just a tiny zap) which actually seems to work to alleviate the itching. I couldn't tell you whether it's psychosomatic or not, but it seemed to help me. And I'm a magnet for biting bugs -- who seem to find me EVERYWHERE.

ChristieP

The Brewer's yeast tablets won't make you smell like yeast to people, but the slight difference is enough to keep the fleas off of you. You can buy the tablets at health food stores. It's a tried-and-ture homeopathic remedy! We used to use this with my little sister when her elementary school had a sand playground back in the 1970's. A friend who is a professional dog breeder uses it with all of her dogs, and I have yet to see a flea in her kennel!

Pat2003

Callaloo, we stayed with Sammy T. We had breezy days and even more breezy evenings but this place doesn't has a spraying program, at least when we were there. Thank you for additional information.

Started to read info on Cayman Islands so if decide to go there I need to be well prepared.

Thank you, ChristieP. Do you think if yeast works on dogs it should work on me too? What's a tried-and-ture homeopathic remedy?

curiousx

Natural products that work for me include aloe squeezed fresh from the plant, lime juice, vinegar

Chemicals that have worked as well are cortisone and afterbite.

Brewer;s yeast is a new one I'll have to try !

mom929

Christie, How much Brewer's Yeast do you take? We are going to PR next month and I'm always the one covered in bites too.

I do use DEET, stay off the beach at dusk, never bring sandy towels or shoes into my room, and always travel wtih benedryl and cortisone cream. I'll happily add brewer's yeast to my arsenal

debonator14

I know someone who was covered on his arms with sand fleas, and he sprayed his arms with "windex" glass cleaner. The nasty fleas literally "jumped out" of his skin. A few days later he was fine. Hope this helps you if you are still having problems with them.

kelliebellie

I realize that this is an old post. Hopefully the sand fleas are gone by now! But I just had to reply to the person suggesting putting lime juice all over yourself.

For some people (like my daughter) plant juices mixed with the sun can cause really bad weird burns. She had a couple of spots on her back all summer. They can even scar for life if bad enough. Some people don't react, some do. So be very careful about putting lime juice, orange juice, or celery juice on yourself and going into the sun!

Phytophotodermatitis it is called I believe.

gail

Regarding people who say their companions do not get bitten - actually they do, but just don't react to the enzyme in the bite. Some of us (me included) are just unfortunate to have this severe an allergic reaction.

Same goes for regular fleas. My husband and I slept on a sofa bed at rental of relative - I woke up covered in flea bites, he just watched them bite him, but got no reaction (other than being grossed out and finding another place to stay!)

gnd

Not sure if this will work for the "sand fleas" but I know it works great for Fireants. Rub a little "minty toothpaste" on the bites. Safe for little kids as if the bites are near proximity to where they can get their mouths to it, it's not going to be toxic.

ejcrowe

gnd, does it have to be a non-gel toothpaste? I've had success using a non-gel toothpaste for getting rid of pimples--just a dab on the face overnight usually does the trick. I wonder what other non-traditional uses there might be?

I also wonder if a toothpaste with baking soda might even be more effective than a plain mint one?

gnd

Yes non-gel toothpaste

Pat2003

Thanks for all additional comments. I recovered fully and planning our next trip in May to Cayman Islands. I hope to be ready this time and I'm going to bring a plenty of a hydrocortizone cream. As to you suggestion about using toothpaste. I tried that too! I can't belive how desparate I had to be. It DID NOT work for a minute. Windex? Hmm! This idea reminds me of the movie. Was it "My Fat Greek Wedding?"

ejcrowe

Yes, you've got the right movie. I chuckled when I read that, too, as I had just watched the movie again the night before I read the Windex suggestion.