Hi,

How bad are the mosquitos in St. Barths in June? (Say June 4 to 17) My fiance and I are thinking of going there for our honeymoon, but I've been reading stuff about mosquitos in St. Barths. Since I am semi-allergic to mosquito bites (I swell up a LOT), and mosquitos seem to love me, this could ruin our honeymoon.

Where are mosquitos most problematic? At hotels, or the beach, or in town? Are there certain areas of the island where mosquitos are not present, or are much less of a problem?

- Mosquitophobe

There are mosquitos on just about every island. How many and how active they are is a function of the weather and the environment. Mosquitos are most prevallent after periods of prolongued rains and/or when there are little or no breezes. They are also more active at dusk near areas of standing water and on the beach.

I've never had a problem with mosquitos while on St. Barth's but that doesn't mean they are not there if conditions are right.

You can take some precautions to lessen your attractiveness to mosquitos. Don't use perfumes, colognes, or scented hair sprays (the sweet smells attract mosquitos), avoid walking on the beach at dusk (wear long pants if you feel you must walk on the beach at night), spray some inscet repellant or Avon Skin So Soft (the liquid not the cream) around your ankles and shoes in the evenings and avoid areas of standing water.

Follow those suggestions and you should be fine.

Are you staying at a hotel? They should spray for mosquitos. Of course there will be mosquitos, they are on every island. There are things you can do to minimize the problem for yourselves... if you stay in a hotel they should spray and if you rent a villa when you arrive that day see if you have any and if you do make sure they spray. Ask questions of the villa co. if you are renting and ask how the screens are, etc. We rented last year in St Barth and it was a villa near Lorient Beach, the mosquitos were horrible, but we had ill fitting screens in the villa and the property was a little over grown. You need to do some research as to where exactly you are staying.
Also, A Trav. is right about not using perfumes, etc. OH don't wear black clothing, etc. I NEVER wear black at night in the Caribbean on any island, if I do I get eaten alive.
Mosquitos come when you have had rain. They need water. So really its impossible to predict. If its been pretty dry you should have no problem.
Just take precautions, use a bug spray with Deet, be careful at dusk, etc. Try to get something with A/C so no open windows at night and possibly a mosquito net. Our villa had AC in the bedrooms which totally saved us because we kept the bedroom door shut.
Enjoy your honeymoon and dont fret about it. St Barth is wonderful

Our first trip to St Barths would have been ruined by mosquitoes were it not for a conversation I had with the proprietor early one morning. She recommended a Belgian product called Mosquito Milk (a roll-on) which is widely available in the islands. We SWEAR by this stuff -- have used it for more than 10 years worth of Caribbean & Florida trips and it works & works (up to 8 hours). Honestly -- my spouse was ready to get on the next plane & this saved our vacation (& many since).

There is no agriculture on St Barts, so there are fewer mosquitoes than on other islands; No irrigation, cattle troughs, farm equipment etc.

To make yourself less attractive to them vitamin B is believed to help. If you have a reaction, maybe look into antihisamines.

Lauen,
Typically higher = less mosquitoes, since there is a generally a breeze. The ocean is genearlly calmer then so this is a consideration. Most hotels and some villas spray for them. We stay in a hillside villa where the owners contract for spraying. Importantly most places on St. Barts do not have screens, something to check. The villa we rent on the Flamands Hillside (Flamands Blue) is to an American standard WITH screens, others we rented prior had none. Have a great honeymoon, you will love St. Barts!

Mosquitos and no-see-ums are unavoidable in any warm climate. You don't need any "agriculture" to find yourself suddenly in a swarm. For example, be careful near the waterfront especially during early morning or dusk hours. The no-see-ums are definitely will-bite-ums. Bugs love shade! Out in the open sunlight, you won't find one. My daughter is also semi-allergic to bug bites so I am absolutely vigilant about detecting appearance/presence of bugs and will wipe her down with insect repellant. It won't ruin your honeymoon if you are conscious and conscientious regarding protecting yourself. A minute of spraying will afford you hours of tropical paradise.

there is no place in the Caribbean that does not have mosquitos, especially if there have been a lot of showers..
Use repellent and keep your arms and legs covered if you are concerned..