Just returned from 1 week vacation on 12/30/10 from St John, USVI. Stayed at the Westin Hotel. Was eaten alive by noseums. Had at least 150 bites from the insect. Totally ruined my vacation. First time this has ever happened to me. I do not recommend the hotel - it has a manmade beach loaded with boats. Water mirky and not clean. Will never go back to that hotel. St John itself is a beautiful island but the noseeums were out in full force. Don't know if they are always there or just certain months. Also, there was a north swell on the island and unable to snorkle Trunk, Cinammon bay. Apparently it was good on the south side of island, but was too afraid to go on account of the noseeums. Could not withstand more bites. Basically was a prisoner. Got spray after the third day but it was too late. Was suffering with incredible itchiness. Could not wait to get home.

Sorry for your negative experience

I always lather up with www.cutteradvanced.com

B4 I hit the beach...

They can be a big problem after the recent wet months especially with hotels that do not fog their beaches.The CDC recently recommended two other active ingredients to fight bites. One is picardin, which is odorless and non-greasy. Consumer Reports recommends Cutter Advanced, which prevents bites for two to three hours for aggressive species, eight hours for less so. Another is oil of lemon eucalyptus, which the CDC says is as effective as DEET. Consumer Reports tested Repel Lemon Eucalyptus spray against another repellent containing 10 percent DEET and found that Repel prevented bites for four to seven hours for aggressive mosquito species, and more than 12 hours for less aggressive mosquitoes, longer than the DEET repellant and picardin.

www.mdtravelhealth.com good info

for you see your MD if you do not improve...

Get well soon,

I have been to St. John about 13 or 14 times, always staying at Caneel.

I never experienced a bug problem until 2 years ago. At that time it was just as described by KikiRigas, and I too, was thouroughly disgusted.

This past mid November I decided to try it again, and the situation had vastly improved and what few insects that were present were controlled by in room provided Off.

What concerns me, is the bug problem seems to be a reoccurring thread in this forum, and prior to may stay two years ago, it had never been an issue. Believe me, I have been there in all types of weather, including a week long rain deluge and a hurricane evacuation. That being said, most of the time, the weather has been superb. I cannot help wondering what is the difference. I certainly would not want the extreme bug problem again.

I was told that after a rain, the eggs are laid in the sand and then hatch, but at the time of my bug problem, I had just come from Little Dix, Virgin Gorda, and went directly to Morning Star, St. Thomas. There was absolutely no bug problems there.

I can only hope that this problem can be resolved on such a beautiful island.

So sorry you had that experience! I have been to St. John 3 times in the winter/spring months, and was always told to stay in a villa that was high up. I did, and have never had problems. I can see where they would be bad down at the Westin. I guess they must come out at night, because we were all over the place all day long, but settled into the villa each night.

I'm so sorry, Kiki -- this is a scenario I worry about quite a bit.

thx qwovadis for the info -- even though I have some, i've always been skeptical that bug repelling Skin So Soft (with picardin) is as effective as DEET but I may be more brave now.

I'm terrified of no-seeums (and mosquitoes) and tend to overkill with 80-100% DEET after sunset when I'm in the Caribbean. I also put the DEET on during the day if I'm going to a beachside outdoor patio for lunch. Despite these precautions (and i hate the feel and smell of Off) I usually still end up with a few bites from mosquitoes in the room which get me before I manage to squash them. Biting bugs are a major stress issue for me when I travel.

I've been told to avoid being outside 40 min after dusk and that raking the sand exposes noseeum eggs to sun and kills them. I've had good luck in Ambergris Caye, Cozumel, Jamaica. Got quite a few mosq bites in Costa Rica (rain forest, after all) and some bites (no see-ums and a few mosq)in Grand Turk (but less than 10 which i consider tolerable). 150 bites would completely suck.