Someone told me that mosquitos are not too bothersome in Hawaii. I find that very hard to believe. But bugs love my husband and I need to know the truth.
This our first trip to Hawaii and we will be in Oahu,BI and Kauai

Alohaaaa..
I've never had a problem in all of our Nov/Dec/Jan trips to Kauai but I guess Mrs Kal and your hubby may be related because she is always getting bit.
She'd never cancel a trip because of it if that's what you mean??

The truth is out there!

Unfortunately I seem to attract the mosquitos every time I visit Hawaii. My last visit was to Kauai in late November and I had plenty of bug bites.

I did get bit by a centipede, tho.
Those buggahs hurt!

We've made 5 trips to Hawaii (May, July, August, Sept) and never had the first bug bite of any kind. If you are going hiking in a rain forest area you might want to use bug spray just in case but otherwise I don't think you'll have a problem.

We also have not had a problem -- last time was early August in Kauai and Maui, but we've been in all seasons.

Aloha from Kaua`i,

We get mosquitoes in our wet areas -- but most of them only come out to eat at night. And they definitely prefer tasty visitors!

Slather on the bug spray, and you'll be fine...

I can't stand when people complain about bugs in tropical climates. If you can't take the bugs then go to some desert somewhere! AHH!

Auntie M...

Thanks for all the helpful replies. We are not cancelling, we can't wait to go. We will just take
bug spray.
My husband always says, if we are in a group of
1 million people, he will get the bite.
I am wondering if there are other kinds of bugs to worry about also.

Mosquitoes love me. I, on the other hand, am not so fond of them. I think they look at the visitor's form you fill out prior to landing, see my name, send out dinner invitations to all their relatives and come looking for me.

The worst I've been bitten in Hawaii was at the Tropical Garden just outside of Hilo. That was on the first visit. After that I wore light weight long sleeves & long pants along with socks, sneakers & bug spray. Came away more or less unscathed.

I've gotten a few bites elsewhere, some ocean front at the Hyatt in Kauai at night. Also was bitten in a garden area in Maui upcountry. I can't remember the name, not Enchanted Gardens, that one was ok, but another nearby where my husband walked thru without a bite but I was repeatedly bitten on my legs.

Hawaii is wonderful and bugs are part of the tropics. Bring a good repellent and use it!

In the urban & dryer areas, you won't find too many mosquitoes. It's mostly in the areas near streams, or if you take hikes in areas like Manoa or Maunawili, stuff like that. I've lived here all my life and mostly only got bit when I lived in Nuuanu Valley.

As for other bugs....I dunno, fleas from dogs? Ants at picnics? There's some of that, just like any other place.

As Kal said, there are centipedes, but those bites are also rare. They musta been looking for you, Kal!! hee hee

On the road to Hana, once, I took an "Off" road and drove to the water where there was a waterfall that fell into a nice pool right next to the ocean. I noticed a large stream also converging in the area and a steep incline on the opposite side of the stream, where I saw huge papaya plants and their booty. Well, I crossed the shallow stream and scaled the incline almost falling and breaking my neck in the process. When I made it to said Papaya plant, I grabbed the large green papaya attached to the plant and proceeded to twist the fruit as to break the fibrous stem. When I produced a half turn of the papaya, I shuddered in terror when I saw a giant black spider on the opposite side of the papaya. I nearly lost my balance and went cartwheeling down the slope. Scared the living poop out of me. I managed to grab a few other papayas and got out of dodge. That's the closest insect problem I had there. Good luck.

Mels...
As long as they don't bite my sausage while I'm eating breakfast it's alright with me.

Lots of bugs statewide. More mosquitoes and no-see-ems in rainy areas and where there's less concrete. They are worst from late afternoon until dark.

Suggest bug sprays called "deep woods." These seem to work best.

Aloha, beatofhawaii.com

I can recall that when we visited some gardens outside Hilo (wet area, but absolutely gorgeous!) we were actually handed a package of mosquito repellent wipes with our admission ticket. Everyone was using them there. Did we see mosquitos? yes, but it really didn't impact our enjoyment of the gardens.

We put on protection when we go out at night. Sawyer makes a great product called Controlled Release. It works better than anything we've ever used and has a very minimal deet smell and feel. Another thing we've stated using are these things called bugbands. They are bracelets that are deet-free that do an excellent job at keeping the mossies at bay. The active ingredient is geraniol, which is distilled from geranium plants. I wore one in the evenings when we were in Fiji recently and am bite free. It is easier to put on these on than to spray or slather.
http://www.bugband.net/

I wouldn't worry about it. My wife attracts mosquitos all the time, but she hasn't asked me to move yet!

It's an overrated concern of visitors. Unless you're going hiking into a densely forrested area, I doubt you'll even hear one. And even then, just use bug spray, no big deal.

Don't worry, just enjoy!

If you're really concerned, Avon has a product that works really good against them without having a bunch of chemicals and the scents associated with them. It's called Skin So Soft and I believe there are body oils, lotions and bath products. They have this (sample sizes)available on base at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia where the bugs eat you alive. It is very effective and not rough on your skin like many anti-bug products seem to be.