Can someone verify my thoughts, please?

[PA Girl]

Hate to be a downer, but we were about as high up as you can get in Fish bay, and they ate us up Didn't apply bug spray at first, so that was part of the problem....but, they were there.

I had the same experience the one and only time I was bothered by no see ums, I couldn't have been further from the beach or higher up on the island.

Bug love me so once in 12+ trips I can live with.

[Ms.Montana]

I get eaten alive but I've learned how to deal with them. I use deet - a lot - every time I come out of the water. I also set up my chair slightly in the water and try not to go too far into the dry sand. I still get some bites so I take a benadryl tablet when I get up in the morning, around 2:oo in the afternoon and before I go to bed. I don't like the deet or the benadryl but I LOVE St John. Our friends and my husband don't react at all to them. So it really just depends on if you react or not.

[PA Girl]

Our friends and my husband don't react at all to them. So it really just depends on if you react or not.

Oh how true! 2 out of 7 of us got bit, the other 5 didn't get one single bite.

[lark22]

I (seriously) think that my husband's arm and leg hair helps to keep noseeums away. That's not a tactic available to me, though!

[Bonny in CA]

We stayed up high in Coral Bay, but we still got eaten up.
After the first couple of days, I got over my desire to wear perfume and not insect spray! Once I started putting on the OFF before we our nightly bar hopping, I got bitten a lot less!

Wish I was there right now, slappin' no bugs off my legs, with some rum punch in the other hand!

[ncsusan]

Taking Vitamin B1 works well for some people. We learned this trick when my brother was in the Marines. When he was stationed in a buggy area he was told to take alot of B1. We used it on St. John on our last trip and no bites at all.

[Capn Dan and Ruby]

Like the gin idea, but last time just by accident I was taking a fairly potent B complex vitamin from the health food store, and nothing bothered me. Capn Dan was eaten up... no B complex. Later I learned that B complex does makes you stink to the bugs. I need to get back on the B! For more reasons than that... but hey it seemed to work.

[TraumaQueen]

Thank you all for the replies! I'll start on the B vitamins also. Hey, what can it hurt? I'll probably need the energy after all the snorkeling anyway! B vitamins also help with hangovers

I'm also going to look for the lemon mixture and pack some DEET. If I get bitten I'll consider them a rite of passage (initiation) to staying on island!

[jofus]

Don't want to be a downer but I've tried everything thats been posted and then some,,,,,I'd been told mouthwash worked, tried Listerine and Scope, they didn't work either. The only time I noticed a difference was when I had on so much citronella/eucalyptus/lemongrass oil, if it was a thick enough coating, the little buggers just got stuck in it and couldn't bite. Of course when your covered that thickly in an oily substance everything else sticks to you too, especially sand!
I always bring super light weight cotton long sleeve shirt and pants with me. Cloth is the best repellant.

[kingConch]

so no gin & lucky charms for breakfast And I have to keep my pj's on?

[David- n Hampton, VA]

I am with Jofus (who had me rolling with the sticky layer capture technique of bug deterrent). Long sleeve and pants is the best protection, but can be very hot. When we are in swim wear/shorts we use extensive Deet protection from a variety of spray cans/bottles. Works as good as anything can. Liberally applied every time we come out of the water and anytime we are out of the house near sand.

Last time we were there (May 09) we arrived right at the end of a very heavy "monsoon-like" week of bad rain which followed months of really dry weather. The combination created a mosquito “storm”. They literarily drove us away from the sugar plantation ruins because we couldn’t keep up with them. Between the very hot weather creating a drenching “shower like” sweat condition of our shorts and t-shirts and the clouds of bugs surrounding us every time we exited the house/car/water (whatever) we were constantly itching. Thankfully, it took about a week for the worse part to grow into a problem and we left the day after it got so bad. I really felt for the people that were just arriving and for all the permanent island natives.

Better living through chemistry. Rum and DEET.

[emptynester]

In order to keep them out of the villa you need to leave all of your sandy stuff you took to the beach outside! I shake out all towels and take them straight to the washing machine if you have one. The last time we stayed at Concordia I used camping towels so I could wash them in the sink and hang them to dry outside. We also carry the little foil wrapped deet wipes and just use them on our legs at night before we go out. I also purchased mosquito coils and burn them at night in our bedroom. With all of that we're coming back next February!
Sharon

[nuendelcapecod]

I've tried the West Indies itch relief stuff and it is phenomenal! So much more pleasant to use than After Bite. We just came back from tenting in CBC; the second morning I woke up with my face totally swollen. Had probably received hundreds of bites overnite. We got some Raid and sprayed the inside of the tent. There were mosquito carcasses everywhere! It took 2 days for the swelling to go down - I tried the native remedy of painkiller leaves with boiling water poured over them and applied like a mask for 15-20 minutes. That and benadryl helped me stop looking like a Neanderthal.Thank goodness I had my huge granny sunglasses or I would've scared people. And the bites on my face never itched at all.

[TraumaQueen]

Holy cow! I'm glad Benadryl worked for you! Hopefully the bugs won't be so bad mid-May!

Thanks again for all of the responses! Keep 'em coming!