Horrible BUGS on Castaway Cay this past Sunday

[AquaDame]

They were bad!! Everyone was getting bit and they swarmed everywhere, including the ship! They were tiny reddish yellow looking things and they were SO annoying. 8 times on that island and I've never experienced them before. Anyone know what the heck these things were????

THANK YOU!!!!!!! We had these all over us when we were at Serenity Bay on 1/26 and everyone thought we were crazy when we asked if they were bugging everyone else! We packed up and went to the family beach where they weren't... yet it sounds. If you google pics of sand fleas they're huge so I had no idea what they were, but since someone said no see ums I googled that and they look way closer... these things were TINY though... we felt itchy and finally I asked my husband who stared at his arm until he could see them! yuck!!

 

[abja09]

Thanks for the warning! I am at CC next week and will be sure to go buy some bug spray to bring with us.

 

[NickyKnack]

What will wearing bug repellent into the ocean do to the local sea life? I don't want to get eaten alive, but I also don't want to poison the waters near shore.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Many had insect repellant on their packing lists and I always too it off. Back on it goes!

 

[justmestace]

Make sure you take a bug repellant with DEET. Most of the combo bug spray/sunscreens won't work.

 

[MyShoes]

Until reading this post, I didn't even think of bringing along bug spray. Thanks everyone for the info on CC.

 

[BadWitch]

THANK YOU!!!!!!! We had these all over us when we were at Serenity Bay on 1/26 and everyone thought we were crazy when we asked if they were bugging everyone else! We packed up and went to the family beach where they weren't... yet it sounds. If you google pics of sand fleas they're huge so I had no idea what they were, but since someone said no see ums I googled that and they look way closer... these things were TINY though... we felt itchy and finally I asked my husband who stared at his arm until he could see them! yuck!!

will bug spray even work on these things then?? Ugh. The LAST thing I wanna do is bring sand fleas back to my room/clothes/luggage.

 

[TheLanes]

What will wearing bug repellent into the ocean do to the local sea life? I don't want to get eaten alive, but I also don't want to poison the waters near shore.

Great question! I don't think it's good at all!

There is a great snorkeling bay in Akumal (across from Cozumel) that only allows sunscreens that are safe for the environment. We used that stuff, but it is the slimiest stuff I've ever used.

 

[ocspartan]

What will wearing bug repellent into the ocean do to the local sea life? I don't want to get eaten alive, but I also don't want to poison the waters near shore.

Probably no worse than a 129k ton vessel coming into port every day... Along with all of the emissions, and waste produced by the thousands of visitors.... Now don't go spraying bug spray on the water, but I would think most are safe enough to use until these bugs move on

 

[justmestace]

What will wearing bug repellent into the ocean do to the local sea life? I don't want to get eaten alive, but I also don't want to poison the waters near shore.

In a marine preserve area, where there is a living reef and some endangered species, you're asked to use an eco-friendly sunscreen and/or repellant. But Castaway Cay has neither. It apparently isn't a problem because we've never been asked to use anything specific.

 

[4mousefans]

We were on the Jan. 4-11 Eastern Fantasy...spent the mid-morning til afternoon on Serenity Bay. Out of the water, those little bugs were everywhere and biting...we spent a good amount of time in the water and there was no problem. Once we went over to the family beach late afternoon, there was none of that, so not sure if they are more likely to be found on the adult beach versus the family beach? They were annoying, but even though I was bit several times it wasn't a big deal. We had the best weather on Castaway Cay day...the rest of the cruise was overcast, super windy and raining.

 

[DVC Mary]

It's only happened once to us & the only thing different about that trip is that we spend a lot of time in boat bay on sea kayak & I took a delightful nap over there.

Not so delightful when I woke up itchy. I went straight to 1st Aid & they sprayed me w/ an ammonia substance. It brought down the itching right away, but I still had the bites. Luckily I had some hydro-cortisone cream I could use on them. The rest of my family got none-to hardly any. Our cruise was in mid July.

 

[OrcaPotter]

There were swarms of sand fleas at Serenity Bay on Tuesday. Everything was covered! They were extremely tiny and tan colored, so you didn't notice until they were everywhere and your towel began to move. 3rd time to Castaway Cay and my 1st encounter with them.

 

[Eric Julie and Hailey]

We were at SB on Tuesday all day. No issues at all.

Well, except that I forgot to put suntan lotion on my face and now I look like a lobster!