Do we need bug repellent?

[scottie]

Should we be armed with bug/mosquito repellent for our 9/22 sailing?

 

[prymsu]

IMHO i would say yes. My son just attracts bugs and gets bitten up so I always take some. There have been threads on this board where others thought it would not be necessary to take any bug repellent with them. I would rather carry it along and not have to use it, rather than not have it and need it.

 

[mmouse37]

I always carry it with us, but after 6 DCL cruises I never had to use is once. Next time I might leave it home.

MJ

 

[inkkognito]

YES YES YES!!!
Out of 20 plus Disney cruises, I never had a problem before, but on #25 I was viciously attacked by sand fleas on Castaway Cay! I didn't even realize it until that evening, when the backs of both legs in the knee area broken out in huge red welts (I suspect I'm allergic to the little buggers). Now bug repellant will be a permanent part of our travelling gear.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[disneyholic family]

sand fleas???...
i figured it was sea lice when i read your description of the bites..
so how exactly do you get sand flea bites?...were you sitting on the sand?..

(this is being added to my list of why i never go to the beach)...

 

[inkkognito]

I could not swear with 100 percent certainty that it is sand fleas, since I didn't feel or see the bites till I got back on the ship. But I was told by someone on board that it looked like sand fleas and that they are active when it is damp...there had been a drizzle at lunch, and I spent a lot of time in a lounge chair afterwards, so near as I can figure, that is what it was. It was just so weird after 24 previous cruises with no problems!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[peagreenid]

Pre Cruise-

Bring the BIGGEST BOTTLE YOU CAN FIND!!! The mosquitos there were HORRID last September. Put a real damper on our planned dis meet. They were biting through the holes in the pool chair........we spent 7 days scratching our bu**'s

smiles Patty

 

[PiperG]

Originally posted by inkkognito
I could not swear with 100 percent certainty that it is sand fleas, since I didn't feel or see the bites till I got back on the ship. But I was told by someone on board that it looked like sand fleas and that they are active when it is damp...there had been a drizzle at lunch, and I spent a lot of time in a lounge chair afterwards, so near as I can figure, that is what it was. It was just so weird after 24 previous cruises with no problems!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

Barb, we experienced an awful case of sand fleas at the Poly last December. You are right, in that I didn't feel anything biting me at all. It was not like a mosquito bite, where you feel that little bugger going after you! We had red, itchy welts all over our toes and ankles.

Will bug repellent work for sand fleas? If so, that is great. I had heard you can only avoid them thorough use of water shoes, whereby your skin does not have any actual contact with the sand.

I am curious to hear what others say will work against sand fleas. Thanks!

 

[disneyholic family]

Barb, I hope your bites have gone away...
i've never heard of sand fleas so my guess is the beaches here don't have them (perhaps because it's essentially a desert climate)....
not to worry...we have plenty of other nasty little bugs to keep us busy...

 

[TinkerBellPixie4GOAL]

Sand fleas can be sooo annoying! I would say that you should definetly bring a bottle of insect repellent, even if it is just while you're in port. There has been a recent out break of the West Nile Virus in Florida. We have all been warned to wear insect repeelent whenever we go out at night.

Buggers--I love that word.

 

[atigeg]

We have West Nile here in the Chicago area too--very scary, particularly since I love to go horseback riding in the forest preserve. This year they have a new vaccine for horses for West Nile, so both Cochise and Figment are protected. The vet assistant told me that it is being tested on horses this year, and if it is effective, it will soon be available for humans.
My bites were all behind my knees rather than on my feet, but I was sitting in a lounge chair which is fairly low over the sand. The bites are going down now, but you can still see them. I used sunscreen with bug repellant on the last cruise and did not get any new bites, so hopefully it is effective.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[disneyholic family]

we also have west nile, but for a number or reasons aren't as badly affected by it (although there are a few deaths every year among the very old or immune deficient)...
for one thing, it's been around here for years and years, so the population has been exposed to it....the claims are that over time people build up immunity...
also, right now it's the dry seaon (no rain at all....not even one little drop for at least 6 months), not exactly conducive to mosquitos....once it starts raining, the little buggers will have a place to grow (standing water)....
but take my word for it, we have a lot more threatening things to worry about than a few mosquitos.......we'd be lucky if that was the worst of our problems...