Dreaded Mosquitoes?

[Ceilidhscot]

Hi all

Just home from a holiday in Croatia and my legs look like the surface of the moon! The reason, I suffer from Skeeter Syndrome (major allergy to mosquito bites) so when bitten, bite swells and becomes incredibly itchy then weeps fluid for a few days. Driving me mad even with antihistamine cream.

Going to Florida next year (Oct) so can I have your best mosie repellent / bite cooler recommendations please?

I've heard DEET stinks so would rather not smell like a petrochemical plant if possible. I'll likely take something like Pirateze before and during hols to try and build up resistance (so my Scottish blood doesn't taste like a Jiko meal to the locals lol!).

But something I can use in conjunction with suncream

And something that will stop the itch immediately (or within 5 minutes) and lasts more than that duration.

TIA

 

[Ceilidhscot]

I'm a glutton for punishment as staying at Port Orleans Riverside! (to be fair, I didnt know I'd react as badly as I have when I booked the holiday). There's the boat to Disney Springs and I'll wear long loose trousers for that (as they seem to love my legs) but have read they can bit through denim so probably won't stop the little devils!

Thankfully DH and DD have no reaction to bites so they should be ok..only my blood they seem to have a taste for as currently sporting 4 bites of right leg and 6 on left (left knee almost double the size and burning to the touch which makes it uncomfortable to walk). Not the best for Disney where 8 miles a day is the norm (or so I've heard!).

 

[Tony Toon]

We're in Florida at the moment (stayed for 10 days at SSR, now on the Gulf Coast then heading back up to Orlando at the weekend to stay in a villa) and all the rooms have leaflets with advice as how to avoid the dreaded mossies. There are tables set up all around the parks with free repellent that you can use while you're there. Didn't use any (they don't like me although DH is considerably tastier) so didn't pay more attention. This is a change from our last visit 2 years ago and I would imagine is their response to Zika. I also believe that Disney has multiple 'ponds' in close proximity to the parks that tempt the little blighters to keep out of the road of guests and cast members.

Enjoy POR - we always take the boat there to visit. It's lovely!

Mrs TT

 

[wifey]

I use a 1 per cent hydrocortisone cream to reduce that swelling and itch. Follow with ice packs and cold wraps. Take in a day Acrivastine Benadryl antihistamines too Once the swelling goes down moisturise religiously for the next week. It does reduce the scarring on the skin. I have suffered with the little blighter just recently this is my best form of treatment to recover quickly. Dab some tea trea oil on your pulse points too they don't like that at all if you have sensitive skin put some carrier oil on first.

 

[loves to dive]

I have the same problem and thankfully, in all my years of going to WDW have never been bitten. They do have bottles of Off in the rooms, I've found the only thing that keeps the little devils from biting me at other places (including my back yard) is deet. Some people swear by Avon Skin So Soft, I've seen people using it on dive boats in the Carrabean.

 

[Ceilidhscot]

Thanks everyone - useful to know they have free repellent!

I've never had them as bad as this year (had the occasional one bite in Thailand / Singapore). Even the Scottish midge ignored me two years ago on Skye but the Croatian mosquitoes were pure evil!

I've got the ice pack on the worst one as I type and taken some piritoneze I bought from Lloyds pharmacy. Thankfully none seem infected (yet anyway) but last night was torture with 3 of them so itchy I literally wanted to rip my skin off!

We never got home till after 10.30pm last night so no chance to go to the chemist and only had gel a Croatian chemist had sold me which was rubbish so don't want to go with that again next year or I'd be Mrs Grump in the happiest place on earth.

 

[wifey]

Thanks everyone - useful to know they have free repellent!

I've never had them as bad as this year (had the occasional one bite in Thailand / Singapore). Even the Scottish midge ignored me two years ago on Skye but the Croatian mosquitoes were pure evil!

I've got the ice pack on the worst one as I type and taken some piritoneze I bought from Lloyds pharmacy. Thankfully none seem infected (yet anyway) but last night was torture with 3 of them so itchy I literally wanted to rip my skin off!

We never got home till after 10.30pm last night so no chance to go to the chemist and only had gel a Croatian chemist had sold me which was rubbish so don't want to go with that again next year or I'd be Mrs Grump in the happiest place on earth.

From what I've seen recently the Mosquito Repellant Wipes are 30 per cent DEET which isn't great for long term use but just for a vacation is fine. I'm very tempted to take some Jungle Formula repellant from home too, it has different strengths here in the U.K.
I hope your bites heal up soon I got bitten like that at work very recently by bugs that went to town on my legs ...nasty little critters. They healed up fairly quickly though.

 

[Mummycat]

We all have a good spray of Jungle repellant in the evenings before we head out whilst in Florida and that seems to do the trick. I also have the type of blood that makes me a juicy target for all blood sucking blighters
A little stinky when first applied but the smell soon goes

 

[Starwind]

A few options:

There is clothing that has repellant in it. An example is ExOfficio's Bugsaway line, which is described as "Bug blocking: BugsAway® apparel is treated with Insect Shield®, giving you invisible, odorless protection just by putting on your clothes. The treatment is bound to fabric fibers, so it stays in your clothes—not on your skin—and lasts through 70 washes. Ants, flies, chiggers, midges, and ticks don't like it, and neither do mosquitoes, which can transmit insect-borne diseases such as Zika, Chikungunya, Dengue, and West Nile viruses." There are many brands and options. A good outdoors store should have plenty, as well as online retailers.

There is Permethrin spray, which you spray onto your clothing, allow to dry, and is then good for about 6 washes. Permethrin is a man-made version of a natural insect repellent found in a type of chrysanthemum plant. It is also what ExOfficio's Bugsaway line uses as well as most other bug-away clothing that isn't relying on a purely physical barrier (like a fine mesh).

For yourself:

I can't use DEET products because they give me a rash and trigger asthma attacks. If you aren't already aware, DEET is also horrible for any type of plastic, as it melts it. This includes some types of synthetic clothing.

Consumer reports has some good information about insect repellants: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/insect-repellent.htm as does the US' CDC: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellow...ion-against-mosquitoes-ticks-other-arthropods REI has an article on how to choose an insect repellant: https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/insect-repellents.html

For our family, we do a combination of long sleeves and long pants and picaridin-based repellants. I like the ones that are in wipes as I find them less messy. The ones I use are these, the Natrapel picaridin wipes: http://natrapel.com/all/natrapel-8-hour-wipes.html I don't know if that brand is available where you are, but picaridin has been available in Europe for much longer than it has in the USA.

The long sleeves and long pants we wear when at WDW are also sun protective clothing with a UPF of 50+. The pants are easy, for the top I will often wear a "normal" top layered under a long sleeve coverup or jacket, and that top layer is the sun protective one [also cheaper this way, as I can reuse that top layer from day to day; good UPF clothing is NOT cheap]. We also wear a good UPF 50+ hat with at least a 3" wide brim. The advantage of this is it significantly reduces how much sunscreen I need to wear, as I only have to put it on the exposed areas. I am then not battling sunscreen + bug screen... Some UPF clothing is ALSO insect repellent clothing.

This is what the CDC page above says about sunscreen and repellant: QUOTE "Repellents that are applied according to label instructions may be used with sunscreen with no reduction in repellent activity; however, limited data show a one-third decrease in the sun protection factor (SPF) of sunscreens when DEET-containing insect repellents are used after a sunscreen is applied. Products that combine sunscreen and repellent are not recommended, because sunscreen may need to be reapplied more often and in larger amounts than needed for the repellent component to provide protection from biting insects. In general, the recommendation is to use separate products, applying sunscreen first and then applying the repellent. Due to the decrease in SPF when using a DEET-containing insect repellent after applying sunscreen, travelers may need to reapply the sunscreen more frequently." END QUOTE

Good luck.

SW

 

[sam_rogers]

I'm a mosquito magnet and from 4 trips to Orlando, 3 in September and 1 in may, I can't recall ever having a single mosquito bite...Maybe I'm just not as tasty in florida
I play netball outdoors here which is when I'm normally bitten to death if I forget my mozzie spray, my weapon of choice is normally jungle formula which seems to do the trick!

 

[Woodview]

We use Jungle Formula , Off ! Deep Woods , & Backwoods Cutter

You can buy them in CVS or any Grocery Store like Publix or WalMart

You can bring them home to U.K. in your Hold Luggage .

 

[flortlebap]

I second the free repellant, but I've never been bitten in Florida even without it, I guess I'm just not that tasty over there.

A spider liked me once though and gave me a poisonous bite - that was a fun visit

 

[chmurf]

If you stay on property, they spray so much every morning, that you have a better chance of getting insect repellant allergy than insect bites

buy your repellant in the US if you have the chance to go shopping
The formula might be more adapted to local species.

As far as we're concerned as a family, we've never been bitten in haf a dozen 3 weeks trip
and some in the family are mosquito magnets.
spiders, fire ants, yes. Mosquitoes, no.

 

[Wakey]

It is unlikely you will be bitten in Disney. I have been maybe 20 times, and do not think I was ever bitten there. Go off the beaten track into forests etc though, it is a different story and some places in Florida have much poorer mosquito control. Rotunda was awful, but that was more no see ums. I react badly and they come up the size of golf balls. Once in Venice Florida the receptionist in the hotel saw them and gave me some capsules of liquid to put on them. As stated though do not let this worry you if you are in Disney- I would say (guess based on how many times me and family have been- but i have heard of some people getting bitten) 95%+ chance unlikely to be bitten.

 

[Aardvarks]

In the theme parks we use a midday application of Repel Lemon Eucalyptus. Buy it at Walmart. Off the beaten track anywhere in the USA other than Disney or Universal we use Repel Sportsmen dry which is 25% deet. For post bite itching heat a metal spoon for 20 seconds in a cup of hot water and then apply the spoon bowl to the bite. Supplement this with chlorpheniramine 4mg tablets every 4 hours. You can get these in Walmart pharmacy, Walgreens etc...any label will do but if you have to ask.. Equate chlor tabs are as cheap as any at 100 tabs for under 5USD. The other thing worth trying is a pizoelectric zapper like a zanzaclick. I steer clear of topical antihistamines as they are pretty useless but I know people who use topical NSAIDs like diclofenac gel as a pain reliever. My personal favourite is to use a dental pain reliever in Anbesol a 2% lidocain gel for toothache and gum pain and it takes the sting out of any insect bite in a minute or so. Unlikely to get bitten in the parks but Animal Kingdom would be the biggest risk and anywhere in town including shopping malls near fountains and lakes. I am fine in Florida but I was bitten a few times in Cape Cod last summer. The spoon thing works if you can stand the heat. Much higher chance of bites in the National parks like Wekiva, Ponce de Leon, Crystal River etc.