Just a Reminder for People Going in May

[Virgo10]

During my trips to WDW in May of 2003 and 2002 I ran into a problem I've never experience during any of my other trips... Insect bites! Evidentially Florida gets what we'd call Noseeums during that month.

These are not like mosquito bites. The itch (at least to me) was bad enough to wake me up during the night. You need to bring bug spray with you and also anti-itch medicine. Don't leave your hotel without them!

Nasty little things, I almost never felt them bite me but hours later the itching would start and it lasted for days and days. The bites go through stages and at times almost look like the Chicken Pox.

Will this put me off from visiting in May. No Way! (see my counter ) but I would hate to see anyone get down there and have this happen to them. I seem to remember last year there was quite a bit of discussion about the bug bites at WDW during the spring.

Hope this helps someone going in May for the first time.

Roberta

 

[lillygator]

actually they are here year round but worse during the hotter months.....(at least in Sarasota by the beach)

 

[threeboysmom]

Wow! We usually go to WDW in May (at least 15 times!) and have never encountered problems with bugs of any kind! It would never even dawn on me to pack bug spray. I guess the bugs just don't like my family

But thanks for the warning as we are going in May (again!)

 

[WeLoveThePoly]

I don't know if they were Noseeums (? never heard of those before) or mosquitos but when we went to MNSSHP in October we were bitten up pretty fiercely by something! We didn't have a problem with bugs during the day but that night was awful!

I had asked a CM at the MK where I might buy OFF and she said they don't sell it anywhere on property. Apparently they used to but some guests were having reactions to the spray and complaining so they can't sell it anymore. I don't know if that's true but that's what I was told. Maybe just bring some OFF or Skin-So-Soft with you.

Debbie

 

[luvindisneyworld]

I was bitten badly last year while there.It was to the point that i had to spray myself down before I left the room and then i had to carry the repellant with me and spray a few more times through the day and evening.I was miserable.My DH said they were biting because I am so sweet LOL.

i will never ever go to Florida again not prepared.I had to spend alot more on the sparay at the resort than if I had brought it from home.But, I would have give 100.00 for that little bottle .
Misty

 

[Timmbco]

I don't know what the bugs were but in November my legs were covered with bites that itched for over a month. I figured it happened at Old Man Island Pool at POR as I sat on a lounge chair watching the kids ( it was dark). I also did not feel the bites until way later. NO one else in my family had a problem. I know they were not mosquitos because they love my son.

I tried to buy bug spray at the outpost at Fort Wilderness and the cm behind the counter couldn't speak English well and had no idea what I was asking for....everyone in the store was helping and motioning and finally someone said "Off" and then she knew. It was pretty funny!

 

[magicmouse2]

OFF was no help for my DH who was bitten so badly a CM approached him and advised him to go to first aid or see a Doctor as he said he used to be a Doctor and he recognised that my DH had an allergic reaction to the bites which were swollen and filled with poison. We were very thankful. I wont go to Florida now without benadryl ar some form of antihistamine. My poor DH still itches where he was bitten and has really bad scars. This happened in Spetember 03 and was the worst month I have ever seen for mosquitos. What are the noseeums ? and can you actually see them ? I have experienced those large and painful biting flies

 

[dizneykid]

If I remember correctly, Off (or other bug spray) does not work on the Noseeums. You have to wear something that is oil based, like Skin So Soft. The little buggers get stuck in the oil and die. Then they can't bite you. They just don't seem to be repelled by anything else.

Also, the warmer months is bad for the deer flies. I went to Disney last May and I got bit by one of them and the darn thing itched for three months. They looked like skinny yellow jackets to me. And let me tell you, when it bit, it felt like a small knife going through my skin. Ouch!

 

[Eeyore1954]

Avon's Skin So Soft worked for me. My DW was attacked when we were on Sanibel Island (FL) and she had a bad reaction. We've never had a problem with them at WDW, but we pack a couple of bottles of SSS anyway!

 

[Virgo10]

Originally posted by WeLoveThePoly
I don't know if they were Noseeums (? never heard of those before)

Debbie

Well we also call them Black Flies (The Maine State Bird )
They are no bigger than the head of a pin. Their bite in some folks causes a terrible reaction. I'm one of those who falls into that catagory. After reading the responses here, I can see that I'm not alone. Last year at WDW I used Deep Woods Off and it worked pretty good. The bad news was that I forgot a few times and had to use a topical lotion to keep the itching at bay. What worked the best for me was Band-Aid Anti-Itch Gel. I had it with me at all times.

Give me the Love Bugs any day!

Roberta

 

[beautybelle]

Me and my whole family went in May 03 and we also didnt have the first problem with bug bites (Im glad). Its true then you must be sweet. uh oh then that means Im.........................

 

[Simba's Mom]

Ah, Black Flies! As a former Massachusetts person whose DH hunted the first week in May, I remember those well. And I'm well acquainted with the treatments.

 

[ncbyrne]

Where can I buy Skin so soft without knowing an Avon rep? We'll be there May 2-12, but I honestly don't ever remember having any problems with any type of insects at WDW.

 

[QJ411]

Oh dear...thanks for the warning...I HATE bug bites. I get welts from one little bite! I'd rather be bitten by...a vampire than a mosquito and their families!

I will definetly load up on SSS! Thanks for the warning again!


NCBYRNE, check ur PM.

 

[iloveeeyore]

I always thought they were sand fleas. They killed me in October, and I think I got them at the Poly beach at night. Stay away from sand and I think you'll be OK! (could that be why some peolpe are affected and others are not?

 

[Whitegloves]

Originally posted by QJ411
I'd rather be bitten by...a vampire than a mosquito and their families!
NCBYRNE, check ur PM.

I suppose if the vampire was Angel or Spike I could live with that. =0)

ncbyrne,
Try AVON SITE
Maybe you can buy it online.

Smiles,
Diane

P.S.
I need to get some for my DD. we don't want any bug bites for the wedding. She got bit by something a few years ago and ended up with a welt on her thigh the size of a dinner plate.

 

[QJ411]

Originally posted by Whitegloves
I suppose if the vampire was Angel or Spike I could live with that. =0)

ncbyrne,
Try AVON SITE
Maybe you can buy it online.

Smiles,
Diane

P.S.
I need to get some for my DD. we don't want any bug bites for the wedding. She got bit by something a few years ago and ended up with a welt on her thigh the size of a dinner plate.

Oh YES...Angel or Spike!!! Yummy!

 

[mitros]

Are you sure you weren't bit by mosquitos? The no-see-ums are plentifull in our part of Florida, but they don't bite, they are just annoying because they fly right through the screen on pool cages and fill the pool surface. They look like dirt specks. Also, May is one of the two major love bug months, September being the other, but they don't bite. Some one earlier on in this thread mentioned that some are allergic to no-see-ums, but I have never had one bite, so, I don't know.....

 

[zumbergc]

About the no-see-ums, they just tend to bite some people and not others. There are like flea bits. Some people never get flea bites, or maybe they just don't have a reaction to them.

I'm the unlucky one. About 2 years ago something really attacked my feet, and legs. I had so many bites, and they targeted my little piggy toe in particular. We ended up going to one of the urgent care places because the little toe was swelling way to much. When the swelling had gone down, there were like
4 bites in the little area.

The doc suggested those benadryl creams, not just regular hydrocotosone creams. That trip I had been unlucky and had just brought regular hydrocortozine because the last trip to costa rica I had used them all up. So we had to stop by the drug store
to pick up the meds, and then the benydril cream. We also picked up a box of alcohol wipes. This way you can keep them with you in the park, or at the hotel, and not worry about a bottle opening up. Since we bought a box, I just pack some with us every trip.

Connie

 

[Virgo10]

Here's a site that will give you more information than you probably want to know about black flies.

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/livestock/bfly.htm

Noseeums is a local name for these pests. As to why some of us have such a bad reaction, I thought this was interesting:

Black flies have preferences for a wide range of individual host species. Adult females feed on the blood of humans, cattle, horses, sheep, goats, poultry, other livestock and wild mammals and birds. Each black fly species may prefer one type of host over another. The black fly common name sometimes indicates host specificity, for example the turkey gnat. Black flies are daytime biters preferring low wind conditions. They are not restricted to shaded or humid sites, and usually do not go indoors. They are attracted to hosts from a distance by smell, heat, and by sight. The female flies swarm around and crawl on the host preferring the head, hair, and ears as well as any skin that is exposed or that they can crawl onto.
Some people are very attractive to black flies and have strong feeding reactions. Others appear to repel black flies and are bitten little if at all.

Happy reading

Roberta