Mosquito repellent

[StEpHandMiKe<3Disney]

My husband will attract a mosquito from a mile away if we are at home, but we have never had to use repellent at WDW. We go in May when they love bugs are everywhere, but they never bother us.

 

[suz_cute]

I'm the same as FeralPeg. If there's a bug withing a 10 mile radius, it will find it's way to me, and devour my legs and arms like a smorgasbord. I use Off Skintastic because it doesn't stink like most bug sprays, and it's safe to use on kids too. There are plenty of bugs in WDW, but you won't notice them much in parks. I got eaten alive one year in the Treehouse Villas at SSR, and another time during Fantasmic at DHS. From those times on, I always bring my spray!!

 

[goofyredraider]

I plan to use the citronella silicone bracelets to help.
http://mosquitnoband.com/ - I bought ours at a local store, though.

 

[flexsmom]

In the 14 times we've been to WDW, the only time we had trouble with mosquitoes was one year at Thanksgiving. We had gone to Fort Wilderness for the Chip and Dale sing-a-long.

We never wear mosquito spray, but the mosquito repellant with sunscreen sounds good. Another thing I had considered is buying the mosquito repellant wipes to carry in the backpack in case we needed them.

If you've never used the wipes before, be careful. I've used deet in the past, and just about every spray out there, with no problems. But the one time I used the wipe on my legs, my skin burned badly from a reaction to something on the wipe. It blistered horribly and took a steroid cream and 2 weeks to return to normal.

I'm also a fan of the Evergreen Research bracelets - the smell good and last for 200 hours. My kids have used the at summer camp in the woods with good results.

 

[Symon]

We just got back last week and boy was I bitten by mosquitos!! I have an allergic reaction that has gotten better as I age, but I must not be used to Florida mosquitos! We watched the fireworks from the Poly the first night we were there, and by the next night my foot (where I got about 3 bites) was swollen to double in size! I know this reaction is not typical, but it almost ruined my vacation! After a lot of Benadryl, ice and worrying by my traveling companions, I survived and had an enjoyable rest of the trip. But if you are like me and have a reaction to bug bites, I would definately take some precautions!!

 

[kneemeister]

Years ago; in my late teens, I was in Canada with my uncle. We had a water problem with our fishing boat. IE it sank We were stranded for serveral days, in the bush, with no repellent. Needless to say, i got bitten so badly on my ears they swelled up so big that I could have played one of the seven dwarfs . To this day I can walk thru a swarm of skeeters and even thought I get bit, I don't even get welts and no itches afterwards. So I think that the solution to the bug problem, is part of the bug problem. We have all become dependent on Off and now have little or no built in immunity.

But the only place that I have really noticed bugs was while camping at The Fort, and even there it was not as bad as sitting on my own deck back in Michigan.

 

[TBGOES2DISNEY]

We just got back last week and boy was I bitten by mosquitos!! I have an allergic reaction that has gotten better as I age, but I must not be used to Florida mosquitos! We watched the fireworks from the Poly the first night we were there, and by the next night my foot (where I got about 3 bites) was swollen to double in size! I know this reaction is not typical, but it almost ruined my vacation! After a lot of Benadryl, ice and worrying by my traveling companions, I survived and had an enjoyable rest of the trip. But if you are like me and have a reaction to bug bites, I would definately take some precautions!!

I totally agree with this. If you typically have a strong reaction to bites, bring repellent. One of my dds swells severely after mosquito bites and needs ice and Benadryl also. Two of my kids were bitten when walking around the resort at POR. The bites looked a little bit different than mosquito bites at home, so maybe it was a noseeum (biting midge/sand flea). I'm bringing spray for sure next time though.

 

[OBChristine]

We went in August 3 years ago and I don't remember seeing any mosquitos. I think it's too darn hot for them. haha

 

[puakinikini]

If you are "casual" bug repellent user, no you probably won''t need it.

But every now and then someone will post on here that they got mosquito bites at WDW.

So, I always bring it and always wear it. If there is a mosquito within miles they will find me and bite me, and my kids are the same way. It is actually the family joke that I don't stick my toe out of the door without OFF, and it's true.

Everyone else seems to wait until they get bitten or see swarms before they spray themselves. Not me. I spray first and ask questions later. For me, waiting for bugs to be seen before applying repellent is like waiting till you are red before applying sunscreen.

My daughter is this exact same way - I will be bringing both the OFF and AVON skin so soft on our trip.