Mosquitoes in the Caribbean?

[whimsicalmoon]

I've been looking at options for beach hols in Jan or Feb next year. Obviously Europe is unreliable weather wise at that time of year, so I'm looking into the Caribbean (maybe Grenada or St Lucia), but I'm quite worried about mosquitoes and the possibility of getting something like dengue, which sounds dreadful!

Asking around at work, nobody else seems to worry about this. Am I overreacting? I'm a bit of a worrier and I'm afraid that worrying about dengue or something would ruin the trip!

You can also catch dengue fever from mozzies in Europe! I know of absolutely no-one who has ever gotten it from anywhere so just go and have a wonderful time! I got eaten alive by them in Antigua but unknown to me before booking there was a large stagnant lake behind our hotel so just be careful where you book!

Tourist areas are heavily sprayed to keep mozzie numbers down & you'll unlikely see a single mozzie.

You are over reacting - if you stay in a resort they generally spray .

Douse yourself in spray & you will be fine !

Regular Caribbean traveler

I had Dengue Fever in Thailand back in 2012 and it was pretty rough but that was in the middle of a 2.5 year trip travelling through a lot of hot, tropical countries and it was the only time I got sick. It wouldn't even cross my mind for a 2 week holiday to the Caribbean or anywhere else.

I used Smidge repellant in Antigua last January and only ended up with 2 bites. Normally, I get bitten by anything and everything so I was very pleased. I wouldn’t worry about it too much but would definitely use a repellant.

We go to Grenada a lot and always rent a villa. We use Moi's repellent and in the evenings spray the bedrooms with moss killer that we get at supermarket. V rarely have a bite.

Take a repellent with Deet and use it.

Sleep under a mosquito net.

Take antihistamines in case you have a reaction and if they become infected go to see a Dr.

Also a friend of mine who was born in Jamaica says they like the taste of European food, so if you eat like a local your blood is not as tasty.

I have no idea if this is true.

BTW I had an infected bite in the UK.

My carer came back from Japan covered in bites - it's not somewhere you think of for mozzies.

Link below to how they looked before the antibiotics - warning it was posted in sporner corner.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/sporner_corner/4948196-my-carers-legs?reply=130916849

Deet is your friend. Also plug in mosquito repellent helps. And wearing long sleeves/trousers at dusk when they bite. Don't let the fear of them bother you. Dengue is not that common - just take sensible precautions

It's very, very rare in Europe though, isn't it? I know a few people who got dengue in the Caribbean or Central America and it's really put me off :(

I have to say dousing myself in spray isn't that appealing either...it's very strong! What do you do at night? Have you got any recommendations of somewhere to go where they spray and I'm unlikely to encounter many mosquitoes?

It seems more common on some islands than others...will have to do a bit more research I think! Also open to any recommendations!

The only bites I got in Barbados in Jan, were on my lower legs, at night. So, spray your legs/wear trousers

Was it fine in the end, as in you didn't get dengue or anything? What did you do at night in bed? Do you need to spray or wear DEET or do people just shut the windows and hope for the best?

I’ve been bitten everywhere from Italy to Cuba, think they are more attracted to some people than others. Wear repellent, it’s definitely worth it, the smell wears off in a few mins. You can get roll on versions too. It’s not worth worrying about too much - unlikely you will get sick but the bites themselves are unpleasant! At night just keep the sheet over you, but it usually seems to be legs that get bitten as the sun goes down.

Sunrise and sunset are the worst times for getting bitten. After that it depends where you are on the island (stagnant water, vegetation).

I lived in the Caribbean for 18 months before I got dengue (and I was bitten daily for those 18 months 🤷‍♀️). But I did get it during an epidemic on the island I live on.

The smell of the spray wears off quickly. But it really really does work. Because you can tell where you've missed it because you get bitten 😂

DH travels all over the Caribbean for work and rarely gets bitten as much as where we live.

I would highly recommend a holiday in the Caribbean though. It's gorgeous

If you're considering TTC I wouldn't go due to Zika. Otherwise the risks are low.

just to be clear, I'm not bothered about the bites themselves, I'm just worried about getting dengue or chikungunya or another horrible illness! I'm sure the chances are very low, but I do tend to have bad luck with this stuff! I've seen there's been recent epidemics on some islands like Puerto Rico, so maybe I should just steer clear of places that have had many cases?

Drink lots of tonic water with quinine in it in the weeks and days approaching the trip, and regularly during the trip. The quinine slightly adjusts the pH of the blood, making it less appealing to mosquitos (females- always the female of the species isn't it? ).

If you stay in a large resort they generally have spraying programmes so just contact the hotel

You can take a plug in for the room, rooms have screens and I don't leave the doors or windows open ever .

I do a check around the room a night and kill any I find

I spray myself before going out in the evening and early morning with "Jungle Formula" level 4 which is 50% deet - the smell quickly fades

I just read that you're meant to wash it off when you return inside but I've never done that !

I also take loose trousers for some evenings not just dresses so I have options

Mosquitoes carry mosquito - borne diseases, as PP said there are mosquitoes carrying dengue etc in Europe now although it’s very rare. Your best option to avoid catching anything is wearing repellent. It’s very unlikely you would catch anything but if worried wear repellent!

Also don’t wear perfume, they like it!

Picaridin is an new repellent. It’s been shown to work as well as Deet. It’s much kinder to your skin, it doesn’t stain your clothes and it smells much nicer. I got some from Amazon.

There is no zika anymore, and that was a bit of a panic over nothing, so don't need to worry about that one OP. There have been alot of cases of dengue in Barbados recently, both locals and tourists getting it. Your best bet is, as the others have said, using mozzie repellent and then sleep with air con on as the mosquitoes don't like the cold. Spray the rooms before you go to sleep too. My husband got dengue while we were on hol in Bdos and ended up in hospital for four days. It's no joke.

I live in the Dominican Republic. We had a massive dengue outbreak this year, my husband was in the hospital for a week with it. Not nice at all. However, the season is over, and new cases are rare. The mossie that carries dengue only bites during the day. I know you are worried, but if you live in fear of the "what ifs" you will miss so many fantastic experiences.