Tip for mosquito bites from an Adirondack camper

[Set Free]

I work at a camp in the Adirondacks in NY where they grow mosquitos so big they need air traffic controllers to work with them! Seriously, they are HUGE and so plentiful it's horrible. Most kids who go to camp come home with scars on their legs similar to those on Survivor. :)

 

A few years ago I was taking 100 mg. B6 and 1000 mg. vitamin C (500 mg. in the morning and 500 at night) for carpal tunnel syndrome (it really does help) and I found that, while I was being bitten by the mosquitoes, I was not getting any sort of reaction AT ALL! It was so weird because I usually get massive welts from bites but I was getting nothing. I was telling this to the nurse and she asked if I was taking vitamins B and C and I told her I was. They found that those two vitamins somehow stop the violent reaction to mosquitoes and they recommend all of the staff to take them all through the summer. They usually say a good B-complex and the 1000 mg. of C each day is the way to go. They get some of the counselors from Europe where they don't seem to have the mosquito issues or something and when those poor girls come to the US, they are in TERRIBLE shape, often getting infections and cellulitis from the bites but if they get on the vitamins, they do not react at all.

 

So I think it's a pretty easy thing to do on a cruise - start taking the vitamins a few weeks before you go and just continue on your cruise. See if it helps!! Of course still use bug spray we know that bug spray doesn't work for every single bite so to know that at least we won't react will be a great reassurance. :)

[Canary50]

I work at a camp in the Adirondacks in NY where they grow mosquitos so big they need air traffic controllers to work with them! Seriously, they are HUGE and so plentiful it's horrible. Most kids who go to camp come home with scars on their legs similar to those on Survivor. :)

 

A few years ago I was taking 100 mg. B6 and 1000 mg. vitamin C (500 mg. in the morning and 500 at night) for carpal tunnel syndrome (it really does help) and I found that, while I was being bitten by the mosquitoes, I was not getting any sort of reaction AT ALL! It was so weird because I usually get massive welts from bites but I was getting nothing. I was telling this to the nurse and she asked if I was taking vitamins B and C and I told her I was. They found that those two vitamins somehow stop the violent reaction to mosquitoes and they recommend all of the staff to take them all through the summer. They usually say a good B-complex and the 1000 mg. of C each day is the way to go. They get some of the counselors from Europe where they don't seem to have the mosquito issues or something and when those poor girls come to the US, they are in TERRIBLE shape, often getting infections and cellulitis from the bites but if they get on the vitamins, they do not react at all.

 

So I think it's a pretty easy thing to do on a cruise - start taking the vitamins a few weeks before you go and just continue on your cruise. See if it helps!! Of course still use bug spray we know that bug spray doesn't work for every single bite so to know that at least we won't react will be a great reassurance. :)

 

Does anyone know whether there are mosquitos or other bugs while onboard during a Panama canal cruise??

[ailuro]

Eat garlic too, or take garlic capsules, it makes you less likely to be eaten alive, apparently.

 

skin so soft by Avon is fine for light levels of mossies, but I'll be taking my deep woods off stuff we bought last time we were in Canada.

 

I've not forgotten the shock that Churchill is the world's worst place for mossies, since we are in Alaska I'll be taking precautions...;)

[malowe701]

I too am interested in whether there will be a mosquito problem on a Panama Canal cruise. We are going in October.

 

We just returned from a week at a resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and never saw a mosquito. We even saw them fogging, something one doesn't see where we live. Anyway, I STILL got bites from something I'll call "no-see-ums"! Never saw a fly, bug, or mosquito but I have the welts to prove that something bit me. I wore bug repellant after the first evening out and about. Then the last evening I didn't spray myself and I got two more!

 

Will I have a problem on our Panama cruise?

[LHT28]

Does anyone know whether there are mosquitos or other bugs while onboard during a Panama canal cruise??

 

I never saw any but we did the full transit ... no shore excursions in the canal zone.

I took bug spray with DEET just in case but never used it

[Canary50]

I never saw any but we did the full transit ... no shore excursions in the canal zone.

I took bug spray with DEET just in case but never used it

 

Thanks! We're planning a full transit.

Just trying to decide which cruise line and itinerary. We did RCI to Alaska and Celebrity in the Mediterannean and loved everything about every port and the ships. Now we'd like to try Holland America.

[grandmato4]

Does anyone know whether there are mosquitos or other bugs while onboard during a Panama canal cruise??

 

No bugs at all on our Feb 2009 partial canal transit. Our excursions in Costa Rica and Panama were bug free.

[jollyjones]

I'm going to Alaska in mid-June and I never considered mossies - I'm used to dealing with them here at home but I guess I thought Alaska would be too cold - are they a problem?

[silverado44]

DEET works good also.

[Sea&SkiCruiser]

We did a full Panama transit last November and only encountered mosquitos in Costa Rica on our bird sanctuary excursion. I shared my repellant wipes with another lady who was also being bitten. They worked great.

[room010]

I am a Mozzie Magnet and have tried most of the sprays and remedies, usually with only limited success. Super Tropical Strength bug repellant spray or gel works to a certain extent. I've heard about Vitamin B and will try it during my Panama cruise in November. I also know people who swear by a few drops of vanilla essence in a small water spray bottle. If it doesn't work at least it smells nice! My main defence is to keep arms and legs, especially ankles, covered at dusk which seems to be when the mozzie squadrons attack most viciously.

[Canary50]

I am a Mozzie Magnet and have tried most of the sprays and remedies, usually with only limited success. Super Tropical Strength bug repellant spray or gel works to a certain extent. I've heard about Vitamin B and will try it during my Panama cruise in November. I also know people who swear by a few drops of vanilla essence in a small water spray bottle. If it doesn't work at least it smells nice! My main defence is to keep arms and legs, especially ankles, covered at dusk which seems to be when the mozzie squadrons attack most viciously.

 

I am also a magnet for the little devils. It doesn't look like there will be a problem for the Panama cruise though.

Have you ever tried Watkins? It's a mosquito repellant in a nice smelling lotion and works very well in India, I wasn't bitten once.

[ookpik]

I'm going to Alaska in mid-June and I never considered mossies - I'm used to dealing with them here at home but I guess I thought Alaska would be too cold - are they a problem?

 

I bought a T shirt in Alaska.It had an humongous mossie on it and the caption"Alaska state bird"

They are large with a voracious appetite!

Bon Voyage!

[Azure Moon]

I like an insect repellent called Ultrathon. A travel clinic healthcare provider recommended it since it got good reviews and worked well for her. It worked well for us in Belize. Ultrathon is very hard to find in stores, but it can be found online.