Is Insect Repellant Needed?

[lauren0309]

My husband and I are in the midst of packing for our cruise next week. Just wondering if insect repellant is needed on any of the beaches. We're going to Aruba, St. Martin, St. Thomas and Curacao?

[Host Kewlguy]

My husband and I are in the midst of packing for our cruise next week. Just wondering if insect repellant is needed on any of the beaches. We're going to Aruba, St. Martin, St. Thomas and Curacao?

 

I would say yes. Those biting flies down there are vicious.

[CoronaCpl]

Looking back on our experiences at these beaches, I can't remember being bothered by any bugs! Of course, drinking heavily the night before probably helps keep them away....:D

 

And we are both BIG TIME mosquito magnets!

[maxxboy]

Been on 9 cruises and never have had a need for bug spray. And I'm the one who usually gets bit!

[EggDropErin]

I would say yes. There were times we even were bitten during the daytime by mosquitos. For the life of me, I can't remember what island it was on...

 

All I know is that it was on our honeymoon, and the islands we visited were Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Marten, Atigua, St. Lucia, and Barbados.

 

Anyone else have this experience?

[luvcruzen]

I am not sure about these places but I know that I was told that in Costa Rica the bugs are as large as small children, and that I must bring bug repellent . I was told to get the kind with Deet, not the regular stuff.

[Host Kewlguy]

I am not sure about these places but I know that I was told that in Costa Rica the bugs are as large as small children, and that I must bring bug repellent . I was told to get the kind with Deet, not the regular stuff.

 

After hearing this I will be scratching Costa Rica off my places to visit list.

[EggDropErin]

After hearing this I will be scratching Costa Rica off my places to visit list.

 

You and me both! :eek:

[dexter]

We went into the jungles on the outskirts of San Miguel in Cozumel and I've never seen or heard so many mosquitoes in my life. I am from south Georgia and we had some big mosquitoes down there, but these are big enough to carry a small dog when they fly. YES...take plenty of repellent.

[Micki Dee]

Just back from Labadee, Aruba, Curacao, Costa Rica,and Panama. I never needed any bug spray. However, my husband and a few other people needed it on the zipline tour in Costa Rica. Bugs love my husband for some reason so he always brings it. If you're worried about it, bring some. It can't hurt.

[truffles2]

After hearing this I will be scratching Costa Rica off my places to visit list.

 

Don't recall being bitten even once in Costa Rica...and we were out walking around growing coffee among other things.

[JoeTx]

don't know about those areas in particular, but generally you have a nice wind on the beaches to keep flys and bitting insects to a minimum. Irregardless, I typically take a small spray bottle. Deet isn't good in large quantities and I prefer the pycarin type(sp?)

[luvcruzen]

You are correct that deet is not good in large quantities, but if it is only used occasionly, such as when walking or ziplining thru the jungles of Costa Rica, it shouldn't be a problem. My family does alot of camping and outdoorsy things so we have both the bug repellent from Avon (deet-free & great stuff), and also the Deet stuff from places like REI.

[cb at sea]

It must depend on the time of year. We've only had problems in Panama--couldn't keep the balcony door open as these black "flies" (I guess that's what they were!) were quite heavy outside the ship during the passage. That was the only port we noticed bugs.

Beaches don't usually have much of a problem, since there is a breeze most of the time!

[msbunny]

I can just answer for Aruba and the answer is no bug spray needed. I was there for a week during the past 2 summers. What we were told and what we experienced is that due to the almost constant trade winds, any flies/bugs that may be around are just blown away. Aruba is a wonderful place! A great fun and adventurous tour would be the Jeep tour to the Natural Pool.

[on board]

We are taking a tour in the rain forest and my Doctor told us to take it and use it! I have also heard about the flys plus remember about the biting fleas in the sand!

[Seaside2358]

I wasn't bothered in St. Thomas or St. Maarten but in Belize. OMG! If you ever cave tube bring the insect repellent. Just being picked up and driven there was a nightmare for mosquitos! Ouch!

[FunCruiser56]

We visited the islands you mentioned plus Costa Rica and Panama. We did use them only in Costa Rica while in the zip line, otherwise we were not bothered by any. We actually experience more bugs here at home in the summer.

We found some of the individual wipe packets of deep woods off that worked great. We kept a couple in our bag and had no worry about leakage.

 

Bev

[sea-cruise]

I wasn't bothered in St. Thomas or St. Maarten but in Belize. OMG! If you ever cave tube bring the insect repellent. Just being picked up and driven there was a nightmare for mosquitos! Ouch!

 

Belize, Guatamala, & Costa Rica were the worse locations for insect bites.... especially if you went inland to tour the Mayan ruins. Also, vendors had raw meat hung on strings in Belize City (really just a small town), which attracted biting flies.

Aruba, etc was never a problem for us because of the sea breeze. Happy cruising.

[sgttami]

If you do Alaska in summer...the mosquito is the state bird!!