How the mosquitos been this fall? From what I've seen there's been quite a bit of rain. 21 days to go!!!!!!!

Jim,

In my house here on Bonaire they've been bad at dusk and at night due to the occasional rain that has been falling recently (they breed in puddles). When we go out, we usually wear long pants and socks, and then they are no bother.

Jake

PS I moved your post because it was not a trip report.

I am guessing how much mosquitos are different for each individual sort of like water temperature. When we were there in August I brought 4 bottles of 100% DEET spray and never used it. My wife had no problems either. In the evenings we sat on the porch and read books and never once experienced any bug bites.

John.. may I be the first to say you are a freak of nature ! Okay just kidding there.... but man do they like me ! Whoa... they actually take "chunks" out of my legs. lol.... and I can hear them laughing at me, too. Or maybe that's those pesky voices I keep hearing in my head.. oh well, nevermind then..

August was pretty dry, less mosquitos.

Jake

Jim,

My suggestion - considering I have come back from Bonaire looking like I suffered from a bad case of chicken pox - BRING THE DEET or try to find some on island. Personally I bring the lovely 100% DEET with me because I honestly cannot be too careful. One time I tried like heck to find anti-itch cream but to no avail. But that was before I knew about the boards and about some of the VERY helpful people here.

Mara

They are bad at my house in town the same as Jake, dawn and dusk. But they are so tiny and slow I can kill ' em pretty good.

Love that Off bug repellant sunscreen. How clever is that?

Jake, are you running the skeeter magnet?

I was down 28 Sept until 13 Oct and found them bad by Bonaire standards (good by backwoods Washington standards). Any bites I get all tend to be below my knee so long pants and socks can help. Chat-N-Browse has a decent selection of sprays.

I stay away from 100% DEET -- in the Yucatan we applied it to the floor by the front door (tons of bugs coming in under the door at night). The next day all of the paint had peeled in that area. It also partially melted a pair of sunglasses and dissolved its own label. At that rate, the cure seemed worse than the disease!

What is that nursery rhyme about little girls being made of sugar and spice and everything nice??? Maybe that is the 'mosquito magnet' of Kelly, Annie and Marabeth!!

Got to agree about the "Off" r/s. We were there 9/18-25 and they were terrible but as long as you used stuff they didn't bite. Even better was "Cactus Juice" r/s although very pricey and that was here in the states. DEET is nasty stuff.

Seb - yes. Not much success yet. I moved it yesterday to see if that helps. Next step if it doesn't is to put in an Octenol cartridge.

Jake

Gary, I agree with the cactus juice. DEET is NASTY stuff, and in most cases, you are limited to apply it only no more than 3 or 4 times per day. Not sufficient considering that you spend a huge chunk of time in the water. My wife and I were in Bonaire in January in the bugs were indeed vicious, more at dusk than any other time. We used DEET based products but we hated the way they damaged articles of clothing. We were in North Carolina in June, and that was my first experience with Cactus Juice. I have to say that it failed miserably and I switched back to Muskol. Bug experto Bud Gillian got in touch with me and persuaded me to use the CJ again. I'm so GLAD I gave it another chance. Bud told me how to use the CJ properly and what a difference it made! My wife and I were in Roatan in August (yes, it can get REALLY buggy there). Much to our delight, we were virtually bite free until the last day in which we rushed to take sunset pictures without applying. The CJ is a bit more expensive than DEET based products, but nothing outrageous. Besides, I'm not willing to risk my health to save a couple of bucks. Happy diving! Coach Izzy

My fav and some will swear by is Avon's Skin So Soft BUG GUARD w/SPF 15. NO DEET, works great for me! Ed didn't put it on one night, and of course I did...guess who had the little red bumps all over his legs below the knees......

Liz

Sorry about posting in wrong forum. Thanks for moving it where it belongs.

Jim

Kelly,

I might be at least my ex might say so. Actually I have noticed that some people seem to be my flavorable for mosquitos than others. I grew up on a small island just outside of Charleston SC and that was the worst place I have seen for mosquitos. When we were little we would have contest, when you are young you don't have much in the way of brain cells, to see who could have the most mosquitos biting on you arm. There were times one's arm would be black from the mosquitos biting. Any way ever since living there mosquitos have never seemed to bother me. Perhaps my blood turned sour. However whenever I return to Charleston for a visit they eat me up.

Kelly, I'm like you, I got eaten alive - it took 3 months for the scars to go away. Mosquitos in Canada are so big you can have them for dinner, so you have fighting chance to see them and destroy! But the Bonairian mosquitos are so small, you don't stand a chance. I did bring my own Deet but didn't use enough so I had to go buy anti-itch cream and it cost me a small fortune. Be prepared BEFORE you go. They'll get ya!

Lorraine, love your personal quote.

Deet based products work.

Everything else is marinade

Dan, Deet products "Do" work. No doubt about it. There's also no doubt that DEET is toxic, thus the huge warning messages. In my book, the risks are not worth it. Much about it has been hidden by the industries. Remember when Cadmium was considered safe? Or Mercury very valuable? I'm sure that as time goes by, more facts will surface. "Everything else is marinade" That used to be my motto as well. I'm glad I no longer have to say that. My wife and I found that the CJ worked for US when applied PROPERLY. I'm sure that other people have different experiences with it, some not as positive as ours. Hopefully there are more natural products out there, and more people will find what works for them when used PROPERLY. Happy diving! Coach Izzy

I won't argue the possibility of toxicity with using DEET, but using commercially available preparations and following their directions for use shouldn't be a problem with most people.

I have had good luck with Avon Skin So Soft (with spf30) on Bonaire and kept the evening bugs at bay with no problems.

Some people are bothered more than others by mosquitoes and in some places a mosquito bite can be much more than a minor annoyance.

The Apr '03 issue of "Consumer Reports" found that the DEET repellents 3M Ultrathon, Off! Deep Woods for Sportsmen & Muskol Ultra 6 Hours finished on top, followed by BugOut, Sawyer Controlled Release, Cutter Unscented, Off! Skintastic with Sunscreen SPF 30, Cutter Skinsations & Avon Skin So-Soft Bug Guard/ Sunblock, in that order. Those relying on plant oils such as citronella, soybean, coconut, and geranium "provided little if any protection."

Happy diving to you as well coach!
Daniel

Hey Coach Izzy,
Just curious, what is "properly" mean? Don't you just rub it on? Is there a trick to it? Just curious. I use Deet and it did eat at my dive watch, however, nothing else works, so I would like to try your CJ, but if it is complicated to apply, well, I guess I will stay with Deet, cause I use it numerous times a day starting at 4 p.m. and thru the night hours. I enjoy sitting outside at night reading on the porch, but you gotta have bug spray. You mentioned you didn't do it right the first time and got bit. So, what's the trick?

Mosquitos are attracted by smell and some of us just smell better than others. It's great that some of these other products have help some of you but nothing else but DEET has ever worked for me and I've tried just about all of them. Since mosquitos are a way of life for us in the Great White North, especially during the month of June when they are ferocious. When we are camping and fishing, we wear net jackets soaked in DEET, so we don't have to apply it directly to our skin. They work fantastic! But I don't exactly want to look like a hunter when I'm in Bonaire - the army green doesn't exactly go with my pink shorts. A guy I know was working for a logging company a few years ago and was marking trees to fall. He said he was so overwhelmed by the bugs that he ran to his truck and grabbed the first can he could lay his hands on. He frantically sprayed his hair and face then realized he didn't have the Deep Woods but a can of orange spray paint! Come to think of it, the mosquitos didn't like that either!

Holy S***! Can you imagine trying to live that one down. Our NH mosquitoes are awful but negotiable, it's the black flies that drive you into the house. 'Skin So Soft' was the first real breakthrough for them. As far as the "CJ", I just put it on like sunscreen and it worked great. Maybe Coach Izzy can elaborate on how he misapplied it.

Do not know why it has taken five visits and three years to make my first post ... but alas one of my less favorite topics: the dreaded mosquitos and no see ums ... I too am great feed for the little creatures, and I swear by Cactus Juice for my visits to Bonaire. I do not like the smell of DEET and skin so soft, although both repel insects equally as well as CJ. Each evening after a shower, and preferably just before sunset, I apply a healthy layer of CJ as I would any sunscreen. Be sure to apply to all exposed areas. One trip I forgot my toes ... no bites anywhere except there. We can no longer buy CJ in WV, but it is available online ... a little more expensive than DEET, but well worth it in my opinion. CJ may not work for everyone -- it keeps me bite free, but does not work at all for other friends of mine even on the same trip. But may be different body chemistry.

Kathy, welcome to the board! Just jump anytime you have an opinion about something. You must love Bonaire as much as the rest of us if you've been 5 times. Cactus Juice is a product I have not tried. I would definately get some weird looks if I asked for it here. People would think it's some new Caribbean drink. Maybe I won't tell them any different!!! Our mosquitos have gone to sleep now so we're safe for 7 months.

Lorraine, it smells like a Caribbean drink.

Gary, thanks for the comment on my personal quote. I know DEET is nasty stuff but it works, so I figure the two or three weeks I'm in Bonaire, it's a risk I'm willing to take to be comfortable. It's the only thing our tree planters use in the bush and they come here from all over the world to make money. BUT, I did find the Cactus Juice online, so I'm going to order some and try it.

Hi Debbie! Sorry it took so long to reply. I was coaching a competition this past weekend. It was great to see so many kids involved in the beautiful sport of Olympic Weightlifting. There were groups of all ages, but seeing these kids with amazing speed and power did my heart a lot of good and brought hope for the future of athletes in this our USA. Anyway, to answer your question, the first time I used CJ I applied it as if I were using regular spray. Of course, I got massacred by the Neusse River bugs. Bud Gillian later told me to read the directions carefully. Spray thoroughly and let it dry out. Granted, it takes a bit longer than standard sprays, but it smells great, leaves your skin smooth,and it is eco-friendly. I did not find the need to rub. It dries out to a protective coat and you can see the bugs fly past you searching for their next victim. My wife and I found out it worked quite well for us. We also helped a couple more people with the spray (they were making the same mistake I made) and they loved it, specially since it allowed them to enjoy their drinks and finger foods without the foul smell/taste of conventional sprays. There was only one person who seemed not to get help from anything. She tried all the sprays and CJ to no avail. She ended up going to a Doctor in French Harbor when the bites made her ill. I don't know. I guess some people taste better than others. I must say though, as good as my experiences with CJ have been, I still keep one can of Muskol "just in case". So far I haven't had the need to use it, but unfortunately, the DEET products are usually the last result when everything else fails. We'll see. I still keep my fingers crossed so I will never have to spray that substance again. I hope your experience with the cactus juice is as positive as ours. Good health and Happy Diving! Coach Izzy

PS
Thanks for the reply Dan! Great info on the products!

Mosquito Magnet,

I used a Mosquito magnet for over half-a-year, very consequently, including the Octonol Cartridges, and I really think I only got more mosquitos, although, of course the machine catched quite a lot of mosquitos, there were just coming more and more of these meat-eating monsters.
Finally I decided to screen my entire porch with a high quality mosquito-screen, and it is marvellous, we can spend evenings outside, in a way we have never been able to do before. I should have done it years before!
It is amazing to see the mosquitos fly around the screens to get in touch with us, unsuccessfully. We are sitting inside, making long-noses to them.
My advice, forget about the Mosquito Magnet, it doesn't work on Bonaire.

Harrie