Best bug stuff for first timers to Tobago??

[Carla C]

Hi guys!

I dont know if it will be available to you, but you can try Citronella oil to rub on your skin. it smells wonderful ( at least I think so) and as far as i'm concerned, its quite effective against mosquito bites. There are also Citronella candles that you can light in your room/ cottage/ yard. these serve to ward off mosquitoes as well, and like i said, it smells nice!

-M Doolan, can i see those pics of your bites? having never been succeptible to rashes and such from mosquito bites, i'm rather curious....

[Paul Tallet]

Yes Carla ... Lemon Eucalyptus.

You can get it from most independent organic herbal shops.

It's very expensive and stinks quite a bit ... the candles are OK but I am always scared of setting fire to my room and they are useless in the open air.

As I have always said ... the worse you smell the less attractive you are ... admittedly, to everything ... but the main thing is keeping sandflies off you.

Regards

[Carla C]

So, Lemon eucalyptus = citronella oil, huh? I had no idea i only knew it by the name citronella. As for a more useful suggestion, you can try Odomos mosquito repellent. Like most other products, i know it's available inT&T , but I'm not sure about Europe or USA. It's an Indian formula, I think (or maybe it's just packaged in India).I've used it and it was effective in warding off mosquitoes. its available in cream, gel or liquid.

Paul- If (oddly enough) you happen to know Odomos too, by another name which has been mentioned before, can we keep it a secret? It's important for me to keep believing i have vital tid-bits of information that no one else knows

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Carla

Sorry to dash your brave attempts, but our Insects article (menu: Odds & Sods/Health Matters) has long promoted the use of Citronella and Odomos, among other repellents.

I have no wish to contradict you, Paul, but I don't think Lemon Eucalyptus and Citronella are the same. Yes, the aroma of Eucalyptus citriodora is similar to the aroma of citronella and Lemon Eucalyptus normally contains citronella as a major component, so it probably works much the same as the neat stuff. If you like the smell of the lemon eucalyptus (fresh, rosy, grass-like aroma) it's worth trying on it's own. If you're thinking of mixing it with a moisturiser, after-sun or baby oil, etc., it's probably better to stick to neat (and cheap) citronella oil.

[Steve Fifield]

As usual Steve, you are quite correct. My wife even remembered the latin name

Cymbopogon nardus - Citronella, is a tall fragrant perennial grass, growing up to a height of 1 - 1.5 m, native to southeast Asia.

Steve F.

[Paul Tallet]

Gosh ... I have learned a new thing today.

I think I have got mixed up between citronella and citrous.

So please accept my apologies for confusing you Carla, but thank you for putting me straight Steve.

Regards

[David Watkins]

Further to the discussion on citronella.It is often found in "alternative medicine" as andropogon nardis.It's other common uses are as a soothing rub if you have stomache ache and as a wash(with betel juice!?)after childbirth!There is another citronela(one L)which is quite viciuos as an insecticide and also lethal to avians!So read the label!

Regards,with EIGHT DAYS TO GO,David

[Emma Hetherington]

Having followed various threads for a while now about the best bug(...) stuff to take, just went onto the Avon site and am TOTALLY bewildered - there's loads of Skin so Soft stuff - anyone got any ideas which is OK/works against the wee beasties/doesn't smell too awful???

Have delayed getting anything till now cos got to get thro the festive season and we're not due to go till February.

Saddened by the Tsunami beyond belief.

Emma

[Julia C.]

I believe it's the Woodland Fresh range - we took "Skin-So-Soft Woodland Fresh Moisturising Dry Oil Body Spray" and it seemed to do the job and didn't smell too bad. I added some citronella oil to ours as well, belt and braces job! We used 2 bottles over a two week stay and we were using other stuff also at different times.

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Emma

The first thing to say is that what works for one person may not work for another. The important thing is the Citronella - that is what works. The rest of the goo is simply a carrier. Citronella oil is too strong and stinky to apply neat. By mixing it with a moisturiser, or after-sun or even baby oil, you're killing two birds with one stone - using something to spread the Citronella and keep the insects at bay, and replacing the body's natural oils which can get washed away by too much sea/pool immersion, etc. So, in answer to your question - use whichever you like the smell and feel of. Oh, and don't forget to get something with a removable lid. There's no point buying it if you can't get in to add the Citronella oil.

[Steve Fifield]

Forget Zanza Click, I tried it and it is completelty useless. I believe that it is supposed to work by stunning your nerve endings by giving them a small electric shock - similar to slapping a bite rather than scrathing it. Unfortunateltly, the affected area (if you are badly affected like me) can spread over up to a couple of inches, and the effect (even with the recommended 10 zaps) is far too localised. I tried it on one of two similar bites, and couldn't tell the difference.

You are better off throwing the device at a mossie, if you see one.

What did work was leaving the fan on at night, and I even followed Mr Wooler's less than obvious suggestion of abandoning the mossie net this time in order to let the fan do its work, and ended less bitten than usual - Cheers Steve.

The best advice I can give, is that when you are not in your room with all of the fans & bug mat etc for protection, that is when you are most vulnerable, so use an effective reppelant, whatever works best for you. I used 'Neet Deet' (from the Chemist in the UK) on clothes around ankles or on wrist bands, and/or 50% Deet (Jungle Formula) on my ankles and arms, which seemed quite effective. You can even get Jungle Formula wipes wrapped in foil now, which are handy to keep in your beach bag. And don't ever think about leaving it until you get home, as that is when you become the juciest morsel around.

Steve F.

[Jean Sampson]

I tried taking vitamin B and mature garlic tablets for a month before leaving for Tobago, I tried washing in carbolic, spraying on Jungle and none of these worked.
They love my fine fair skin. The mossies hate cool circulating air so keep your air conditioning on or a mozzie net over your bed at night. Sandflies love to draw blood from your lower legs when you're standing on grass seemingly any time of the day. To avoid being bitten alive I found the best thing was to wear trousers when dusk came and long sleeved tops. I found the only effective application was neat citronella oil . You can buy it out there but I haven't seen it in my local stores here. But with sandflies during the day its a case of avoid standing in grass and for me to put on citronella oil on my lower legs. Fortunately I do not react to the bites and the itchiness which comes on hours later can be relieved with Lanacan cream. Having travelled a lot I can tell you that in the discomfort area Tobagonian mozzies are amateurs compared to their Aussie rainforest cousins and Amazonian red ants! So take a little comfort from that.

[Neil Patton]

Just back from a fortnight in Castara and after reading all the posts about sand flies etc I was prepared for the worst.
But Avon Skin so Soft woodland fresh oil is the business Ony time I forgot to spray my legs I got a couple of bites but probably due to the Antihistamine I was taking no itch.

Maureen was bitten acouple of times as well but they itched, no antihistamine, but the Boots version of the Zanza Click was absolutely magical, seven clicks on each bite and an instant and permanent cessation of itching amazing. I would thoroughly recommend it.

Wonder if Steve got a faulty one?

[Joanne Green]

My Zanza Click was a life saver!! Worked within about a minute. I'll never travel without one in the tropics.

[Paul Tallet]

Do a search for ID Aromatics (I do not know the precise address) ... these chaps have made me a special concoction that works. They are based in Leeds, UK and deliver their potions free of charge.

8 bites first night and none since ... so far so good.

Joanne ... pups is fine and the rooster wants all our toast and growls at me all the time.

Cheers

[Joanne Green]

Paul--I'm so glad that you're taking good care of Pup-Pup. As for Hector, just talk sweetly to him, tell him what a handsome rooster he is, & maybe his disposition will improve. Hope you & your family are having a wonderful time. Give our love to Ancle, Vicki & Marion.

[Paul Tallet]

Hector seems an appropriate name for such a proud and bossy rooster.

I will send on your regards, Joanne.

Cheers

[Emma Hetherington]

I did everything everyone told me to do on our recent trip but we got really really badly bitten in the middle of our holiday. We'd gone with a deet spray bought from one of the walking shops here, plus the Avon Skin So Soft with citronella added, wipes the lot. About the middle of our fortnight we were both in real trouble, just masses and masses of bites both mossie and sandflies.

I went to see the lovely lady at BoboShack on Castara beach begging for some Aloe Vera which she was very sorry she didn't have. She did sell me some coconut oil with added lemon which was very soothing and helped and directed us to red can of OFF spray which she said was about the only thing that was really effective - given that she would normally recommend herbal rememdies (which I would always also prefer). We'd already got the family version of OFF and also Odomous cream.

So from this research done the hard way I would recommend the following:
Jungle deet spray bought in the UK (bought ours from Millets) - said to be 50% DEET - the best
OFF spray (red can) bought on island - 15% deet - excellent
Odomous cream - 10% deet - OK but you need a lot so buy lots of packets
Off family spray - 7% deet - no smell, OKish but need to keep reapplying - OK for @ night with fan directed at you.
Contronella and eucolytus essential oils - not v effective.
We'd also bought some Avon sun spray with added insect repellent - could have been quite effective I think but not absolutely sure.

For treating and soothing the coconut oil with lemon was nice and also I'd bought a weird green herbal balm call Zam-Buk from the Presents for Men/Women/Essential traveller website.

This is just our experience - I envy those of you who manage to sail through your hols without being eaten!!!

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Emma

Thanks for your observations, which reminded me that I had intended to write a similar update based on our experiences this year. Basically, we found exactly the same as you.

Possibly because of the late rains this year, the problems with biting insects seem to be worse this year than I've ever known them. We escaped serious problem - except when we became complacent and forgot to religiously spray ourselves every morning and again before dusk.

Jungle Spray - very good, but the cans don't last very long

The red spray cans of locally-purchased Off were undoubtedly the best product for us. Trouble was that they seemed to be in short supply and halfway through our trip we had to revert to the plastic 'Family Spray' bottles that you mention. This was nowhere near as good as the spray tins.

Another allegedly good local product is Go! which is also available as an aerosol. We switched to this during our last week. It seemed to be as effective as Off, but didn't smell as nice.

A local friend also told me that one of the most effective way of treating bites is to rub the bit wound with a lime. I learned of this too late in the holiday to try it, but its one worth remembering.

Although it doesn't help treat the wound (Anthisan or local-purchased anti-histimine creams are best), don't forget Lanacane which acts as a local anaesthetic and at leasts stops the itching.

[Paul Tallet]

See my last post above.

I got bitten the first night ... 8 bites ... I have suffered badly in the past.

But the potions given to me by ID Aromatics have worked.

I have not been bitten at all since Monday (Friday today) ... quite miraculous and I am in Castara, the sandfly capital of Tobago.

I strongly recommend ID Aromatics potions as an option ... ask for a special repellent that they mix with 2 types of eucalyptus and some other stuff (I cannot recall) ... also their healing cream is excellent and clears the bites with no itching within 48 hours.

They also do another stronger repellent (ready mixed) with is good for nightime (you cannot go in the sun with it).

Go on ... give them a try.

Regards