Sand Flies and Mossies ---take your own supplies

Your questions on medical and security issues
Alex Bindy
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Post by Alex Bindy »

not sure that marriage is the full answer - although that did reduce the number of occasions that the bug actually took over, the side effect was an almost constant nagging type noise between the ears :)
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Gisela Grell
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Post by Gisela Grell »

Hey Cool Boy David,

looks like you still drink Castara dry! but no information about mossies or bugs??
Well, you decided to disapear from Castara bevore I reach and I hope they fill up their Caribs and Stag for me and my friends.

Have a Carib with Anaconda on me and enjoy

Cheers

Gisela (24 days t go \:D/ )
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P Strange

Post by P Strange »

Hope you are well David, been keeping a low profile got sun burn again.... could be frostbite perhaps, notice you did not deny the peranging capers and the singing of 'rum til i die!' Suppose everyone is getting ready for carnival not sure of our return as yet, easter is off for sure but Sparkle could be over here early summer and i do believe the Anaconda will will be making a geust appearance. We have just redecorated aswell, waste of time that was!!! Have you been evicted from Sea Breeze yet?
take care try and knock the rum on the head for your livers sake!!!
phil :arrow: %*}
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Brian Taylor
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Post by Brian Taylor »

he is still hopping down to the boathouse and back :lol:
the little sunburn arround the nose reminds of rudolph the raindeer...relaxing from christmas...
we will have the pleasure of davids company until the 8th, he could have booked longer, but I feel he is ready for the lowlands after all the relaxation here. castara will miss him :wink:

hope you are all well back in good old britannia
STEPH

PS: baba says hello, he loved the bisquits and they are all finished
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Post by Andrew Poole »

Hi, just wanted to endorse the Citronella and Lavender mix.
Arrived home from watching cricket in Barbados yesterday and in a WHOLE two weeks didn't get bitten once!!


Smelt a bit like a lemon though :lol:
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Brian Taylor
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Post by Brian Taylor »

I just learned that when you treat your wood with lin seed oil it keep the biters away... we are going to try that, so people might not even have to bother with anything else again... guess you can't ask the guesthouses you booked to do that...do you? :wink:
but for everyone who is building in tobago... it is supposed to keep the wood nice and the bug away effect is just the icing on the cake...

steph
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Steve Pitts
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Post by Steve Pitts »

I'm one of those lucky souls who is not a sand-fly magnet, so have never bothered with these sprays, lotions, potions and concoctions.

I am unfortunately afflicted, by way of marriage and parentage, to two horse-mad females (where is this going I can hear you asking).

My wife and daughter both own horses and one of the bugbears of their and their horses' lives at this time of year are bitting insects - midges and horse flies in the main.

The best remedy, or to be more precise the best deterrant, for biting flies and insects has been citronella-based sprays, which the local tack shop sells for a small fortune.

That was until September 1st 2006 when a new EU ruling came in to force which banned the use of citronella in commercial fly sprays.

This new regulation is part of the Biocidal Products Directive (1998), which contains a long list of substances which have been banned only because no one has bothered to prove they are harmless.

Other 'natural' oils which have been banned from commercially produced products, include lavender, eucalyptus and tea tree oil, which, although on the EU "guilty" list, is currently under review and may be exempted.

Apparently, the (mad) reasoning for banning the use of these oils in commercially produced fly/insect repellants is that they have never been proven to be safe (neither have they been proven to be dangerous!!!), but that's the EU for you :roll:

They haven't banned the home preparation of citronella-based repellants though, so you can still make up your own super-strength potion and whack it in a spray bottle to keep Dobin fly-free.

Of course this make no difference at all to using citronella in Tobago, as when I last checked, Tobago isn't in the European Union.................

All together now - THANK GOD !!!!!

I need a holiday 8)
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Steve Wooler
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Post by Steve Wooler »

Hi Steph

Nobody's treating my wood with linseed oil! :wink:
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Steve Pitts
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Post by Steve Pitts »

Steve Wooler wrote:Hi Steph
Nobody's treating my wood with linseed oil! :wink:
Leaving the subject (and inuendo) of the application of linseed oil to Steve and Steph :oops:

I came across a sand fly bourne illness called leishmaniasis on http://www.traveldoctor.co.uk/stings.htm


Lurking on the beaches of many of our favourite holiday and diving resorts is a disease that can do more than just ruin your holiday. It's a disease that can haunt you for months after you return home, and even ruin your life. Though it's not as widely known as malaria, it can be every bit as painful, tenacious, and dangerous. Worse yet, the source of the infection is nearly invisible - the ubiquitous no-see-um, the disease it transmits - Leishmaniasis.

If you've never heard of leishmaniasis, you're hardly alone. The culprits that spread the disease, commonly referred to as no-see-ums (because you hardly ever see them), are minute insects of the genus Phlebotomus often called "sand flies" and like mosquitoes, the gestating female no-see-ums hungry for protein go in search of a "blood meal". It is during the process of feeding that they transmit the protozoan parasites responsible for the disease.

It is also possible for a fever and rash to develop after receiving several no-see-um bites as a reaction to the toxins in the bites themselves, and multiple no-see-um bites can cause death from their toxins alone.
Leishmaniasis currently affects around 12 million people in 88 countries (with 2.5 million new infections annually). It is considered a dynamic disease whose range is constantly spreading which is now well entrenched in the Mediterranean, North Africa, The Middle East, South East Asia, Central America and the Caribbean.

In its cutaneous form, leishmaniasis is characterised by a skin sore or sores that develop weeks or months after transmission. Sores typically leave scars, and some forms can be severely disfiguring.
Visceral leishmaniasis, traditionally known as kala-azar may take months and even years to develop and is fatal if untreated. Symptoms include fever, weight loss, cough, diarrhoea, lethargy, enlargement of the spleen and liver, and anaemia. Both forms require a biopsy for diagnosis.
Though leishmaniasis only accounts for a small percentage of tropical infections, unless the victims consult physicians specialising in tropical medicine, diagnosis is often inaccurate. The disease is quite difficult to cure and victims are prone to recurrences.

For decades the most effective treatment has been considered to be sodium stibogluconate, but the three-week intravenous regimen is relatively toxic, and the parasite is reportedly becoming antimony-resistant in some areas so there is no guarantee that it will not recur. Other treatments are available, but no cure is 100% effective, and there are currently no vaccines available.

With no certain cure, prevention is definitely the key. No-see-ums are usually more of a problem at night and when the wind dies down on the beach. The first line of defence is to cover yourself with insect repellents containing DEET. Wear long-sleeved shirts, long trousers, and socks in the evenings.
While the odds of bringing home leishmaniasis are probably too small to allow it to influence travel plans, the consequences of infection are so unpleasant that it makes good sense to take aggressive steps to avoid becoming the main course for a hoard of hungry no-see-ums.
If on return from an endemic area, you develop persistent sores that you fear may be indicative of leishmaniasis, ask for a referral to a tropical medicine specialist.


On second thoughts - maybe a liberal dosing of linseed oil to the nether regions is a precaution worth taking!
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Post by Steve Wooler »

Ouch! We certainly don't want to risk leishmaniasis of the woody, do we? :cry:
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Brian Taylor
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Post by Brian Taylor »

I would just like everybody to yake note that it was neither, david w. or me, who dragged this topic "under the belt-line" as we would say in germany... also shorty and paul talet, not involved! [-(

steve, you naughty boy! [-X

for the disease, never heard of that... maybe it is just worth going to the doctor and check whenever you feel sick anyway... and if you have been out of the country anywhere, just mention it to the doc, might make it easier for him...

emjoy your holidays and steve and steve their "wood-treatment" what ever they have in mind in tht department!

steph
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Steve Wooler
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Post by Steve Wooler »

Sorry folks, I'm just in a silly mood this morning. Still, that's no excuse to drag the tone down. :cry:
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Post by David Watkins »

I have heard of this before.When I was in the armed forces it was nicknamed Orient or Bagadhad Boils,I thought that it was found mainly in Asia and N Africa.There was also a major out break in Europe(including Uk about 150 years ago,and it's name is from a Scots doctor who identified the parasite,Leishman.
David. :)
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Post by Brian Taylor »

no, don't cry steve, I did not mean to be too harsh... :-#

everybody does it once in a while... why not you for a change...

have a silly day, going out with sharon now, definately having one, too...

steph
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Steve Pitts
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Post by Steve Pitts »

David Watkins wrote:I have heard of this before.When I was in the armed forces it was nicknamed Orient or Bagadhad Boils,I thought that it was found mainly in Asia and N Africa.There was also a major out break in Europe(including Uk about 150 years ago,and it's name is from a Scots doctor who identified the parasite,Leishman.
David. :)
I checked it out on Whikepedia too David - sounds nasty!
Apparently 90% of reported cases each year are in India and there are all sorts of regional variations on names, but none specific to Tobago thankfully. It does occur in Trinidad, Central and South American countries, inc. Brazil, Venezuela and Guana.

No reports of wood infestations though Steve, but linseed oil should stop termites and dry rot from setting in.

I'm ducking out of this thread now - before I get myself into trouble

Cheers
Steve
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Steve Wooler
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Post by Steve Wooler »

Wood worm has already done quite enough damage, thank you. :cry:
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Gill M

Post by Gill M »

Hi Steve P

OMG, even more insidious things we can catch from the mossies!

Having said that I have purchased a "bottle of stuff" specifically aimed at the "no see ums". But, in all honesty I have found that a roll on 50% Deet from Boots is very effective together with (if you do get bitten) a Zanza-Click Bite Relief thingie which really does solve the problem and the mossies really did use to try it on with me before.

Apparently, the Italian name for mosquito is Zanzara, hence the name. You can by it on line at http://www.ecobrands.co.uk

Steve W, I Hope that I am not classified as being advertising with the above web site - I just found the gadget really good and hope that others may benefit - honest - I have no financial connections whatsoever!!!
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Steve Pitts
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Post by Steve Pitts »

Gill M wrote:Hi Steve P

OMG, even more insidious things we can catch from the mossies!
Hi Gill

I think I'm turning into a mossie anorak :shock:

I have to admit that I found the info. on leishmaniasis morbidly interesting. I had always thought that sand flies were nothing more than an irritating inconvenience to those they chose to make a meal of.

I was chatting to a friend of mine yesterday who has a great deal of experience with a biting black fly here in the UK. It's called the Blandford Fly (Simulium posticatum) and was a plague during the summer months around the River Stour in South Dorset.

Rather like sand flies, it only appeared to bite certain people and the reactions effected people to varying degrees. Some people came out in blisters and boil-like skin erruptions. As a freshwater biologist Mike studied the life-cycle of the Blandord fly and found that it could be controled at the egg/larval stage by spraying an insecticide on the mud banks where the fly laid it's eggs, but the insecticide only effected the fly - nothing else, so it was a highly successful control and the fly is controled each year by Mike and his colleague. I'm sure there will be info. on the net if you are turning into an anorak like me :oops:

Anyway - the point of this is - I asked him why he thought that some people get bitten and others appear imune? His answer was that nobody has worked that out yet, but it is probably a body odour or pheromone which is undetectable to us, but which stimulates or attracts the biting insects.

Stuff like DEET is a deterrant i.e. mossies are repelled by the chemical - they can't stand the stuff. Other deterants aren't actually as repellant to insects, they mask the body odours (maybe citronella and lavender fall into this catagory) and the bitting buggers just can't home in you.

Either way - prevention is much better than cure (assuming there is a cure) so the liberal application of effective sprays and lotions appears to be the best form of defence.

It's a jungle out there!

Cheers
Steve
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Gill M

Post by Gill M »

Well Steve

I admire your interest in these nasty biting things, especially if you are plagued by them personally.

All I can add is that I spent quite a number of years, virtually since birth, overseas and the B's used to eat me by breakfast time - mossie nets were no challenge to them whatsoever! Interestingly, my father liked a beer or two in the evening and he was NEVER bitten - not that I can say that my father was in anyway a heavy drinker.

In the UK and abroad we appear to have totally conquered mossie bites firstly by using Boots roll on Deet and secondly by increasing the "duck" population (like quackers) on our natural spring fed pond. Those ducks just LOVE to eat mossies and grubbing in the mud banks so certainly earn their keep as well as being totally entertaining little creatures.

Get a duck and a pond - no problems!! That's if you really do suffer from those nasty little biters.
Gill M

Post by Gill M »

Well Steve

I admire your interest in these nasty biting things, especially if you are plagued by them personally.

All I can add is that I spent quite a number of years, virtually since birth, overseas and the B's used to eat me by breakfast time - mossie nets were no challenge to them whatsoever! Interestingly, my father liked a beer or two in the evening and he was NEVER bitten - not that I can say that my father was in anyway a heavy drinker.

In the UK and abroad we appear to have totally conquered mossie bites firstly by using Boots roll on Deet and secondly by increasing the "duck" population (like quackers) on our natural spring fed pond. Those ducks just LOVE to eat mossies and grubbing in the mud banks so certainly earn their keep as well as being totally entertaining little creatures.

Get a duck and a pond - no problems!! That's if you really do suffer from those nasty little biters.
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