AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye GREAT bug repellent recommendation

Okay.... So we decide to use the catnip stuff.... Will this then make us the Pied Piper of the local cat population???
Debbie

Debbie,

Full report on effectiveness will be available week after Easter. 6 couples of varying ages and temperments. Stay tuned. Oh yeah, using blue food coloring in mix. Go figure.

For heavens sake Chooch, please don't get the bottles of blue cat nip mixed up with the bottles of tidy bowl!!!! Or maybe you're just using the tidy bowl as the base for your concoction because it was readily available?????
Debbie

i have been advised to take a daily supplement of vitamin B1 to ward off mosquitos. i am afraid that i may shred the furniture and drapes on catnip!!!
gay

Gay,

The recommended dosage of B1 Complex is double the normal for two weeks prior. The local physicians in SP also use B1 shots if someone gets eaten up real bad. True. Had 21 y/o son who needed it last Christmas.

I just returned from belize and had good luck using a product called Cactus Juice. It seemed to work well on the beaches against the sand fleas and also in the heart of the jungle. It smells great and is not harmful like deet. The only thing is that you have to re-apply every couple of hours. I found the product by searching Cactus Juice on Yahoo.

Hey CHOOCHOO, I'm stilled tuned.
Easter 2004?

Catnip? Not worth the trouble it turns out. There goes one potential commercial enterprise.

B1 complex--worked great for the kid. That and a little high strength Deep Woods Off saved the anguish of his first two trips. Some of the locals use the B1 shots that are available from the local pharmacies or physcians. Apparently VERY effective.

This is great info for me as I'm every bug's favourite food! My hubby and son sit near me on holiday as I am their repellant! - the bug's just prefer me if I'm near! I always look like an alien after a few days on holiday - completely covered with horrendous weeping bites (Yeugh!) - other people keep clear. (Actually, it's embarrassing and makes me quite down and I end up covering up completely with long trousers and long sleeved tops for the duration)
Coming to AC over Christmas and New Year so will keep looking on this thread for info as I don't want a repeat of our Sanibel Island in Florida in October 2003 - we counted 50 insect bites on one of my forearms alone - and the scars are only just fading!

C,

We've witnessed it first hand twice with our son. He and his fiance' were in SP for five days last Christmas, and the combination of B Complex (double dose for two weeks prior) and a good DEET spray did the trick. Two bites in five days. Apparently the B complex gives the skin a bit of a sulpur treatment that the little rascals don't like. Fortunately they do not bother me, maybe two bites in ten years, but the rest of this group gets it pretty bad.