Greetings from newbie

Hi everyone.

I've been lurking for a bit but wanted to pop in and say hello since I appreciate the helpful information I've found on this forum. It seems like there are quite a few other Midwesterners here. :)

The hubs and I are eagerly looking forward to our first trip to Negril in just a few more days, from Jan. 30 to Feb. 6. We are staying at Sunset at the Palms and so far have booked fishing, snorkeling, sunset cruise to Rick's just to check it out, and the One Love bus. We considered a trip to Mayfield Falls but not sure if I'll want to give up any more of my beach time since I want at least a couple days to be lazy in the sand. I'm a mosquito and bug magnet and tend to get the big, nasty welts so I'm not looking forward to all the mosquitoes and sand fleas I keep hearing about, but hopefully the bug spray will keep it manageable.

The countdown is on!

Have fun!

Hi fellow Minnesotan...cold enough for yah !! hehe.....Looks like you already have quite a busy week planned for your first trip, I would scrap any road trip since it's your first time, and
you are there for a week.
You will be amazed how hard it's going to be to leave that beach at any time, there is so much to do. Great call on the one love bus, you will get a chance to see the cliffs area.
Grab some good spray with deet in it, and spray morning, noon, and night, especially around the feet and lower legs.
Since you have been lurking, it sounds like you have learned a lot, have a great time !!!!

Wow! I thought I was the only one who hasn't figured a way out of MN. Wifey went to work Tuesday and it was -16 in the river valley near Stillwater. A check of the Negril temp at that same time was 76 - an 89 degree difference. I don't know if I can take 11 more sleeps. Hey MNChill - I just emailed Lenbert about the Pub Crawl last night. Thought we would try for the 6th. Hope to see you there if your still in the area (I see you might be leaving that day). Cheers!

Hi,
Enjoy your trip. You can do Mayfield Falls in a morning and be back by lunch. It might be a bit rushed to get back by noon, but if you go leisurely, you can leave Negril around 8:30 and get back by 1PM no problem. It was a nice trip there and back and up the river/falls.

~Moose

deet . . . works for me on the mosquitos . . .

Another Minnesotan here. Ready for our third trip to Negril in March and bringing the kids this time. Can't wait to hear about your trip!

Another Minnesotan here leaving for Negril Feb 26th to March 6th the mosquitoes never bother us but the sand fleas are sometimes really bad they really love my wife.

Mosquitoes and sand fleas eat me alive every year. Last year I came prepared. Citronella spray over my sunscreen during the day, spray with deet in the early morning and during sunset on the beach. I didn't sleep with bug spray on my skin, consequently I did get bitten, but only 3 or four bites, compared to the 30 bites per leg that I usually get. We sleep with the overhead fan blowing on us, and tried spraying the room with bug spray before we went out for dinner, but it didn't help much. Any suggestions on how to keep from being bitten while sleeping?

Thanks for the warm welcome.

RockTheCasSha - good luck hitching a ride on the One Love bus with Lenbert! It took a day or two for him to get back to me and unfortunately the day we were hoping for was booked up, but he was able to offer the next day. I thought I remember reading that he usually only goes on Wednesdays and weekends but he booked us on a Thursday so maybe he's adding trips for the high season.

Integrity - Being bitten in my sleep would make me go insane. I haaaaaaate the sound of mosquitos buzzing my ear in the dark. :/ The SATP resort where we're staying offers bug nets for over the beds if requested so I'll go that route if it seems necessary. We're packing a couple different kinds of spray with DEET so hopefully that helps during the day. Guess I should throw some kind of itch relief in the suitcase too, just in case.

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Originally Posted by Integrity

Mosquitoes and sand fleas eat me alive every year. Last year I came prepared. Citronella spray over my sunscreen during the day, spray with deet in the early morning and during sunset on the beach. I didn't sleep with bug spray on my skin, consequently I did get bitten, but only 3 or four bites, compared to the 30 bites per leg that I usually get. We sleep with the overhead fan blowing on us, and tried spraying the room with bug spray before we went out for dinner, but it didn't help much. Any suggestions on how to keep from being bitten while sleeping?

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I burn a mosquito coil in the room before going out for the night by the time I get back all is good. I also wear mosquito pants when sleeping just to be sure. Also put a towel on the floor against the door stops them from coming in at night.
If I could I would use dynamite to kill every last one of them. Yes you got that right "I HATE MOSQUITOES"

If you put a lit mosquito coil under your bed.....it keeps them away from the bed......or on either side of bed if it is too low.

Hello. Never stayed at Sunset but it looks beautiful. We did the pub crawl and picked a couple up there and they loved it. If we were gonna do an AI I believe I would stay there. Make sure you do the pub crawl. Its a great way to see the cliffs and meet others. We did the crawl with JoJo.last year

We use bug spray and mosquito coils religiously and have had no problems. We had a mosquito net over our bed last year and hubby nearly strangled to death on it as I lay laughing hysterically...

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Originally Posted by Miss Honey

Hello. Never stayed at Sunset but it looks beautiful. We did the pub crawl and picked a couple up there and they loved it. If we were gonna do an AI I believe I would stay there. Make sure you do the pub crawl. Its a great way to see the cliffs and meet others. We did the crawl with JoJo.last year

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Hey Miss Honey, how are you doing, I thought about you all this past New Years Eve, I thought, hmm...what did I do last New Years...oh yea, I was on the One Love Bus in Negril with some
very cool peeps, plus WESTEND GIRL...WONDER HOW SHES DOING...HAPPY NEW yEAR !!

If you don't like deet, my man likes skin so soft. I like Colemans lemon and citronella.

Deet works. I thought I was seeing little fluff shards from plants floating around while on our veranda. No; they were tiny no see-um mosquitos. Deep Woods Off kept them away. Without the deet product; I was bitten a couple of times. Deet works. If you have something better that really, really works; let me know.

Big Frank; permethrin works wonders, but it has some potential down sides. Sawyer makes a product you use to treat your clothes/tent/mosquito net that lasts for six weeks and kills them dead on contact. You just have to follow the directions to the letter, and wait until things are completely dry before wearing/using them. I'm generally against chemical things, but it's not like deet is free of side effects...

Sounds like a good idea.

If your from Minnesota,you should know better. Mosquitoes are our state bird! 100% deet . 3-4 drops in the palm of your hand, rub them together, lightly rub your most vulnerable spots, wipe your hands clean on your clothes. Wash hands. Done deal. If you get bite, dont scratch it, it will go away.

limeex2 - I know all too well that MN is land of 10 trillion mosquitoes but I can't hack it here and especially not on vacation. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I can cover myself from head to toe in DEET and I will still get bit. They'll bite me in the crease near my eye where I didn't get the spray, between my toes, in my ear, even right through the fabric of my shirt somehow. :/ And I get ridiculous welts. I only recently learned that mosquitoes have a blood type preference and, lucky me, it happens to be mine. Type O people get bit something like 80% more than other blood types according to the study.

We went to Punta Cana last year and I was warned in advance of mosquitoes but they never bothered me during our trip. I'm hoping I have the same luck this time.

Ouch! Sorry you have to deal with skeeters while on vacation. Beach area or places with with good wind has to be better. Good luck my friend

Try to cut out eating or drinking anything sugar a couple of weeks before and start taking vitamin B or B-12. I am a mosquito magnet also

I also found that it helps to eat food with a lot of garlic in it.

Another option - I remember my grandfather from the old country used to swear by chewing raw garlic to solve all health problems, but that might make you smell bad.

Frankk - I've heard about the garlic trick but since this is an anniversary trip with DH, I'm going to take my chances with the DEET. Don't want to keep the husband at bay all week with potent garlic breath. ;)