The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly….Bugs in Belize

Depending on the breeze and where you are standing, you can be bitten by mosquitoes or sand flies (sand fleas) at any given time in Belize.  What’s the key to avoid these pesky insects and others?  We are still mastering this question. 

Our experience while on the cayes (islands) has been that one is less likely to be bitten than while on the mainland.  Perhaps this is because of the constant cool breeze.

We have accused the mosquitoes of liking the taste of Americans, because the Belizeans don’t seem to get bitten or notice them.  Although we tease about this, there might be some truth to the fact that our American diets of sweets are attracting the bugs.  (Puts a whole new meaning of we are what we eat.)

Another thing learned by experience is to avoid traveling (walking) at dusk and dawn.  While living in Dangriga we didn’t pay attention to the time we walked around town until a dear Belizean friend made us aware of the fact that more mosquitoes bite at dusk and dawn.  Sure enough, once we followed this idea, we were not bitten near as much.  While living in Dangriga it was a morning ritual to put on Skin-so-soft.  The worst areas were in Sittee River (although many people go diving there we have heard the sand flies are outrageous) and Hopkins.  A few of the resorts with amazing beaches provides “Off” bug spray on the outside tables for visitors.  You can see people enjoying the beach, and then start swinging and swatting at their legs without even realizing it.  One Belizean friend purchased land in the Sittee area and had to move his family back to Dangriga because of the bugs on the property. 

If you happen to take a tour or wonder off into the jungle, it is best to wear long pants and long sleeves.  Regarding bug sprays, DEET works best although you should not use it continually due to the extreme chemical potency.  Skin-so-soft works fairly well in moderate locations.

We can balance not getting bit by our diets too but we are still learning all the does and don’ts by trial and error. Naturally garlic is pungent and bananas are sweet; supposedly mosquitoes are attracted to the abundance of potassium. 

In closing, while living in Dangriga we were often eaten up by bugs in the evening since we had no air conditioning and the windows were opened.  We purchased mosquito coils (like incense) and burned them every night which helped.  One night we finally prayed to God for some relief.  The next morning dragonflies were all around the staff house.  Somewhat annoyed by their presence as we left, our dear Belizean friend once again shared some insight with us stating that dragonflies eat mosquitoes.  We never complained or were annoyed with dragonflies again!  Thank you God!

More on bugs and health in Belize: http://ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/healthy.html