Insect Bites in Phuket?

[jokering]

Hey guys, been in Phuket for 2 weeks, but getting bitten a LOT lately.. (I've only had 1-2 mosquito bites over last few years (NZ, Aus, HK, TW, Japan)).

Anybody else had issues with insect bites?

 

The bites are mostly on my legs and spread out-ish. They're about 1cm at its widest point, and turn bright red. I notice new ones mostly when I wake up.

 

Went out and got these today (couldn't find any DEET spray):

1. Ars Liquid Electric Mosquito Repellent (plugs into wall socket)
2. Coil from Lemongrass House (supposedly all natural, can be used indoors)
3. Citronella Spray

 

Anybody have advice? These things take a toll on me mentally and I'm really worried about bringing some bugs home when I return in a few weeks.

 

Will see a doctor if I wake up with more bites tomorrow. Wish me luck lol.

 

(I have noticed a small insect flying around in my room but quickly lose track of it. Haven't heard any buzzing though. Sandfly from beach?)

[IslandLover]

Most likely sandflies from the beach.  Horrible things.  You can hardly see them and they are not called "no-see-ums" for nothing!  The only thing which will protect you is a high concentration of DEET.  Ordinary mosquito repellant is useless.  They are very active late afternoon and early evening.  Sometimes the bites take 24 hours to show, they itch like mad and can last for weeks.  Not all tropical beaches have them, and not everyone is susceptible to the bites (I am unfortunately).  I suffered very badly in Patong years ago when I chose to lie on the sand until the sun went down. 

 

Otherwise - and I hate to say this - bedbugs in your hotel room.

[Psimbo]

Eat some raw garlic every day- it will disperse through your pores and they don't like it. i eat tons of it and hardly ever get bitten.

 

Also wear long sleeved/long leg loose fitting clothing around sundown. (Planters Dress as it is commonly referred to (and for good reason).

[potless]

Look for a "BOOTS" chemist. Usually found  in shopping centres. They sell a product named Repel in a grey bottle. Contains 50% deet. Tiger balm to relieve itching. If you ve got a resident mozzie in your room, an aerosol mozzie killer named Baygon available from supermarkets, Shut doors and windows, give the room a good spray and get out for an hour or so because you dont want to breathe it in. Back to your room and open windows until the room clears. Hope you ve got insect screens. 

.

[tifino]

another way to relieve yourself from having to itch:

 

 - any numbing creams, such as Numit, Oraleze, Toothache Drops, even Sensodyne Rapid

- are all better than nothing in case you don't want to smell of Tiger Balm...

 

 

even E.D. PE creams can now have a legitimate excuse for being found on you, by the wife  

 

(all the above are different versions of benzocaine/lignocaine etc etc stuff) 

 

[Ebumbu]

1 hour ago, Psimbo said:

Eat some raw garlic every day- it will disperse through your pores and they don't like it. i eat tons of it and hardly ever get bitten.

 

 

Or kissed. 

[tifino]

1 minute ago, Ebumbu said:

 

Or kissed. 

...may just have to pay 'more' for that...

[yogi100]

1 hour ago, Psimbo said:

Eat some raw garlic every day- it will disperse through your pores and they don't like it. i eat tons of it and hardly ever get bitten.

 

Also wear long sleeved/long leg loose fitting clothing around sundown. (Planters Dress as it is commonly referred to (and for good reason).

Mosquitoes love me, they even gave me Dengue Fever free of charge in December in Pattaya. I'm also allergic to their saliva that clots the blood. The little bastards are quite capable of ruining a holiday and making your life a misery.

 

I have 12 hour coils burning 24 hours a day on my balcony, that has made an improvement but they stain everything just like cigarette smoke does but worse. Unfortunately they're too smoky, dirty and smelly to have in your room.

 

The Baygon sprays also help but you must spray everywhere especially dark areas in the shadows and under, inside and behind all cupboards and wardrobes. Do that as often as you can or can remember to do so. If your suitcase is a dark colour paint it white.

 

Splash some bleach twice a day in all doorways. This also repels cockroaches.

 

I always spray my legs especially my ankles and elbows of an evening with any anti mosquito spray from any supermarket.

 

In spite of all these precautions I sometimes still get bitten. But I've invented a cure for the itching. 

 

Forget your After Bite and Tiger Balm. Buy a 24 watt light bulb, a plug, a few feet of wire and an on/off switch and attach it to a 2 foot length of wood. if you get bitten turn the light on and hold it to the bite for a minute or two or for as long as you can stand the heat.

 

The itching should stop. It works on the same principle as the spoon heated up in boiling water trick but once you have built the contraption you will not have to keep boiling up water. You just turn it on and hold the bulb on the bite and Bob's your Uncle. Or he will be in a couple of minutes or less.

[yogi100]

2 hours ago, Psimbo said:

Eat some raw garlic every day- it will disperse through your pores and they don't like it. i eat tons of it and hardly ever get bitten.

 

Also wear long sleeved/long leg loose fitting clothing around sundown. (Planters Dress as it is commonly referred to (and for good reason).

I ate a lump of garlic every day for a month one time before I came to the LOS and it made no difference what so ever

[user343434]

Puket's Beaches are in certain parts sandfly infected and the symptoms you explain confirm that you have been unlucky to find one of these areas. They are usually on Strips of less than 100m. 

[CG1 Blue]

I agree with the above comments about spraying the room with Baygon (always 1st on my shopping list when I arrive in Samui / Phuket), and using the Boots Repel (tropical strength) spray. 

I remember a few years ago I couldn't get a bed on Chaweng beach and resorted to sitting on a towel, and inevitably sometimes I'd be partly on the sand. I returned to the UK and had raging itching on my upper legs, to the extent that it felt as though whatever creature had bitten me was living under my skin. After a week or so I had to go to a hospital department which specialised in tropical disease. As soon as I told them I'd been in LOS they asked if I'd sat on the sand, and explained this is quite a common problem.  They injected me and gave me some strong medication to sort it out. Perhaps this was from sand flies as mentioned above - but I can't remember exactly. 

[ChasingTheSun]

Do you see small dried brown blood stains on the sheets? Could be bedbugs. Lift the sheets and check around the seems of the entire mattress.

 

Could also just be a mosquitoe(s) in your room, feasting on your exposed legs as you sleep.

[Happystance]

I've had success with natural repellents sold at pharmacies for half the cost of the 7-11 citronella.

I like to take a multivitamin with high doses of the Bs.

 

Research product health effects and pick your poisons wisely.

 

[Joe Mcseismic]

4 hours ago, yogi100 said:

Mosquitoes love me, they even gave me Dengue Fever free of charge in December in Pattaya. I'm also allergic to their saliva that clots the blood. The little bastards are quite capable of ruining a holiday and making your life a misery.

 

Actually, mosquito saliva does the complete opposite to what you claim. It is an anti-coagulant, it stops blood coagulating so that they can feed. Mosquitoes can't suck up clotted blood.

[stevenl]

8 hours ago, IslandLover said:

Most likely sandflies from the beach.  Horrible things.  You can hardly see them and they are not called "no-see-ums" for nothing!  The only thing which will protect you is a high concentration of DEET.  Ordinary mosquito repellant is useless.  They are very active late afternoon and early evening.  Sometimes the bites take 24 hours to show, they itch like mad and can last for weeks.  Not all tropical beaches have them, and not everyone is susceptible to the bites (I am unfortunately).  I suffered very badly in Patong years ago when I chose to lie on the sand until the sun went down. 

 

Otherwise - and I hate to say this - bedbugs in your hotel room.

I never had any sand flies issues here, sounds much more like bed bugs to me.

[stevenl]

5 hours ago, See Will said:

Puket's Beaches are in certain parts sandfly infected and the symptoms you explain confirm that you have been unlucky to find one of these areas. They are usually on Strips of less than 100m. 

Which parts would that be?

[schlog]

1 hour ago, stevenl said:

Which parts would that be?

Chumphon beaches lol.

[LosLobo]

Never seen sandflies on Phuket!

 

Only place that I have heard reports about them was at Thung Wua Laen Beach Chumphon.

[Joe Mcseismic]

19 minutes ago, LosLobo said:

Never seen sandflies on Phuket!

 

Only place that I have heard reports about them was at Thung Wua Laen Beach Chumphon.

No, me neither.

The worst sand-fly beach infestation I ever experienced was on Koh Samet.

[Old Croc]

Firstly, there are far more insects in the tropics than you're likely to find back home. You need to take precautions if you are sensitive to bites and stings .After 10 years here I'm still discovering new, exotic bugs invading my personal space at inopportune times. These days the only query I might have about them is if they are considered a delicacy up north .

The OP would get a lot better information from locals, and less idiocy from "experts"  from elsewhere in the Kingdom, if he were to provide information on his activities and accommodation.

Do you sit outside unprotected in the evenings? Are you staying in a good hotel room or a cheap unscreened hostel room?

Like others, some who have lived here a lot longer than me, I've never heard of problems with sandflies on Phuket. They seem to be more prevalent inside the gulf.

Most likely mosquitos are your problem, and, because dengue is rife here, you should take extra care particularly in the evenings.  

https://thethaiger.com/thai-life/top-10-ways-avoid-dengue-fever 

[LosLobo]

20 minutes ago, Joe Mcseismic said:

No, me neither.

The worst sand-fly beach infestation I ever experienced was on Koh Samet.

Koh Samet Chumphon or Trat?

[Joe Mcseismic]

1 minute ago, LosLobo said:

Koh Samet Chumphon or Trat?

The one closest to Bangkok, a couple of hours away if I remember rightly.

[LosLobo]

14 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

After 10 years here I'm still discovering new, exotic bugs invading my personal space at inopportune times. 

I thought I had seen everything until I was invaded by these.

An environmental nightmare!

 

 

[madmitch]

If you've been swimming in the sea it could be caused by sea lice. Very common on certain beaches, especially Karon.

[yogi100]

7 hours ago, Joe Mcseismic said:

Actually, mosquito saliva does the complete opposite to what you claim. It is an anti-coagulant, it stops blood coagulating so that they can feed. Mosquitoes can't suck up clotted blood.

But no blood flows from the bite when they've had their fill.

[jokering]

Thank you so much for all the advice guys.

I'm near Surin Beach and it's the only beach I have visited. But I do feel like I have more bites after I go there... Only swam once but had bites before that.

 

The Ars repellent and Lemongrass Coil seem to be helping.

I will pick up the Baygon spray and Boots repellent soon if I get more bites.

 

Thankfully doesn't seem to be bed bugs. Already changed rooms and the bites are too spread out.

[Joe Mcseismic]

20 minutes ago, yogi100 said:

But no blood flows from the bite when they've had their fill.

Mosquito saliva contains an anti-coagulant. There are more links I can post if you still think I'm wrong.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4028456/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8699461

https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0006439

[cryo]

Hi all I've been bitten by insects many times in Thailand over the last 15 years and no matter how effective your preparation one or two will get through eventually and the best buy a long way post bite treatment is a tube of cream called Systral obtained from the pharmacist. It will stop itching within a few minuets and the bite will not get infected and will quickly fade to a red spot and disappear over a few days. I came across this treatment when I went in for something to deal with bites and the pharmacist asked "before or after" and she supplied me with Jaco roller ball repellent and systral bite cream and they transformed my life in Thailand. Many people say they do not get bitten but I have watched mossies land on my friends arm and drink his blood with no after effects which has lead me to believe that people living in Thailand over a long period of time become resistant to the bites and their bodies do not react to the bite. 

 

Ken.

  

[xtrnuno41]

ALso have bites when in Thailand, aswell Phuket, indeed on the legs. Good thing they dont itch that much.

However for itching now, my gf got me "yellow oil" it works for some hours and then redo.

DOnt forget if you use yellow oil never to touch your eyes or your dingeling otherwise you have some fun in another way.

I also used to put my cigarette close to the bite as long as i can. Sometimes helps.

BUT im very content with the  "yellow oil" in Thailand. Also helps with muscle pains, it is someway like Tiger balsem(?), then only liquid. 

Once in Manilla i was bitten, several spots, on the side and jeepers that really itched, like... im getting crazy. I didnt had yellow oil then. My gf then nothing, not any bite , but me YES, i was the lucky one.

I think bed bugs will bite you anywhere on juicy soft spots.

 

[nobodysfriend]

Just go to 7/11 or Lotus and buy a deodorant spray called ' cool wave ' , or ' black knight ' it is 65 baht .

That stuff is the solution , it protects you from getting bitten , and after you got bitten , spay it on your skin and it won't itch any more and will disappear fast .

You do not believe it ? So do not do it then ... 5555