Ok, this is bugging me big time now. I'm in Thailand and every morning, I wake up with half a dozen to a dozen mozzie bites. Some of these are over an inch in diameter, in fact I've got one on my right arm which is about 2". I love to donate blood and all that but the itching is really starting to affect my sleep.
Anyone have a really good idea of how to
a) get rid of the itching
and
b) keep the mozzies away?
Let me know - I'll owe you big time if it works.
EDIT: I found out most of my bites are bed bug bites. I've got a major infestation. Changing beds & contacted landlord to see if he can help.
Permalink Reply by Durianwriter on Called it!
We had bedbugs one night in Jakarta - woke up with a polka dot face. Be thankful for your bum-bites :p
Permalink Reply by Jack on Ah but they have progressed to my face since. Apparently, half a dozen bites per night is very little, some people have been bitten up to 500 times in just one night. Last night I only got two, and I actually think they might have been mozzie bites. The bites don't wake me up either, so I never feel the bugs crawling on me. A tell-tale sign of bed bugs is said to be three bites in a row, and I have a few such rows, one just below my right cheek.
I'm contemplating an early move to Pha Ngan, but want to make sure I won't bring any bed bugs with me. I understand they like to hide in clothes. I don't have a washing machine. Do you think I'd be fine if I leave all my clothes to a laundry shop? I've been keeping my clothes in a closet in the hall, as far away from my bed as possible, so I sort of hope the bugs haven't found their way there. But you never know, and I'd hate to have them over on Pha Ngan as well. Or maybe filling the closet (and the apt) with durian shells for a couple of days before leaving would help? I think I know where I can find durians on Samui, though I'll have to get up early to make it.
Aloe vera seems to do a decent job with all the bites I'm getting, and those I believe to be bed bug bites stop bothering me within hours, and disappear in 1-2 days. Mozzie bites seem more itchy and somewhat harder to get rid of. Citronella seems to have limited effect on them, but I feel things are more manageable now, with 2-6 bites per day and much less itching, thanks to aloe vera. I'd have fans on Pha Ngan and I think they have or can arrange nets too. Hmm...
Permalink Reply by vegan witch Ⓥ on i lived in the solomon islands - there is only one sure way to be safe from mosquitos and thats to have a fan on you during the night - mosquitos dont fly in windy conditions - nothing else works.
mosquitoes nets - they eventually get in and when they do - thats one hissed off mosquito and they will bit you all night under the net and oil rubs off onto your sheets and eventually by 3am your mossie dinner - turn the fan on and drink water and being itchy, thats simply your immune system dealing with the bacteria in the bite.
Permalink Reply by PK on @ Jack
Did mum not teach you never to let the bedbugs bite? :D))))
OK, just messin with ya.
I actually prefer to sleep on the floor. Is it possible you could buy a sleeping bag or thick blanket, and then sleep on the floor in your own sanitary nest?
Peace, PK
Permalink Reply by Jesse Radja on Use citronella in the day time particularly sunrise sunset ....... then sleep under a net at night ...... I thought I picked up a minor case of bedbugs in Malaysia ..... so straight away I washed my sheets and clothes ....... then everytime I felt a crawling on my skin I would dab some straight citronella oil on that spot ...... seem to have got on top of it pretty easily ....... one more thing ...... Lindsay mentioned durian peels as a good prevention for mossies ...... but I also heard keeping them in the room works for bedbugs too ........ maybe fully surround your bed with peels ........ !!!!!!!!!
Permalink Reply by Jack on Samui durians are finally beginning to pop up at the markets! Had my second ever today. Still undecided about the taste, and it probably says a lot about the weakness of my sense of smell that I couldn't detect almost any odour whatsoever when sniffing the spiky friends at the market. I just ate one smallish durian (12 decent-sized pods) and I've got one waiting, a much larger one. I sort of like the taste but nothing crazy so far... I'll keep trying :-) It was soft and creamy, not crunchy, even though it wasn't splitting up yet (they cut it up for me). Do they ripen post harvest, do they split up if I keep waiting?
Now I get to try and see if the durian shells keep mozzies away! I've been having good success with ridiculous amounts of citronella spray (like 1 bottle lasts me up to 5 days), no more bites. But I'd prefer not to have to spray so much...
Permalink Reply by Jesse Radja on Thailand durians are generally picked off the trees in a highly unripe state ..... you can tell this if the stalk has a clean secateur cut at the end of the stem ....... this is especially true at this stage of the season ..... prices are high ..... profits to be made ..... taste is secondary ..... +++ most Thais actually eat the durian in a crunchy semi-ripe state ...... best idea is to get them to slit a triangle into the lower part of the durian as it ripens from the stem down ..... when they lift the test flap ..... stick in a finger and check the texture ........
about mosquitoes ....... dude ....... a net costs $6 ..... why wait for someone else to arrange you one ??????? Maybe your guesthouse can arrange it .... but how about the next and the next guesthouse .????? Just pay $6 and get over it ..... @vegan witch ...... saying a mosquito net doesn"t work is like saying raw food diet doesn't work ........ lets look into the details ...... mesh size ...... the cheapest net has holes which are too large mosquitoes can push right through ..... getting in and out of the net ....... you must be quick so you don't bring some in with you ....... best to shake down outside 5m away ///// then run for your net and get under it quick ...... mosquitoes like fast food so any left will bite you in the first few minutes ...... so with a torch or light you can release them from this cycle of reincarnation and pray they come back as a more friendly specimen ...... body touching the sides ?????? IF you go against the net the mossies can bite you and maybe even pull themselves through ....... Yes oil terrible on sheets so you use it in the day ...... when you are out and about .....especially sunset/sunrise ...... PLease trust my experience on this ...... I live in a zone with full on mosquitoes 3 months of the year ....... without a net and citronella oil (sanity juice) ...... I would not be able to stay at that place ....... the other 9 months its like paradise ........ OK over ....
Permalink Reply by Jack on What kind of net can I buy, Jesse? It has to be away from my body, otherwise they'll just bite me through it - do they sell nets with frames or something? The nets I've seen are fastened to the ceiling, but there's nothing I can fasten it to where I'm staying now. I've been avoiding bites with lots of citronella spray in the evening and keeping all doors closed, so I'm happy for now. However I'll be moving to Pha Ngan in a few days' time and things will be different there... I'll see about nets once there. I think they may have them. If not, where'd you suggest I get a good one?
I don't stay at guesthouses, I stay at least one month in every place I rent. My apartment also functions as my office so I don't want to be moving around lots.
Where's this 9 month paradise you mention? Australia?
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