Hi all, my wife and I are planning a trip down to Roatan this May to explore moving there with our two young children. Ideally, we would love to live near the beach but I have seen quite a few comments about sandflies. Are they as bad as people say? Keep people from the beach? Or generally overstated and not that big of an issue?
Thanks!
2 Likes
The sandflees can definitely be annoying. It depends on weather, time of year and the beach. Sand that is constantly combed usually has no problem at all (they lay their eggs in the sand, the eggs can’t survive being in the air/sun).
Bug repellent keeps them away, however, it happens fast. If you are in an area with them you need to reapply alot. If they do get you, it’s alot of small red bumps. They seem to itch for an hour or two. The bumps for us stay days to weeks.
All-in-all, we just bought a beach house and are not concerned
1 Like
I have a bad allergy to sandflea bites…once on a Mexican Holiday I ended up having to see a Doctor they were so bad. I received treatment and the rash went away after a few days. I had tried repellant but it doesn’t really work. What does work is to apply oil such as baby oil or similar to your feet and bottom of your legs from the knee down. The fleas can’t or don’t bite through the oil. It works for me perhaps it will help others with the issue.
1 Like
Welcome @pdxtom
Check out this previous thread
To cope with the sand flies, it was recommended we try the B12 vitamin. My hubby and I took the B12 shot and capsules, we had basically no issues with the bug bites. I recommend B12, oh, we were in Roatan for a wonderful 10 days!
Hi. We’ll be on Roatan from Feb 15 to March 2. Is it sandflea season now?
1 Like
Sand flies are common on the island but they are mostly active in warm climate with a little wind and no rain like the months of June-August.