I've heard insects and fleas are a big problem on the beaches in Belize. Is this true? Any preventive measures?

Well...Belize is Central America so there are insects about! However on the beach you find sand fleas which can be annoying to most "beach lovers".

That being said, the severity of sand fleas depends on the time of year and how much of an ocean breeze there is. The stronger the breeze the fewer the fleas.

To combat this you can use standard bug repellant or something like skin-so-soft.

Neal
neal@e-travelmedia.com

Trying to get info on sandfleas. We were in Mexico. Since then I have had an extreme amount of a bumpy, itchy, rash-like red dots appear all over my abdomen. Can sandfleas spread on a human, how do you get rid of them? My wife had several bites, but seems fine now. ASAP!

Not to dampen anyone's experience in Belize, but:

My mother-in-law owns a condo there and on her recent trip, she got some kind of insect under her skin. The doctor who saw her in the states told her it was some kind of sand flea. It made her scalp itch so bad that she went to the doctor, who then had to do a "punch" to get this insect out that had burried itself under her skin. Even worse, this insect had made a "breathing hole" in her skin and had some kind of tube or whatever sticking out to breath. It is so disgusting that I won't ever be going to Belize and the very idea of this makes me want to throw up. Ick.

Thanks for the disturbing story Carolyn. Just so YOU know, there's no need to stay away from Belize because of your mom in law's incident. The same insects live here in the U.S. Belize is a BEAUTIFUL country. And i'd hate for you, or anyone else, to miss out on such a great place.

I heard that babyoil is a good preventative for sand fleas. Learned that from friends we stayed with in San Pedro.

Belize is beautiful and well worth the trip even with sand fleas lol.

Pamela

Hi,
well on the beach (and also basically everywhere else in the country) you will sooner or later encounter those tiny little thirsty bastards, around here referred to as Sand FLIES (although the real Sand Flie is a different thing). I haven't seen any fleas except those from the village dogs.
Now those little buggers flie around in moskito style (biologically they acutally are a type of moskito) looking for a meal but only when it is very calm. Just a light breeze and there is no probs.
and yes, being attacked can ruin the evening, baby oil or any other kind of grease film on the skin will keep them off as they immediatly drown. Bug spray helps in most cases. For sleeping I would recommend a fan blowing on you, or a special moskito net with a very fine screen (remember they are darn small - also called "no-see-ems" and pass through a regular moskito net and window screens like a bee through a fence). Also the black (!) coils to burn or that electric thing called VAPE keep them off quite good.

I've seen people suffer from bites for weeks, that depends on your body I guess. My bites go away after 20minutes which I'm greatful for, mostlikely it has also something to do with adaptation.

After all it is part of the adventure and also part of Central America. If paradise was perfect everybody would be there

greetings and have fun anyway!!!

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www.windschief.com
www.windsurfing-belize.com

Sandflies are only a problem in certain areas eg. placencia, and only for 30 minutes or so at dawn and at dusk. Don't worry about it too much!