Sand Flies can you stop e'm???

[Robbo_Townsville]

I recently got peppered by them up in Hinchinbrook. After scratching myself to bits I went to the chemist and they put me on to "Telfast" a anti-hystremen and a lotion that leaves the ol Calamine lotion and stingoes for dead. It is called "Animine" and has a local anaesthetic and antiseptic. It was expensive but worth it.

[2DKnBJ]

Another weird one that i found that works well is toothpaste.Looks a bit weird with white spots all over you but it does work.
Cheers Dazza

[stevedemon]

Hi All
the mix I use is Dettol, citrnollea oil, metho but i also add some vitamin E in the mix and have never had a problem with this mix yet it not only keeps the mossies & sandy flies away but also keeps the wife away when i get home ;D ;D ;D hope this helps someone out the reason i add the Vitamin E cream is that the wife uses it when she out with me but have found that it will not create a rash and it won't dry the skin out of the girls

Cheers ;D ;D
Steve 8) 8)

[Y-Not]

almost 20 years ago fishing at Turkey one of the locals put me onto a strong mix of pineoclean and a dash of metho to keep sandflies and mossies at bay. sure did the trick

[glassfish]

Hi to anybody that is plagued by those painful bloody sand fly bites. I even got to the stage that I even considered not going fishing or near the beach anymore. Bites would last for two or more weeks, terrible itching and bad sores from the continious scratching that is almost impossible to stop. The absolute mental torture of trying not to scratch really drives one to the point of insanity.

It is not he actual bite that does the damage, it is the fact that the little buggers go and piddle on you as some sort of victory ritual after they have bitten you

I did some research on the internet about a year ago and discovered a few things that may help you.

Vitamin B1 tabs I take one 100mg tab twice a day or one 250mg tab once a day. Apparenly the little sods don't like the smell or tast of vitamin B1 otherwise known as thiamin.
It will take a month or so for it to start working and becoming effective.

I tried the liquid version sold as a mossie repellent, this would have to be the ugliest tasting crap I have ever put in my mouth. I found the only way to take it was by adding water closely followed by a straight scotch.

Another trick I picked up was, if you get some really bad bites, before they start itching to much try this, and believe me I am not joking. Dab some vegemite on a bandaid and put it over the bite area. It will most likely sting a little for a while and then stop itching (hopefully within a couple of hours). Vegemite is loaded with B1 or thiamin. Just be careful not get to close to the dog or cat cause they'll probably start licking you.

Can't promise this will work for everone but it has worked reasonably well for me. If I do get bites they only last for a few days and nowhere near as itchy as they used to be. I really hope this info can help some of out there.

Cheer and happy scratching glassfish

[devocean]

Ive heard potassium tablets work. I just take the missus and they prefer to bite her over me.

[cHiCo]

i heard rubbing piss (urine) on yaself works, not to keen to try it out though

[CQ_Fisher]

after going up the mangroves in the middle of summer i usually come home with my legs riddled with bites and i get as itchy as hell with them too. I have found that i cannot stop them from biting me so i just hook into the anti-histimene tablets when i come home. you can still see the bites but they dont get inflamed or get itchy.

JD

[The_Bulge]

Glassy, definetly the B1 tablets. Best as you say taken 1-2 months before holiday if able. Agood repellent mixed with a capfull of Dettol is a good repellent for them and mossies.
Regards
Klink

[Martin_C]

HI folks
The repellant that I use is 1/3 dettol, 1/3 metho and 1/3 babyoil good for mozzies if you add citronella it works for sandflies too. hope this helps
Martin

[ANYFISH]

i reckon bushman works pretty well but it is a bit deer

[glassfish]

Hi again, I agree with Martin-c the dettol, metho and I use olive oil for my mix and I recon it works as good as the store bought ones. I certainly wouldn't like to try Chico's remedy and I have never heard of using potasium. I tried lots of sprays and rub on things and for me I will keep with the B1 tabs.

The reason I put up the post was to try and help all the other poor buggers that suffer from sand fly bites, any more suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers glassfish

[noodlemantra]

I've always wondered how the Abooriginals stopped them.....

I reckon they have a way.

[Dignity]

I've always wondered how the Abooriginals stopped them.....

I reckon they have a way.

They put dry dung on the fires



i reckon bushman works pretty well but it is a bit deer

trouble with Bushmans is once bitten the damn stuff will actually make the area infected if you scratch it.


Notsure about the other treatments eg vegimite or toothpaste (do you put scraps of toilet paper on to add to the effect ;D ) but once bitten antihistamines are definately worth a try.

[rando]

Heres a simple one,,, if you have been bitten and have the itches , wet the bites with water and rub a soluble asprin on the site . Instant relief,
Cheers
rando

[frenzy]

aloe vera plant provides some relief and ive just heard tiger balm rubbed on works a treat ;)

[basserman]

my misses swears by rubbing viniger over the bite to stop the itch but really just put it out of your mind and then they woun't even bother you that what i have trained myself in doing mainly from being in the army and always being biten but unable to do anything about it so no i get bit and it doesn't even worrie me now and can't feel them wither bite or itch ;D

[_Matt_]

Hi Glassfish
I can totally relate to what you are going through with the sandflies. I tend to get bitten that day, and then from the next day onwards for about 1 solid week, I itch to the point of scabbing.

I have done some of my own research into repellents etc to try and come home bite free from my fishing outings. I found when looking at repellents you should look at the “DEET” percentage it has. This is the active ingredient in repelling the mosquitos and sandflies. To put things into perspective for you, the Deet content of a can of “Rid spray on” or “Aeroguard spray on” is around 17 percent. “Bushman spray on” is about 20 percent. But get this, if you buy “Bushman Ultra” which is a RUB ON and comes in the tube, the Deet content of this is a huge 80 percent. It has a tested life of 10+ hours and is water resistant (It also comes as a sunscreen mix).

When you spray the aerosol version on, you are wasting all of that overspray, where as when you use the rub on, you are using every last bit effectively. It lasts longer and costs about $13 as opposed to the spray which is up around the $20 mark. In saying all this, there is nothing like covering up with clothing, but in places like my home town (Townsville) the humidity can get too much.

On a final note, taking anti-histimene tablets to stop the itching will indeed work. If you don’t scratch them, you will spend a lot less time being itchy. You can buy them over the counter at the chemist. I didn’t mean to drag this message out, but if it is going to help other keen fisherman fish comfortably, then good.
Cheers
Matt

[glassfish]

Hi from Glassfish again, I knew there were other poor sods out there that get bitten, and I knew there would be more answers to living a sand fly free fishing life. In answer to a few other suggestions:

Rando: I will definately give your asprin suggestion a go if the need comes up again.

Frenzy and Basserman: Tried aloe vera, vinigar, Tiger Balm, Tea tree Oil, eucaliptus oil. These gave me little or no relief at all. But hey! if they work for you thats great. Putting it out of your mind is the best suggestion there but it is not easy to do for some people.

Matt: sounds like you have pretty much the same trouble as me, it's no fun is it. I agree with your Deet content theory and thanks for that info. I don't like taking anti-histomines, mainly because I need to take 12 different medications a day at this time (thats no fun either). Covering up is is good but I feel silly with a sheet over my head. lol.

The Vitamin B1 tabs have definately made a difference to me and I will keep on taking them as long as I can go fishing.. Really this all boils down to the fact that I go fishing if I cut that out I wouldn't have to worry about sand flys. I find if I do get an annoying bite now I use the vegemite on the bandaid and that usually does the trick.

Cheers glassfish

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

The little blighters can certainly make for an uncomfortable time! Another potion that works well is about 1/2 cupfull of olive oil, a desertspoon of kero, and a dozen drops of eucalyptus oil. Mix it all up in a bottle and just rub it on before you head out.

[redlipper]

Looking at all the previous posts on this problem...half of you are on the right track. I managed 1770 campground for 11 years and this topic was always on the agenda.
Some sort of baby oil/disinfectant mix. But some previous posts[remedies] will cause major skin irritation to a large percentage of people especially fairskinned.
I found 50/50 dettol and baby oil to not get you in the s&#t when recommended to hundreds of tourists over 11 years.
It works ! If in a remote area like our middle creek camp spot, if you burn cow dung and dry mangrove leaves[the ones you find washed up on the high tide mark] this is prevention rather than cure.
If no cow pats around just burn the dry mangrove leaves in a 20lt drum on the upwind side of your camp, with a couple of solid firewood chunks at the base, and keep adding leaves for smoke. Add them to the coals if you dont have a drum.
The best idea is the drum to stop the silverwings and a fire to cook on and stare at!