Sand Flies or middges in Bintan??

[cartusien]

Hello

Spent very nice week end in southern part of Bintan (trikora beach), but daughter and I were attacked by small flies whose bites are quite painful, and leave thereafter some red spots, quite painful and long lasting.

Since my daughter is allergic to insect bites, she's now covered with red and painful spots!

So,

a)do you know what it is: sand flies, or small mosquitos, or middges (like on scotish sky island??!)

b)Do you know a good repellent to get rid of or to prevent from getting bitten by those naughty insects? We tried standard mosquitos repelent but it did not work (the flies laughed at us)!

c)And do you know if such naughty animals can also be found in northern part of bintan (the resorts part)?


Thanks in advance for your answers,

[Lilyanz]

those are sand fly. they bite in clusters. use calamine lotion, if get worst see a doctor it can result to infection. sandflies normaly live in inter-tidal zone of coastal beaches, in mud, or in wet organic debris.

[synkronize]

hi

my sister had the same problem when she went to banyan tree @ Bintan. She came back from the weekend trip covered with big red spots and terribly itchy too. she went to see a doctor who gave her some jabs. til today she's not quite sure what it is but i would think that they're sandflies too

[Steven S]

The worst thing about sandfly bites is that you don't feel them till a few hours later. So you accumulate multiple bites!

If the beach is deserted, there is a good reason for it!

Sandflies need blood to reproduce, and they lay eggs where there is fresh water around. They are quite ineffective at flying in a slight breeze.

Therefore the worst location is on a beach, next to a fresh stream running down to the sea, on a breezeless day.

Always wear insect repellant in addition to suntan lotion if you're on the beach, or cover up. Or suntan by the hotel swimming pool.

The best product I've found to deal with sandfly bites is an Australian product called Stingose. You may be able to find it at Guardian pharmacies.