Sanibel is well known for being one of the most natural and underdeveloped along Florida’s Island Coast. The limited development allows plants and animals to flourish in one of the most beautifully natural settings in Southwest Florida– but it also allows for a few more unwanted guests as well. The trade off for keeping our island as natural area pesky pests like the snippy no see um.
We want you to be prepared to live in harmony with these little insects, so here are a few tips that the locals use to manage these little snippers.
- Wear long sleeves, long pants, gloves, shoes and socks.
- Use bug spray that contains the chemical DEET in a concentration of at least 30 percent (also effective for mosquitoes).
- Apply the beauty product, Skin So Soft (or any Baby Oil). This product which effectively traps the no see um in the oil, thereby preventing the tiny insect from being able to bite in the first place.
- Want to avoid the use of chemicals? The CDC (Center for Disease Control) also recommends the use of oil of lemon eucalyptus, which is almost as effective as DEET.
- One of the simplest and easiest ways to prevent getting bit by no-see-ums is wind. A ceiling fan, small house fan or an afternoon breeze will suffice to keep down the no-see-ums since they are so tiny that almost any breeze, natural or otherwise, prevents them from flying.
Fun Fact:
No-see-ums are the smallest blood-sucking insects on earth and, like the mosquito, only the females bite. They require the proteins from blood to make their eggs.
