Prevention is the Best Cure
- Natural bug spray: This was, by far, the most effective measure in avoiding bites. Melody of Melody's Garden makes a fantastic natural repellent, and we applied and reapplied daily. We refuse to use DEET, so this was the best discovery we made during our early days in Panama. She makes a bunch of other cool natural products, too.
- Geckos: Your new best friends. I don't know if they eat no-see-ums (maybe they can-see-um?), but they eat a variety of other things that gather near the lights. Love the geckos in your house. We do.
- Candles: We burned candles and incense, hoping the smoke or the flame or whatever would keep the bugs away. Inside, it was pretty effective, but I tend to believe that part of that was the closed doors. Outside, pretty much useless.
- Pants: Pointless. I haven't worn anything but dresses and shorts since we got here.
- Don't scratch: HA HA HA HA HA!!!
- Clear nail polish: My friend coated all my bites with clear nail polish, swearing that it stopped the itch. And it did. When I washed the polish off, though, the itch returned -- though I do believe it was not as powerfully irritating.
- Various anti-itch creams from the pharmacy: Ehhh. Some seemed to work better than others. We also had the experience of one that worked great the first time, then never seemed to work again. One of our friends had an anti-itch stick that contained alcohol, so it burned a bit when applied -- that was by far my favorite.
- Vinegar: When we were at home, I applied vinegar to my bites as soon as they started itching, and it eased the itch for awhile. Overall, the longest-lasting solution for me.
- Tea tree oil: I'm not sure this really helped the itch, but mentally it felt good to apply it, so I did so.
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