Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Mosquitos/ Sand Flies Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Tonga
waterbabee06 07:05 UTC 02 Jul 2007 | Hi, I camped and kayaked on Fraser Island last September and got absolutely annihilated by sand flies and mosquitos. I was on two courses of anitobiotics when I returned home. What are the mosquitos like on Tonga and does anyone have any natural 'ish' remedies to keep them at bay? Is there anywhere in Tonga that I should definitely avoid due to sand flies and/or mosquitos end July/August? I am going for ten days so I would prefer not to spend the entire trip wrapped in a sheet to prevent scratching. Thanks. |
rollingcloud 07:45 UTC 02 Jul 2007 | I don't know about the Mozzies but I did read somewhere that they are vicious in places. It is hard getting a natural remedy as everything i have tried which is natural seems to fail, like citronella based lotions. I have been given a good 'make your own' recipe and I found this works better than the bought deet ones (which by the way DEET is not good for children or long term use - so that says something for it not being very good for skin). Mix together Dettol and baby oil. Mozzies hate Dettol and the baby oil, I guess, is to help spread it. We have heaps of Mozzies where we live in summer and this works for me. | 1
happylilpossum 08:25 UTC 02 Jul 2007 | Baby oil and tea tree oil mixed together work a treat | 2
raro 12:15 UTC 02 Jul 2007 | It's "winter" in Tonga in July/august. no snow of course, but it is a bit cooler, so the mozzies are less than during their summer of Dec-Feb. I doubt it will be a real probklem for you. I was there during their summer, and even then it wasn't that bad. | 3
wizemen2 09:37 UTC 07 Jul 2007 | Frazer Island, and mostly all the islands of Brisbanes Moreton bay are infested with swarms of mossies and sand flies.There is even an island called Mosquito island, so there is a clue! | 4
copperspoon 02:16 UTC 08 Jul 2007 | My experience in Tongan summer was that biting insects were not an issue. In fact whilst visiting the Captain Cook memorial on Tongatapu I commented on the lack of same-there we were high heat/humidity, no breeze lots of standing water and there were no Mozzies at all. Ditto Vava'u out in the countryside and inshore in all weather no biters anywhere. | 5