Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Mosquitos- Permethrin? Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Fiji
bessiealma 17:06 UTC 05 Aug 2014 | Hi, We are heading to Fiji for 12 days and the travel doc says to treat our clothing with Permethrin. I am skeptical- mainly because of concerns around toxicity and also because I am not reading about too much concern about mosquitos in the more populated areas. That being said, erring on the side of caution is usually good. Can anyone tell me if there are enough mosquitos to warrant this or if it's overkill? I do plan on carrying bug repellent with us. Also, we will be staying on a boat (so not on land) and venturing in to do things during the day- mostly water based activities. |
peter_n_margaret 19:17 UTC 05 Aug 2014 | We lived in Lautoka for 2 years mid 2010 to mid 2012. I got Dengue Fever and my wife got Ross River virus (we think). Neither are something you want to risk. Many locals have died from Dengue in the last 12 months. The Dengue mosquito is out and about during the day time. Cheers, Peter | 1
jbinternational 08:32 UTC 06 Aug 2014 | Not sure where you are going and if you post where, it would be helpful, Mosquitos are a problem as there is always a lot of water to breed in, In Suva there is the Dengue one which is a two tone colour,( I am told and haven't seen one there), a small one that has a stinging bite, but not disease causing, which is out early morning and late afternoon, which can be prevented by a repellent, and a larger one as well. | 2
bessiealma 15:39 UTC 06 Aug 2014 | We are on a boat and will move as the captain likes, so I don't know exactly where we are going. That being said, I do know our first visit is to the Yasawa group of islands. Expecting some inland excursions, lots of beach time but mainly anchored at sea for the duration. I have decided to spray key items with the Permethrin and bring lots of repellent. Thanks for your responses! | 3
farflung 17:52 UTC 06 Aug 2014 | There are definitely lots of mossies about in Fiji including the offshore islands. Bring repellent for sure. | 4
peter_n_margaret 18:12 UTC 06 Aug 2014 | I understand that the Dengue mosquito is the black and white striped one. We saw them and they are quite distinctive, but you never see the one which bites you. Cheers, Peter | 5
neverwinter 20:49 UTC 19 Sep 2014 | too late for this thread, but for anyone else: anywhere tropical is a dengue zone. Getting it once is bad. Getting it twice can be very bad - so getting it once makes future tropical travels riskier. 24/7 DEET and treated mosquito nets at night. | 6