You have to work at it, but you can find a reason not to like St. John. But some people have been able to do it by complaining about mosquitoes and “no see ums”.
Consider those flying nuisances as a “given” if you’re headed to an island, ANY island.
But, not everybody has the same experience. Karrie B, a St. John fan, posted on a travel forum, “I am … a bug magnet and they find me regardless of how much DEET I bathe in regardless of rain conditions. They avoid my husband completely. I don't use perfumed anything so maybe they like the DEET? No see ums are more controllable, just keep all sand off your legs and feet, let none in your villa and avoid the beach.” (That ‘avoid the beach’ thing is kind of amusing.)
Deet really seems among the best precautions you can take if the bugs find you attractive, to judge from the forums. Amazon’s got a lot of choices.
Here are some other tips, courtesy of the St. John Sun Times Magazine.
- Avoid the beach at dusk, dawn, and after rain. Sand fleas like moist and cool.
- Ease up on the perfume. The littler buggers like sweet scents. Body odor is also attractive (to the pests), so shower.
- If you’re on the beach, sit on a towel … put something between you and them.
- Rinse off when you leave the beach.
BTW, Todd Roskin , the island’s well known pest exterminator, says in the six years’ he;’s been doing pest control on the island, he’s never seen a bed bug. That’s ANOTHER way St. John’s better than New York.