Hawaii Mosquito Guide
Hawaii Mosquito Guide
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Concerned about Dengue Fever, Zika Virus, or that itchy feeling that mosquitos leave behind? Learn how to avoid the bite when in Hawaii.
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For most people who visit Hawaii, a random mosquito here or there will be nothing more than a nuisance at best. Maybe it will go all vampire on you and suck your blood but it's usually not a big deal. Oh, sure, it will leave you with a fun little place to scratch for a few days that will likely be in a hard to reach spot or socially awkward place. Then it goes away and you forget about.

Well, that's what usually happens with a mosquito. Of course, now we're hearing about cases of Dengue Fever on the Big Island of Hawaii. We've also had our first case of a baby being born with the Zika Virus. Of course, the mother of the baby had lived in Brazil early in her pregnancy and was likely infected there and not in Hawaii so let's not completely panic just yet.

Mosquito Solutions


This is very real and very scary stuff for some people traveling to Hawaii. So what do you do? Do you cancel that Hawaiian vacation you've been dreaming about for months or years because of a mosquito? Some people do, but most aren't.

Assuming fear isn't going to cause you to cancel your trip to the islands you should at least be informed and maybe take some precautions depending on where you're traveling in the islands.

Though we cover various ways to avoid contact with mosquitos in our Dengue Fever article, let's cover the most common solution in more detail here. What is the most common solution to mosquitos? Mosquito repellent, or bug spray, of course.

If you're going to be in an area known for mosquitos you'll want to have some repellent to help deal with them. Forget Dengue Fever, Zika, and all of the other nasty things mosquitos can carry for a minute. The bottom line is that they're annoying little bugs all on their own and if you're going to be around them you want to keep them off of you so rub or spray on repellent.

Mosquito Repellent Results


Those in the know would likely suggest a product with DEET in it. In a recent study published on the Journal of Insect Science (yes, that's a real thing) they tested out repellents and we are listing the results here in the interest of keeping you from being bit.

So here are the top five best repellents, at least when they are first applied. I'm listing them in order with the best of the best first.

  1. Off Deep Woods Insect Repellent VIII

  2. Cutter Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent

  3. Ecosmart Organic Insect Repellent

  4. Repel 100 Insect Repellent

  5. Cutter Skinsations Insect Repellent


Now let's look at the results after four hours of a repellent being applied and see how these same five do. I'll list these in order with the best of the best first.

  1. Repel 100 Insect Repellent

  2. Cutter Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent

  3. Off Deep Woods Insect Repellent VIII

  4. Cutter Skinsations Insect Repellent

  5. Ecosmart Organic Insect Repellent


Note that three of these contain DEET. The two without DEET are Ecosmart Organic Insect Repellent and Cutter Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent.

In most cases, re-applying after two hours seems to yield better results than after four hours so keep that bottle handy and reapply every 2 hours just like you would with sunscreen to Protect Yourself From Sunburn & Skin Cancer.

More mosquito related statistical goodness, you can read the full study at: http://jinsectscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/15/1/140