Looking forward to our first visit to Sanibel during November! Are the no-see-um’s done biting for the season? Love reading your blog and can’t wait to spend some time soaking up the sunshine and treasure hunting.
The pesky no-see-ums may perhaps ease up a little bit in the winter (?) but they were still biting freely when I was on Sanibel last December.
They say Deep Woods Off is good, or flea collars worn on your ankles, crazy though that sounds. I use lots of citronella oil and that seems to work OK for me. But of course some people don’t feel the bites and don’t react to them either.
Kathy - Palm Bch Grdns, Fl.
on November 1, 2012 at 8:19 pm
My family of 5 were there from 10-19 to 10-28 and every one of us had wicked bites from the knees down. Yes, the no-see-ums were crazy (especially dawn + dusk), but my son was convinced our worse woes were from sea lice. I tend to agree, because 1.) we felt that tell tale burning while in the water, and 2.) 5 or 6 hours after our beach time, was when the extreme itching kicked in. Meat tenderizer in a few oz of white vinegar only moderately helped the awful itching. My poor little grandsons were so miserable, that my son left with them on day 3.
Would I do it again, bites and all? … In a freaking heartbeat :)
I was told by CVS pharmacist to use Benadryl cream and that helped tremendously, although I had marks on my legs for 2 weeks after getting bitten by those no-see-ums even though I was out on the beach at around 2:30 pm and not dusk or dawn.
From what I read, sea lice (microscopic baby jellyfish) live primarily on the southeast coast, (not on the Gulf coast) and are only present during the summer. Plus you get the sea lice rash only in those places where your body is covered by a swimsuit (or something else that traps the minute jellyfish next to your skin so their stinging cells fire.)
I reckon what you had were bites from no-see-ums, and the bites just didn’t start itching until hours after you were bitten when your body had created its histamine reaction to them.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! That is the orangiest pumpkin I’ve ever seen! Just beautiful. You do have quite an eye for composition, Pam. Thank you for all your wonderful posts each day. It really brightens my day! Love ya.
Happy Shelloween to you too, Pam! Kristin and I met you the other day at City Beach. We had a great Halloween today. We both found a bunch of wentletraps at Lighthouse Beach!! Thank you for a great web site! Love it!
Can across your blog today and have to say i will become a regular follower. I live on the McCrae beach in Victoria Australia and am in awe of the beautiful shells you have on your beaches. Loved the movie on the angels wing as we have them on our beach but have never found a complete shell, only one side. When ever i see one i know mum is watching over me, she was a serious shell collector and i have taken over from her in that department. Happy shelling from the other side of the world and hope you beaches and the oceans bounty survive hurrican Sandy.
Nice shot!!! Okay..so I have often wondered Pam..when you take pictures that look like this do you lay on the ground to take the picture? That straight on ground level shot…I think if I took a picture like this Id have to lay on the ground…lol…just curious!
Thays a very orange pumpkin by the way. Picture perfect!!
I reckon the no-see-ums are almost always around at dawn and dusk when there is no wind unless it is relaly cold, so people who are sensitive to that sort of thing definitely need something to keep those tiny critters away, and also some antihistamine cream to put on the bites if you do get bitten.
I just realized I should explain that the no-see-ums only come out for a couple of hours right around dawn and dusk, and don’t come out even at dusk if it happens to be windy.
Ding Darling Nature Reserve is a whole different story though. You need insect repellent any time at all you go there, unless you don’t mind getting bitten.
On another site someone said that Benadryl gel is good to stop the itching if you do react strongly to the bites. Some people don’t react at all it seems.
Pam,
Thanks so much for the work you put into this blog. I so enjoy the videos. It’s the next best thing to being there again. Decades ago my family took periodic vacations to Sanibel and sweetly indulged my shell-collecting hobby which I began at about age 15.
The last time I was at Sanibel was in the early 80s, when I was married and expecting my 2nd. Now I’m 61, have 6 grown-up kids and 5 grandchildren. I turn back to shelling each time I (rarely) hit a beach (sometimes with little results). We live in Tennessee. We homeschooled our children since 1981, and the exigences of life sorta took over. Your videos are a catharsis for all the (happy) stress of many years. I now have awakened a new hope to visit Sanibel again, sit again by a big shell pile, and dig away! (I recently remembered, thanks to your and your readers’ comments, my especial joy at finding WENTLETRAPS!)
I’ll look forward to meeting you perhaps, if I ever get to Sanibel again.
Best regards,
Carole
Happy Halloween!! Missing Sanibel so, so much! For some reason Sarna lotion worked for me for no-see-ums a year ago last August. I had 147 bites! Lol.. I know because my friend’s daughter counted them! A pharmacist on Sanibel at CVS recommended it to me and it helped a lot…
We had a wonderful visit to the island in mid-October. The last day I made the mistake of sitting out late in the afternoon, near one of the marinas for only about a half an hour at about three and by the time I was on my way to the airport I was itching like crazy. This lasted for almost a week. I went through three containers of Benadryl spray–it produced the most relief the quickest. Twice I had my husband stop at a drug store while we were on our way to someplace. As the itching was less intense I was able to use benadryl cream and some cortisone cream I had for eczema. I am so glad I didn’t run into these little pests until my last day. I stopped counting when I got to 50, but I think I had many more. I spent a day researching bed bugs, lice, etc. Then I finally came to the conclusion it was the “non-see-ums” I would definitely be more cautious next time. We had so much fun seashelling, but I am afraid the no-seeums are what we will remember. So sad.
Oh my gosh, Dorothy, they lasted a week for me, too! I also was looking up stuff online, lol! My friend’s daughter, Maddie was sleeping with me, and my friend Sarah was convinced they were bed bugs because she and her other daughter, Brooke had no bites that morning! So, since it was pouring rain and we were freaked out that our hotel might have a bed bug infestation, we went to the clinic. That’s when Brooke counted my 147 bites, lol.. The doctor said they were no-see-ums and gave us Clarinex to take, and he told us about Benadryl cream or hydrocortisone… But really, Sarna worked the best and I tried all 3! They were terrible! We had sat outside near bushes at dusk to eat dinner & when we started getting bites, we moved to the car… Way worse than mosquito bites! And I’m from MN, where people say it’s the state bird. ;) It was crazy how Maddie and I had so many bites and Sarah and Brooke had none! Actually, Sarah’s daughter, Maddie is so sensitive that all of her bites were welts the size of dimes! The joke of the trip was made up by Sarah, “I see you no-see-ums!!!” lo, Pam, I think that would be a good blog post heading!! We will forever say it on every Sanibel trip from now on! When I got home my husband couldn’t believe how many bites I had!
Sherri from MN
A totally different topic: I saw on the “Let’s Talk Seashells” site that someone (other than you) found a Great Tellin (Tellina magna) on Sanibel. Two of them were found up at Bind Pass in the 1960s. It’s the yellow one shown on this page if you scroll down a bit:
If we can find any shellers reading this who have found a valve of this species on Sanibel or nearby and who could show the valve to Jose at the museum here, maybe he will accept it as a legitimate record and add it to the database.
Actually he was convinced about the identity of the shell, but he was not convinced that the shell was originally from Sanibel (that the critter had lived off of Sanibel), thinking that perhaps someone could have “planted” the shell on Lighthouse Beach.
He said he would wait until other people showed up with valves they had found, because that would be confirmation that it lives in the area.
I was hoping you could show the shell you have on your blog (like you did with the brown-banded olive, and ask if anyone had a valve they had found in the area, then maybe we could get one or more other valves to Jose at the museum and he would accept the record.
It’s a rather rare species, but it is know to live in the Gulf of Mexico, it’s just that there are as yet no confirmed records from SW Florida.
It’s so big it’s hard to mistake it for anything else.
Looking forward to our first visit to Sanibel during November! Are the no-see-um’s done biting for the season? Love reading your blog and can’t wait to spend some time soaking up the sunshine and treasure hunting.
The pesky no-see-ums may perhaps ease up a little bit in the winter (?) but they were still biting freely when I was on Sanibel last December.
They say Deep Woods Off is good, or flea collars worn on your ankles, crazy though that sounds. I use lots of citronella oil and that seems to work OK for me. But of course some people don’t feel the bites and don’t react to them either.
My family of 5 were there from 10-19 to 10-28 and every one of us had wicked bites from the knees down. Yes, the no-see-ums were crazy (especially dawn + dusk), but my son was convinced our worse woes were from sea lice. I tend to agree, because 1.) we felt that tell tale burning while in the water, and 2.) 5 or 6 hours after our beach time, was when the extreme itching kicked in. Meat tenderizer in a few oz of white vinegar only moderately helped the awful itching. My poor little grandsons were so miserable, that my son left with them on day 3.
Would I do it again, bites and all? … In a freaking heartbeat :)
I was told by CVS pharmacist to use Benadryl cream and that helped tremendously, although I had marks on my legs for 2 weeks after getting bitten by those no-see-ums even though I was out on the beach at around 2:30 pm and not dusk or dawn.
From what I read, sea lice (microscopic baby jellyfish) live primarily on the southeast coast, (not on the Gulf coast) and are only present during the summer. Plus you get the sea lice rash only in those places where your body is covered by a swimsuit (or something else that traps the minute jellyfish next to your skin so their stinging cells fire.)
I reckon what you had were bites from no-see-ums, and the bites just didn’t start itching until hours after you were bitten when your body had created its histamine reaction to them.
Congrats on hitting 4,000 likes on your fb page. WooHoo!
It feels more like Thanksgiving than Halloween after our Sandy but I wish the same to you! :)
17 more days till iget to shell beautiful pumpkin loking at shells
Happy Halloween everyone!
What?! No “Candy Corn”!?
Happy Halloween and Happy (shell) Hunting to all!
Wish I was there!
I know Linda, lol. I was going to do that but my photos didn’t turn out. Next year!
the most beautiful pumpkin I’ve ever seen!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! That is the orangiest pumpkin I’ve ever seen! Just beautiful. You do have quite an eye for composition, Pam. Thank you for all your wonderful posts each day. It really brightens my day! Love ya.
How perfect! I’ll be on the beach tomorrow…on Jekyll Island! I’m ready to see what I can find there! Maybe a pumpkin! heehee! Hugs!
Jekyll Island is on our trip bucket list! Would love to know how/ if you enjoyed it.
Happy Shelloween to you too, Pam! Kristin and I met you the other day at City Beach. We had a great Halloween today. We both found a bunch of wentletraps at Lighthouse Beach!! Thank you for a great web site! Love it!
Can across your blog today and have to say i will become a regular follower. I live on the McCrae beach in Victoria Australia and am in awe of the beautiful shells you have on your beaches. Loved the movie on the angels wing as we have them on our beach but have never found a complete shell, only one side. When ever i see one i know mum is watching over me, she was a serious shell collector and i have taken over from her in that department. Happy shelling from the other side of the world and hope you beaches and the oceans bounty survive hurrican Sandy.
Nice shot!!! Okay..so I have often wondered Pam..when you take pictures that look like this do you lay on the ground to take the picture? That straight on ground level shot…I think if I took a picture like this Id have to lay on the ground…lol…just curious!
Thays a very orange pumpkin by the way. Picture perfect!!
We were there 2 wells ago no-see-ems were bad. Take skin so soft with you we had a great week of shelling. I want to come back.
I reckon the no-see-ums are almost always around at dawn and dusk when there is no wind unless it is relaly cold, so people who are sensitive to that sort of thing definitely need something to keep those tiny critters away, and also some antihistamine cream to put on the bites if you do get bitten.
I just realized I should explain that the no-see-ums only come out for a couple of hours right around dawn and dusk, and don’t come out even at dusk if it happens to be windy.
Ding Darling Nature Reserve is a whole different story though. You need insect repellent any time at all you go there, unless you don’t mind getting bitten.
Thanks so much for the update. We have only come in May or July before, so I did not realize these were pesky even in November. Will be prepared!
On another site someone said that Benadryl gel is good to stop the itching if you do react strongly to the bites. Some people don’t react at all it seems.
Pam,
Thanks so much for the work you put into this blog. I so enjoy the videos. It’s the next best thing to being there again. Decades ago my family took periodic vacations to Sanibel and sweetly indulged my shell-collecting hobby which I began at about age 15.
The last time I was at Sanibel was in the early 80s, when I was married and expecting my 2nd. Now I’m 61, have 6 grown-up kids and 5 grandchildren. I turn back to shelling each time I (rarely) hit a beach (sometimes with little results). We live in Tennessee. We homeschooled our children since 1981, and the exigences of life sorta took over. Your videos are a catharsis for all the (happy) stress of many years. I now have awakened a new hope to visit Sanibel again, sit again by a big shell pile, and dig away! (I recently remembered, thanks to your and your readers’ comments, my especial joy at finding WENTLETRAPS!)
I’ll look forward to meeting you perhaps, if I ever get to Sanibel again.
Best regards,
Carole
Happy Halloween!! Missing Sanibel so, so much! For some reason Sarna lotion worked for me for no-see-ums a year ago last August. I had 147 bites! Lol.. I know because my friend’s daughter counted them! A pharmacist on Sanibel at CVS recommended it to me and it helped a lot…
We had a wonderful visit to the island in mid-October. The last day I made the mistake of sitting out late in the afternoon, near one of the marinas for only about a half an hour at about three and by the time I was on my way to the airport I was itching like crazy. This lasted for almost a week. I went through three containers of Benadryl spray–it produced the most relief the quickest. Twice I had my husband stop at a drug store while we were on our way to someplace. As the itching was less intense I was able to use benadryl cream and some cortisone cream I had for eczema. I am so glad I didn’t run into these little pests until my last day. I stopped counting when I got to 50, but I think I had many more. I spent a day researching bed bugs, lice, etc. Then I finally came to the conclusion it was the “non-see-ums” I would definitely be more cautious next time. We had so much fun seashelling, but I am afraid the no-seeums are what we will remember. So sad.
Oh my gosh, Dorothy, they lasted a week for me, too! I also was looking up stuff online, lol! My friend’s daughter, Maddie was sleeping with me, and my friend Sarah was convinced they were bed bugs because she and her other daughter, Brooke had no bites that morning! So, since it was pouring rain and we were freaked out that our hotel might have a bed bug infestation, we went to the clinic. That’s when Brooke counted my 147 bites, lol.. The doctor said they were no-see-ums and gave us Clarinex to take, and he told us about Benadryl cream or hydrocortisone… But really, Sarna worked the best and I tried all 3! They were terrible! We had sat outside near bushes at dusk to eat dinner & when we started getting bites, we moved to the car… Way worse than mosquito bites! And I’m from MN, where people say it’s the state bird. ;) It was crazy how Maddie and I had so many bites and Sarah and Brooke had none! Actually, Sarah’s daughter, Maddie is so sensitive that all of her bites were welts the size of dimes! The joke of the trip was made up by Sarah, “I see you no-see-ums!!!” lo, Pam, I think that would be a good blog post heading!! We will forever say it on every Sanibel trip from now on! When I got home my husband couldn’t believe how many bites I had!
Sherri from MN
Hi Pam,
GREAT TELLINS?
A totally different topic: I saw on the “Let’s Talk Seashells” site that someone (other than you) found a Great Tellin (Tellina magna) on Sanibel. Two of them were found up at Bind Pass in the 1960s. It’s the yellow one shown on this page if you scroll down a bit:
http://z14.invisionfree.com/Conchologist_Forum/index.php?showtopic=1707
If we can find any shellers reading this who have found a valve of this species on Sanibel or nearby and who could show the valve to Jose at the museum here, maybe he will accept it as a legitimate record and add it to the database.
I’m not sure if I told you but I took mine to Jose… he was not convinced.
Actually he was convinced about the identity of the shell, but he was not convinced that the shell was originally from Sanibel (that the critter had lived off of Sanibel), thinking that perhaps someone could have “planted” the shell on Lighthouse Beach.
He said he would wait until other people showed up with valves they had found, because that would be confirmation that it lives in the area.
I was hoping you could show the shell you have on your blog (like you did with the brown-banded olive, and ask if anyone had a valve they had found in the area, then maybe we could get one or more other valves to Jose at the museum and he would accept the record.
It’s a rather rare species, but it is know to live in the Gulf of Mexico, it’s just that there are as yet no confirmed records from SW Florida.
It’s so big it’s hard to mistake it for anything else.
You are exactly right that the ID is correct but maybe a “plant”. I’ll try to work it in to post it again.
The Great Tellin sure is beautiful, and it is an amazingly large tellin. It is pretty rare and I have never found one, but I would love to! :)