There’s nothing worse than when something disrupts your glorious vacation by the sea. So, by all means, take care to avoid getting bit by any nefarious critters.

Although there are beautiful, gentle sea breezes that blow to keep them at bay, mosquitoes can be pesky. Those and any sort of flying creepy crawlies can typically be taken care of with safe insect repellents and those backyard bug zappers, but there are other ways to defend yourself against those nipping beasties…

Dark colored clothing traps the carbon dioxide we emit. Light colored clothing also keeps you cool – a nice benefit here in Florida.

Avoid any amount of standing water because a mosquito only needs a tablespoon of water to lay eggs!

Creepy crawlies love overgrown areas, so clear debris and keep landscaping trimmed. You can also plant plants that deter bugs like mosquitoes, including citronella, basil, rosemary and lavender.

When you are trying to avoid getting bit, don’t forget the beach! While sand fleas, which usually congregate more often in places like Mexico, are pretty rare here in Florida, they can annoy us too…most commonly causing irritation and inflammation on our feet and ankles. You can avoid those bothersome bugs with any DEET containing bugs sprays. Coconut oil works as well and it smells good too!

Jellyfish stings can also be a pain on the beach, but you can protect against them by paying heed to the flags flown on our beaches. Purple flags fly to warn beachgoers if jellyfish happen to come out in numbers, which doesn’t happen very often.