Sleeping with Mosquitos in Guate, Belize, So Mex.

Any tips on getting a good night's sleep in mosquito territory? Not to mention avoiding Dengue Fever.

I assume the cheap dives we'll be sleeping in will have a few holes in their bug screens.

Should we buy mosquito nets? The kind that hang from the ceiling or something else?

Or should we buy sleeping bag liners? Just cheap cotton or get something more expensive we can use at home for camping later?

Buy a hammock or rent as we go?

Any favorite places (besides the obvious) between Yucatan, Belize, and Eastern Guate?

You should get aq decent mosquito net anywhere you need one. In any case bring some DEET 95% or over and sleep under a sheet.

I have used several kinds of hammocks, travel and otherwise. The best one I've found so far is a specialty nylon travel hammock that folds up into a little bag and has strong strings. You still need a thin but strong climbing rope to suspend that hammock. A static line is just fine, since you won't be dropping 20 feet and depending on the rope to stop you.

They are best because they hold a knot well, and just as importantly, untie fairly easily after a night of having your weight place a large load on it. 15 to 30 meters is a good amount. If you get it right, you can hang a mosquito net OVER ones hammock.

I do recommend a thin light mosquito net. I used to carry a K-bar military net, but it was a bit bulky and after a while, I regretted it. It DID hang well over a bed or halfway well over a hammock, if one could find a way to suspend it.

Also, they make expensive jungle specialised hammocks with built in mosquito netting. This is good if you intend on staying in jungle huts much of the time.

Now, other options.

Every store in these areas have mosquito coils. I can attest to their effectiveness since I slept under one for weeks and they do keep insects away. The probably are toxic in the long term, but what can one do?

i didn't take any nets with me and i was in the Petain for almost a week, but I had a good tent there and in rio dulce, i stayed in an inexpensive lodge, but they had good screens and then nets inside the rooms. flores didn't seem to have any mosquitos, its on an island and gets lots of breezes, and of course, i used lots of deet. in Santiago de Atitlan i had no preventative measures, but it is higher there, cold at night, used deet, but no problemo.

rgds

charlie