Mosquito repellent
Avoid being bitten in the first place: cover your arms and legs as much as possible, and use repellents.
Repellents are available in various forms, including lotions and aerosols that can be applied to the skin, and others that can be applied to clothing.
DEET (diethyl toluamide) - effective at concentrations of 10% and up; its strength plateaus at around 35%. DEET-based repellents are generally the most common, the most effective overall, and are readily available from pharmacies, supermarkets, and vendors at larger airports.
Permethrin - an insecticide used to treat fabrics, mosquito nets, etc (and not suitable for application to the skin). Clothing is usually impregnated by soaking in a permethrin solution; a single application will last several washes.
Picaridin - for those sensitive to DEET, or who dislike its smell, repellents containing Picaridin (e.g. Cutter Advanced) are available in limited areas. These have been shown to be as effective as DEET in certain circumstances, and there's almost no odor.
Mosquito coils, usually permethrin-based, provide effective protection for up to 8 hours in spaces up to 30 cubic meters (a small room). They usually come with little stands: bend the center part upwards, slot the middle of the coil on the pointy bit, heat the other end with a flame until it catches fire, then blow it out and let the end smoulder. The main danger with these is the risk of fire: place the coil on a ceramic plate or other fireproof platform and extinguish it before going out or going to sleep. The smell will also stick to your clothes and other belongings for a while, although it usually fades pretty fast.
Various herbal or plant-based repellents are also available, but their effectiveness is extremely limited.
Mosquito nets
When camping or sleeping indoors without screens, use a mosquito net that has been treated with permethrin insecticide - these can be found at some pharmacies and airports. As mosquitoes are very persistent insects that will keep trying to find a way to reach you, make sure the net is securely tucked under your bed or sleeping mat.
Other more friendly animals in Antigua
Do not eat these apples
Food poisoning – and its main symptom diarrhea – is undoubtedly the most common traveller's illness. In many ways it's unavoidable: no matter how fanatical you are about food preparation, it's still liberally sprinkled with millions of airborne bacteria. At home, due to this constant exposure to the local germs, odds are very high that you're already immune to them. But in other parts of the world, where the bacteriological fauna are new to you, you're far more likely to run into problems. Thus the scourges of Delhi Belly, the Pharaoh's Curse, Montezuma's Revenge, and their many friends.