Montego Bay gets the odd mosquito. Negril's beach bites at sunset.

Yes, but the disease side is light this winter. Dengue has run low in Jamaica since late 2024, the CDC recommends no malaria medicine, and a December–April trip falls in the drier season. The bites you're likelier to notice come from sand flies on Negril's Seven Mile Beach around sunrise and sunset, and from the occasional mosquito in Montego Bay's resort gardens.

Low dengue, and less breeding in Westmoreland

Dengue, chikungunya and Zika are endemic in Jamaica, all spread by the same day-biting Aedes mosquito. In the last dengue wave, St. James, the parish that includes Montego Bay, recorded 1,497 suspected, probable and confirmed cases from October 2023, 174 of them confirmed, the Gleaner reported in May 2024. Activity has been low since. In October 2025 the health minister said dengue had stayed below the epidemic threshold since September 2024, and the ministry's bulletin for the week ending May 23, 2026, showed one lab-confirmed case nationwide and no deaths.

There are no 2026 parish counts for St. James or for Westmoreland, the parish that includes Negril, so the local signals come from Westmoreland's health department. In mid-July 2026 it reported a steady decline in the parish's Aedes index, a measure of mosquito breeding, over the previous three months, and said lab tests on four suspected dengue or leptospirosis deaths in the parish that year were negative for both, the Jamaica Observer reported. The same month, the Western Regional Health Authority, which covers both parishes, urged residents to clear breeding sites after rain.

Dengue usually rises in the June-to-November wet season. Aedes bites by day, so repellent goes on over sunscreen in the morning and again before sunset. Jamaica eliminated malaria in 2012, the CDC recommends no malaria medicine or yellow fever vaccine, and Jamaica isn't on the CDC's global dengue notice. The CDC considers Zika endemic, so if you're pregnant, talk to a healthcare provider before you go.

One note has nothing to do with mosquitoes. St. James was among the parishes hit hardest by the leptospirosis outbreak declared after Hurricane Melissa in November 2025, so avoid wading in floodwater or fresh water there. The Jamaica briefing has the details.

Sand flies on Seven Mile Beach

Negril's long beach is where most bite complaints come from. The insects are tiny biting midges, called sand flies or sand fleas locally and no-see-ums in the US. Traveler threads name sunrise, sunset, shade, calm evenings and the hours after rain as the worst times, in any month. Midges are weak fliers, so a steady breeze keeps them grounded, and they bite low, on feet, ankles and calves. Our Barbados sand fly guide explains the insect.

Spray feet, ankles and calves before you walk down for sunset, reapply after every swim, and wear light long trousers to beach-level dinners. The resort gardens behind the sand, Bloody Bay's included, add mosquitoes in the evening. The West End cliffs are rock rather than sand, so sand flies are probably fewer there, though cliff-top gardens tend to hold mosquitoes.

Montego Bay is milder. Complaints from its resorts are about mosquitoes rather than sand flies, and resorts that fog regularly seem to fare better. Keep balcony doors closed, and ask for the room to be sprayed if mosquitoes get in.

Where you're going

Scores are for a December–April trip. Disease risk is the same at every stop; the bites change with the beach and the hour.

What travelers report

Paraphrased from TripAdvisor reviews and forum threads and linked so you can read them in full. The two dated ones are from December trips in 2015 and 2016, and the rest are undated, so read them for where and when the bites happen rather than for this season.

• Holiday Inn Resort Montego Bay · December · 2016

  A December 2016 guest counted more than 30 mosquitoes in one hallway and 8 in their room. Staff would only spray if the guests left the room for 45 minutes. TripAdvisor ↗

• Couples Negril · December · 2015

  A December 2015 guest got dozens of mosquito bites, which they said ruined the trip, and advised bringing plenty of repellent. TripAdvisor ↗

• Negril (Sandals resort) · sunrise, sunset, after rain

  A traveler was badly bitten by sand fleas at a Sandals resort (large welts, more than 40 bites) even while using DEET. Replies said to reapply repellent consistently and named sunrise, sunset, shade, overnight and after rain as the worst times; several had good results with Avon Skin So Soft products. TripAdvisor ↗

• Negril beach and outdoor restaurants · dawn and dusk

  A longtime Negril visitor said the main biters are mosquitoes and sand fleas. A picaridin lotion worked on both, a lemon-eucalyptus repellent worked on mosquitoes but not sand fleas, and repellent wristbands did not work; another poster said tea tree oil on wrists and ankles kept bites very low. TripAdvisor ↗

• Sandals Montego Bay

  Posters said mosquitoes fly around outside but are not really a problem in the rooms, and credited the resort's regular fogging. TripAdvisor ↗

One rule outlasts the trip. Any fever during or after your trip means a doctor visit, and you tell them you were in Jamaica, naming Montego Bay or Negril. Dengue usually shows up within two weeks.

Traveler questions