lots of blue marine life on Destin beach

forgot to say WELCOME, toesinthesand!

A BIG THANKYOU to all of you, wow you learn something new everyday!!! :doh: Its funny the first day there wernt any vellela vellela on the beach then they all decided to come up on our 3rd day. We were staying at the Ramada limited in Sandestin, the beach was very clean, and just beautiful !!! There were a few sand sculptures, and aligator and castles... couple of guys fishing and one caught a catfish and threw him back :clap_1: Your right I will never go any place else but the emerald isle. Beasly park is beautiful also. I could walk from one end of the pan handle to the other and enjoy every inch. I hope to be a snow bird this year. Thanks again to you all.

:clap_1: ..you got the sowal spirit so bad it's good!!! Thanks for joining in!!!

Invasion of the man-of-war hits South Walton , Purple flags on South Walton beach signal that the creatures have arrived again

BY HEATHER CIVIL FLORIDA FREEDOM NEWS SERVICE

South Walton County beaches are spotted with the shriveled remains of Portuguese man-of-wars, creatures that pack a painful sting.
For the past several days hundreds of the creatures have floated in on the tide and are lingering not far from the shore.
The South Walton Fire District has been flying purple flags on the beaches for the past three days to warn swimmers of the threat.
The purple flags are part of a flag warning system adopted in South Walton two years ago.
Still, most people have no clue what the purple flags mean.
?The flags mean that (the man-of-wars) are out there and there?s a good chance you?re going to get stung,? said SWFD Deputy Chief Sean Hughes.
Cathy Pennington of Fort Rucker, Ala., spent Wednesday morning on the beach at Ed Walline Park, where very few people dared to go in the water.
Not far from her beach umbrella and blanket lay several dead man-of-wars.
Pennington said that the man-of-wars didn?t bother her and that she was willing to swim with them. ?I?m not scared,? she said.
Some people call the creatures man-of-wars while others say men-ofwar. Both terms are correct.
But those who call them jellyfish are mistaken. Although it resembles one, the man-of-war is not considered a true jellyfish.
The Portuguese man-ofwar, named for its resemblance to a Portuguese sailing vessel, is a colony of four small animals called polyps. Each polyp has its own tentacle suspended under an almost clear floating gas-filled bladder.
The man-of-war can be blue, pink or violet.
The creatures are common in the Gulf of Mexico and move by floating wherever the wind and tide carry them.
The ones that have washed up on the beaches in South Walton are an iridescent blue.
The man-of-war?s tentacles can trail up to 165 feet behind the floating bladder and trap plankton and small fish as they dangle.
The tentacles, which are hard to see in the water, release microscopic darts that carry a paralyzing toxin.
Humans can easily become the unintended target of the painful sting and suffer red welts.
The beaches in South Walton, Destin, Okaloosa Island and points west have all had their share of man-of-war infestations in the past.
A few of the creatures have bothered swimmers on the island, and one beachgoer needed medical treatment for a sting on Tuesday, said Tracey Vause, beach supervisor with the Okaloosa County Public Safety Department.
Man-of-wars typically arrive en-masse several times a year, Vause said. They usually appear in late May and early June and come with the tide after summer storms, he said.
?We see them at several points during the year when the weather warms up,? said Vause.
The man-of-war sting is not usually life-threatening. However, the toxin can cause severe reactions, including fever and shock. Sometimes the stings can leave scars.
There are countless suggestions on the Internet for treating a man-of-war sting, including using vinegar, meat tenderizer, alcohol or even human urine to take the pain away.
The South Walton Fire District lifeguards and firefighters carry meat tenderizer and vinegar to treat stings on themselves and beachgoers, said Hughes.
While they don?t take the pain away completely, the tenderizer and vinegar can relieve it somewhat, Hughes said.
?We tell most people that the sting will hurt for about 45 minutes,? he said. ?Of course, if the symptoms become severe, seek medical attention.?

man-of-war or fly? which is worse? :cool:

i think the flies are more bothersome myself, don't you? course, trash floating around is a close second. man, sj, i can't believe the stuff you found. what is wrong with people?


reece

man-of-war or fly? which is worse? :cool:

i think the flies are more bothersome myself, don't you? course, trash floating around is a close second. man, sj, i can't believe the stuff you found. what is wrong with people?


reece

IMO, the Flies are worse for the reason that I can exit the water to escape the Man-of-Wars, but I have to go inside or pull out my Bug Juice to escape the Flies.

Regarding your question of what is wrong with people (trashing the beaches), I think that more people need to go to the dump (landfill) and see and smell the piles of waste. In particular, lawyers, marketing people, and politicians need to spend some time at the dump, so that they will see all the garbage they cause due to all of the unnecessary labeling on goods, which most often requires more packaging to display the labels. I say that if you cannot smell bleach and know that you should not drink it, you probably shouldn't be able to earn enough money to buy the bleach to begin with. :idontno: Most labeling today is deceptive anyway. I have some issues with many of the often seen marketing tools on packaging.

That would be only a start, but a good start.

Any idea how long these critters will hang around? I'll be down in two weeks and really don't want to deal with this.

Any idea how long these critters will hang around? I'll be down in two weeks and really don't want to deal with this.

JB, you're so funny! I don't think there's really any way you tell marine pests that they're not wanted. It's their beach, too. :floor:

Perhaps I should re-phrase. For those of you who are locals, how long are these pests normally a problem after they first appear?

Perhaps I should re-phrase. For those of you who are locals, how long are these pests normally a problem after they first appear?

there is no telling. they stay on vacation here as long as they want. :funn:

Perhaps I should re-phrase. For those of you who are locals, how long are these pests normally a problem after they first appear?

Mostly, it depends on the weather. When we get winds out of the Gulf for a while, the jellyfish get pushed north and end up in our waters and on our beaches (our meaning where we are). The flip side is for the jellies to get pushed back out to sea, the winds need to come out of the north, which also brings the Dog Flies, hence someone's earlier post regarding which would you rather have, Man of Wars or Dog Flies. ;-)

hence someone's earlier post regarding which would you rather have, Man of Wars or Dog Flies. ;-)

.....or hailstorms, frogs, boils or locusts. ;-) (gotta keep up my reputation.)

.....or hailstorms, frogs, boils or locusts. ;-) (gotta keep up my reputation.)

SHELLY, I feel you are well on the way to becoming SoWal-corrupted like the rest of us. First those visits to the Lounge, now a self-deprecating sense of humor...what's the world coming to!:funn:

Any idea how long these critters will hang around? I'll be down in two weeks and really don't want to deal with this.

Just call Smiling JOe, the Beach Butler, before you arrive and he will rid the beach of anything unsightly for your vacationing pleasure!!!

Just call Smiling JOe, the Beach Butler, before you arrive and he will rid the beach of anything unsightly for your vacationing pleasure!!!

...but I ain't cheap!