High Sierra Topix

And, how much DEET or lemon oil have folks been going through lately?

cgundersen wrote:And, how much DEET or lemon oil have folks been going through lately?

I don't use DEET. I used to, but the mosquitoes would just hover six inches away from me, and I realized I would rather have them land on me so I can kill them.

I really like killing them.

Um, where was I? Oh yeah--lots of mosquitoes up in Mokelumne over the weekend. I don't think I killed more than 6 of them with any single swat, so, not the worst I've ever seen, but about as bad as you'd expect from early season.

Hi Tom,
I'm not a big fan of DEET, either. But my wife is, and we're planning to be out 10 nights (in the smoke; but we're from LA, so our lungs are used to it), so I'm re-thinking how much we'll need..........
Arrgh!
Thanks!
CG

I carry a small plastic pill bottle size and dab some on my cheek and chin.
I treat/spray my bandana(which over my head under my hat covering my ears and neck)
hat, pants, shirt, and socks with permethrin and have a 3 oz windbreaker handy if it really
gets bad.
When Im moving they do not bother me much but in the morning and evening
its another story.
Going to the Ladder Lake area?

I have a small spray bottle of Off Unscented (and use as little as possible). I try to wear a long sleeve shirt if its not too hot, and just spray my legs. The past few weeks I've been breathing in deet on others and have developed an annoying cough and having trouble breathing at times. I carry a small container of Prep H and dab it on if I get bit. It doesn't swell or itch as long as you don't scratch it.

People vary in their attractiveness to mosquitoes, so everyone is going to have to determine where they fall on that scale. Personally, for me anything less than 23-25% DEET is a waste of time. If things like Lemon oil and Citronella work for you, mosquitoes most probably don't like you much to begin with, and/or you're using a very concentrated solution and you're applying it frequently. Since sweat and breath contain attractants to mosquitoes and other bugs (which DEET masks), don't sweat and don't breathe! Of course that's problematic, so if you can at least decrease the amount you sweat, you'll probably help yourself somewhat (gung ho peakbaggers, take note!) Personally, I wouldn't want to let mosquitoes bite me if I can help it; if you check the CDC map of the spread of the West Nile Virus, you will see that it has been spreading up the Owens Valley, Sierra, and western foothills. That's in addition to the possibility of Encephalitis. Yeah, the possibility is kind of slim, but I would rather not take the chance.

If you don't want to wear DEET, get a head net and invest in some of the Ex Officio "BUZZ OFF" gear.

Hi Trekker

I agree with the head net, but the Buzz-Off gear I've read and heard does not always
keep the skeetrz off as permithren does not always work either.
I treat my long sleeve shirt a day before my trip and in some areas it will keep skeetrz
from landing on me in others its like I did not even treat my shirt.
When hiking in extreme skeeter areas I usually turn my head every so often to one side
to exhale and when in camp I wash off the sweat as soon as possible, these do work in
most cases.

Does any one know the current mosquito or river flow conditions on the Glen Aulin trail in Yosemite?
I'm planning a trip on July 10.

Tks

John

If it's anything like what it was when we went down to the waterwheels in '97 at about the same time of year, be prepared for a lot of them! We used so much DEET my girlfriend looked like a zombie at the end of the trip from the combination of mosquitoes driving her crazy and being slathered in DEET! There's a lot of water and a lot of places for them to breed.

TehipiteTom wrote:

cgundersen wrote:And, how much DEET or lemon oil have folks been going through lately?

Um, where was I? Oh yeah--lots of mosquitoes up in Mokelumne over the weekend.

We too were in the Moke this weekend. In the morning you could hear them humming around. It was like someone put them on the surround sound. I used Deet (Moskul in a green bottle) and it worked great. I put it on maybe three times the whole trip. The backsides of my arms got it pretty bad were I missed with the Deet thou. I would say it is a must right now!