2012 Mosquito Reports

Questions and reports related to Sierra Nevada current and forecast conditions, as well as general precautions and safety information. Trail conditions, fire/smoke reports, mosquito reports, weather and snow conditions, stream crossing information, and more.
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Michelettib
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Young Lakes 6/8-6/10

Post by Michelettib »

Trip to Young Lakes on June 8, 9 and 10.

Mosquitos were a 0-1 up at the Lakes (elevation 9, 850). Colder weather and some wind kept the few that were around at bay. Took DEET expecting the worst but never needed it. Many of the meadows standing waters were teaming with larva which looked ready to hatch at any point. My guess is the levels of mosquitos will rise significantly in the next week or two.
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SanFranFan2010
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Leavitt Meadow-Roosevelt/Lane Lake 6/8-6/10

Post by SanFranFan2010 »

Trip to Leavitt Meadows to Roosevelt / Lane Lake looped trough Secret Lake 6/8-10

Suprisingly 0 mosquitos during the day. Evening got bit once but none visible.
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zorobabel
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Cottonwood Lakes 6/10

Post by zorobabel »

Cottonwood Lakes area - 1.
No mosquitos to be seen during the day (wind or calm), and very few came out in the evening, but weren't annoying (maybe because you only had to deal with 1-2 mosquitos while having dinner).
The trail to Horseshoe Meadow had no mosquitos, even near water, so that's a 1.
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Troutdog 59
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Dinkey Lakes Wilderness 6/9-6/10

Post by Troutdog 59 »

Nelson and Cliff Lakes, Dinkey Lakes Wilderness, 6/9 and 6/10.

0 to 1 on trail to either lake.

3 to 4 at Nelson Lake 6/9. Worst from 6:00 pm until about 8:00, when they disappeared I think because the temp plunged.

3 at Cliff Lake 6/10.

All went well, long sleeves and head nets made Nelson quite bearable and the fishing for brookies was good!
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schmalz
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Lake Sabrina-Moolight Falls 6/9-6/10

Post by schmalz »

Lake Sabrina > Moonlight Falls 6/9 - 6/10

The trip ranged from 0-2. Mostly 0.

The middle section of the trail, near Dingleberry lake had some sections with skeeters. I got bit a handful of times when I was stopped taking photos. This was in the middle of the afternoon.

Once I got higher up near Hungry Packer Lake there were no skeeters at all.

Trip report coming later this week.
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kpeter
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Kibbie Lake-NW Yosemite 6/9-6/11

Post by kpeter »

Kibbie Ridge Trail, Many Island Lake, Boundary Lake. June 9-11

Ranges from 0 to 2. No biting mosquitoes at Many Island Lake. At Boundary lake mornings and evenings they were beginning to get rather annoying, but they were gone during the day. Nowhere in the area was I bothered by mosquitoes during hiking or during the day.
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Peech
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Upper Lamarck-Blue Lake Area 6/9-6/10

Post by Peech »

6/9/12 At dusk: North Lake =1, to Upper Lamarck = 1-0 Slight breeze kept most of them off.
6/10/12 Day hike: Sabrina to Blue Lake 1-0, and I concur with schmalz who was at the same place on the same day, all my bites were at Dingleberry ~2. As soon as the breeze died down they were suddenly on you.
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Xosob
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Clark Lakes-1000 Is Lake 6/9-6/12

Post by Xosob »

Clark Lakes on Sat 6/9 & Tu 6/12: 4
Thousand Island Lake on Sat 6/9-Tu 6/12: 0 on 6/9 -> 2 on 6/11. Frost the first night (6/9), less so the next 2 nights.
Rush Crk drainage on M 6/11: 1-2
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Rae Lakes, 60 Lakes Basin 6/9 - 6/11

Post by quentinc »

I'm not enough of a connoisseur of early season mosquitoes to know this, but is this normal??

Rae Lakes and Sixty Lakes morning and evening: 0 - 1
Rae Lakes & SLB during the day in bright sunshine: 4 (and 5+ in northern SLB -- I would have gone mad if it weren't for the breeze)!

No mosquitoes south of Glen Pass, except at the intersection of the Kearsarge Lakes trail and the main Kearsarge trail (where there was no water)?!
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Re: 2012 Mosquito Reports

Post by Wandering Daisy »

I read a news article on mosquitoes in the Sierra and there are many species, specfic to certain ecosystems. There is one species that only lives in the lodgepole forests which generally are dry areas. They hatch after the snow melts due to moisture that is just below the duff. They can be thick even when it looks like there is no water around. They get active in sunlight. There is another species that specialize in oak areas (Yosemite Valley for an example). Other species specialize in alpine environments. A key to all though, is a small duration after snowmelt. As for when they bug you, wind has a lot to do with their activity. I just listened to an NPR report on a study done on why mosquitoes are not squished by raindrops. The are so light that they just "ride" on the drop for a milisecond, then are blown off. They are totally at the mercy of the wind. I do not think there are a lot of broad generalizations - how bad they are are very site-specific and condition specific. The only general thing I have noticed is that they peak about a week or two after snowmelt and have a peak period, then taper off. If there are several nights of hard freeze during their hatching, they can be significantly reduced. It takes more than just one night's light frost. Wind is your friend. I always avoid protected forested areas to camp in mosquito season. I have rarely had mosquitoes past LaborDay. I have also observed that the mosquito season in the Sierra is longer than in the Wind River Mountains, but the short peak in Wyoming is more intense.
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