High Sierra Topix

For me it's been rather hit and miss as far as the mosquitoes go. It seems to really depend on the area and what time of year. Of course the meadows usually are the worst. One year in on the TRT (Tahoe meadows), they were so bad that we skipped dinner that night and just crawled into the tents. The following morning the mesh was entirely covered with them. We broke camp in the morning and hit the trail, skipping breakfast. After 4 hours of hiking, we still could not find a clear area, so we just stopped and had something to eat while WE were being eaten.

Sometimes, there is nothing you can do, and DEET is not getting the job done either. best to hide in your tent in those conditions. Other times, a head net and deet on the skin, then permethrin on the clothes is enough.

Everything I have read is that 100% DEET is not any more effective than lesser concentrations, it just last longer. I have had good luck with ultrathon cream. It's only 35%, but lasts quite a long time. Still, I consider DEET a last resort and will avoid using it until absolutely needed.

Everything I have read is that 100% DEET is not any more effective than lesser concentrations, it just last longer. I have had good luck with ultrathon cream. It's only 35%, but lasts quite a long time. Still, I consider DEET a last resort and will avoid using it until absolutely needed.[/quote]


I would have to disagree that 100% deet is not any more effective than lesser concentrations. I have used the REPEL DEET thats about 29 percent before and it did not work at ALL. I had to borrow the 100% stuff from my buddy to keep the sketters off. Also I have tried the suntan lotion with DEET and that was even worse. Its just my opinion.

Texan

Thanks for all the great responses. There is a wealth of experience and knowledge out there. Tephite Tom, I always thought I might want to go to Alaska- you have convinced me to stick with looking at photographs!
The 2010 Skeeter Update posts have a lot of interesting info. Some of what I gleaned:

consider applying permethrin on your clothes

consider a suncap(Dorfman Pacific) for protection for hiking- more problems in camp at dusk or dawn for most of us

thermocell sounds ok, but backpackers always want to know, is it worth carrying the extra weight?

Rowell, Ranger Lakes, Beville area unusually bad for mosquitoes

100% Deet used by most, Ultrathon -34% Deet maybe an option, but I am not sure what you gain

reinforces my ideas- if you can get to your major destinations when there is still a little snow left, or in the first week after the melt, you will probably be ok, late August-October usually are great months to travel mosquito free(in most places)

Don't go to the north slope!
richard

30% Off! was just as effective for me as 100% and was less likely to melt my gear. Which it will do.

I have a headnet and can eat with it on. Hat with a broad brim helps... long sleeves, long pants, permethrin, and a fully bugnetted hammock.

I would highly recommend permethrin...most of my backpacking clothes are treated with it at this point..and I am a big fan of DEET....as much as I tried not to be. As with all things there is a trade off...I like most people try to do my big trips mid Aug to mid Sept to avoid the buggers. However I have done a lot of stuff mid-June to mid-July and frequently get great locations to myself which I think is in part due to heavy snow and sqeets. I am just glad to be out though and will deal with the buggers if I have to.

rrivera wrote:I would highly recommend permethrin...most of my backpacking clothes are treated with it at this point.

I've used that stuff over the last four years, Sawyer's soak and spray type, even the military grade concentration (scored a pack on ebay). Somehow, though, Sierra mosquitoes don't care much. The first day out with permethrin, I vividly recall a mosquito landing on my hat that was soak-treated just a few days earlier, and it just sat there for minutes walking along the brim, then took off. It may kill ticks on contact, but I have not seen much effect on the Sierra skeeters. DEET is absolutely necessary when they come in thick and strong, other places you may not see them at all. Permethrin may help a little, but it doesn't repel them - it may just stop them from carrying out their stinging business once they do land on your clothing. Still, I haven't seen a dramatic enough effect to know if that stuff does anything at all. I'll still put it on - just in case...

I have noticed a similar thing with the permethrin. The mosquitoes land on my clothes, take a poke at them and back off. The instructions say it should kill them. Looks to me like they are thinking "something just don't taste right here!", then they fly off. I don't care if they die or fly away, just don't bite me!

I usually treat my clothes if I am going out early season, but not later in the year.

I've had some pretty good results useing permethrin. Last summer a group of six of us spent a week together and three of us had treated cloths and two did not. For those of us that had treated our cloths the skeeters would hover around our cloths or only land momentarily while the untreated cloths were landed on and bit through. Not 100% of course but standing side by side it was obvious that the permethrin helped. I will admit that as far as my own aplication goes I had applyed the stuff much heavier than the instructions called for.

2009 Rae Lakes loop trip July 13-18. Mosquitoes were so bad it really detracted from our trip and we cut it by 2 days. My kids were using 100% deet. I was using Ultrathon, with long sleeves, long pants and Permethrin treated clothes. My kids were eaten alive, and although the little buggers were harassing me constantly, I didn't get a single bite. Once the kids started to use my Ultrathon, they stopped getting bitten as well. I am now an Ultrathon fan!

Hi Genreviam

Welcome to HST!
I too use Ultrathon sparingly, and use the same set up as you do clothing wise, except
I have a bandanna under my baseball camp that is also treated.
Sometimes I carry a head net, and I have my 3 oz windbreaker which I wear when
the Permethrin doesn't seem to keep them off of me.
My pants are a convertible REI type which they cannot penetrate through, and I have
thin gloves which are also treated when needed, and this way I can avoid having to deet
up most of the time.