Mosquitoes in the High Sierra Nevada

How To Beat Mosquitoes
By: Eric Osterling

Wear light-colored, protective clothing. Loose-fitting, long-sleeve shirts and pants made of tightly woven fabrics are best. Zippers beat buttons. Tuck in wherever possible and seal with duct tape if necessary. Finally, wear a head net.

Avoid floral-scented soaps, hair sprays, and deodorants. Biters home in on such smells, as well as sweat, body heat, and carbon dioxide. Pace yourself to avoid breathing too hard, and wear venting clothing to keep perspiration to a minimum.

Build a low-impact campfire if regulations allow. The smoke tends to discourage biters.

Talk to the locals before you go. Biter populations are so variable it only makes sense to chat it up with those in the know. Try hunting and fishing stores, guides and outfitters, and chambers of commerce. In areas where blackflies and mosquitoes can be really heinous (northern latitudes in particular for blackflies), the locals watch the hatch patterns very carefully and often know just where to go to avoid the current crop.

Be choosy about your campsites. Mosquitoes tend to concentrate in very isolated areas, especially around marshes and in the deep woods where depressions collect melted snow. Blackfly populations, too, are greater in the vicinity of water—especially near pristine, fast-moving streams. Solution? Whenever possible, stay out of the shadows and steer toward windy areas like ridges and mountaintops. And when you pitch your tent, pick your perch carefully. Try to camp where it’s dry. If you’re right next to their breeding grounds, it’s gonna be bad.

Calm the itch if the biting buggers still manage to get to you. We’ve heard of a few remedies for use in the field: Make a paste of baking soda and water, then dab it on the bite; or, rub on a bit of Preparation H ointment. Taking Vitamin B6 before and during your tip has also been known for helping to repel mosquitoes.

Here's what other's have to say about beating Sierra Nevada mozzies:

Snow Nymph
Re: mosquitos on the JMT
« Reply #1 on: Jul 22nd, 2003, 11:41pm »

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I hike with bug pants and a long sleeve shirt (I wear the shirt backwards so it doesn't get all sweaty on the back). Spray OFF! Skintastic unscented on the bug pants and I do ok.

For the bugs that bite, apply a little Preparation H to the bite BEFORE scratching, and you should be ok. The key here is "Don't scratch"

...I used the Permanone spray too on the shirt.

Whatever the Prep H has, it stops itching and swelling.

Flip
Re: mosquitos on the JMT
« Reply #2 on: Jul 24th, 2003, 2:05pm »

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...I use the JungleJuice (100% DEET). No problems except for areas around lake inlets/outlets and other more swampy areas. There are some areas where the sky turns black when you walk through.
I believe ammonia is the best thing to doctor up with after bitten. If you look at the "AfterBite" type of solutions, they are 100% ammonia. I have no idea what Perparation H is made of.

Sierra Hiker
Re: mosquitos on the JMT
« Reply #10 on: Aug 4th, 2003, 10:02am »

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Thank you everyone for all the helpful tips. From the replies, I went all out and purchased the following:

1. permethrin, sprayed my clothes few days prior
2. Ultrathon insect repellent - 31.6% deet cream ($9.00 for 2 fl. oz, pretty steep price but supposed to last up to 12 hrs)
3. 17% deet non-aerosol pump for hat, socks, pack etc...
4. head net
5. preparation H
6. B6 vitamin but will purchase garlic pill as well per suggestion...

patrick95350
Electronic Mosquiot Repellant?
« Thread started on: Jul 21st, 2003, 9:21pm »

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I found a weird thing at Walgreen's the other day. Some kind of battery-powered mosquito repellant. It was very small, about the size of a pocketknife, and came in a pack of three.

Has anyone ever used them?

Are they effective?

trailblazer
Re: Electronic Mosquiot Repellant?
« Reply #1 on: Jul 22nd, 2003, 10:33am »

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I used one of these a few years ago, so I don't know if the technology has improved since then, but here is my take:

They work, with about a 1/2-1 foot radius of repellent. ie if you clip it to your hat, they might stay out of your face. If they are really swarming, you might still inhale some when they uncontrollably fly into your face. I give the product a thumbs down.

Rosie
Re: Electronic Mosquiot Repellant?
« Reply #2 on: Jul 22nd, 2003, 6:22pm »

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Yeah...I tried 'em a couple years ago, also, and my experience with them was about the same as trailblazer's. It sounded like a great idea... supposed to simulate the sound of dragonflies, or something, that preys on mosquitoes. Maybe it would have worked if they would have been a little louder, but then it probably would have been driven ME crazy!

markskor
Re: Electronic Mosquiot Repellant?
« Reply #3 on: Jul 22nd, 2003, 8:26pm »

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howdy, if you use them inside of your car with the windows up-- they work great. Also if inside of your tent with the screens tight--very effective. Finially, if you use them during a whiteout, or even a mild snowstorm when the temperature hovers around freezing-- it works like a charm. Under these and similar conditions, you will not be bothered by mosquitoes at all. The only time they don't work is outside during the day when you really need them, like in a swarm. Just save your money--use deet-and garlic. Better yet, send me your money and I will personally yell at the bugs for you, and, I will also send you a note telling the bugs to "go away."--this works just as well as the electronic gismo does. As you can probably surmise, they got my money too.

JackassDave
Re: Article Reviews
« Reply #2 on: Today at 12:50am »

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On the Mosquito thing. Use plenty of repellant the higher the deet content the better. In fact I go for 100% if possible. I work in the high Seirra (Florence Lake) from snow melt until late october and they are terribl;e in the spring. Soon the repellant will be all over everything in my camp and motor home and not many more bugs.....Happy Camping.....JackassDave.....

trailblazer
via E-Mail

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Dryer sheets. These really have worked for me in the past to keep mosquitos at bay (something like snuggle fabric softener sheets for the dryer). If the mosquitos are swarming enough for me to dawn on my headnet, if I want to get them out of my face so I can eat or something, I lift up the net to expose my face and hang the sheet from my hat near my forehead. Keeps them away

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