Dealing with mosquitoes in July?

[TigerFan]

We'll be hiking from TM to the Valley in mid-July (18th to the 22nd) and I've heard that the mosquitoes can be brutal on that route. I have an 11 year-old who just gets eaten alive. I'd like to keep him comfortable without having to carry an entire drug store...

So, how bad will it be and what will work? Is it worth buying netted headgear?

[jpcal]

I've always found there to be quite a few mosquitoes during June/July, especially in the back country. I have gone from Tenya Lake to Clouds Rest, and then another trip to Half Dome from Tenya Lake, and the only spots that had mosquitoes was in the middle. There were a few small ponds that produced a lot of vegetation. I usually use deet and have been bit only a few times, but if you know your group has issues with lots of bug bites might as well be prepared with the headgear.

[sierranomad]

Bring a small bottle of DEET. I don't like putting the stuff on, but it's better than being eaten alive. You might also bring a head net so as to limit how often you have to put it on your face.

I used to not bring it because I didn't want those chemicals on my skin. That was until I backpacked through an area choked with mosquitos! The only way I could get away from them was to jump in the water and anytime I came up for air they were attacking me again. It shouldn't be nearly THAT bad when/where you are going, but better to be prepared.

[bbmq]

I did that hike last year in July, hiking from the Cathedral Lakes trailhead to Half Dome to the Valley and the mosquitoes were really brutal. A lot depends on whether there's late rain. I talked to a ranger who said he arrived in Yosemite on June 1 and he didn't see the sun for 2 1/2 weeks, rain and snow all day every day. While that is more extreme than usual it's still a fact that you can expect it to maybe be the worst time of year for that. Just the fact that you have a lot of runoff means things will be damp in general and that's what attracts them.

From what I could see, people with headware weren't bothered at all. People like me, even though covered with strong bug repellant, were swatting things from around our heads contiuously when near water or passing through a boggy meadow. If anyone is sensitive to that type of thing then I think headwear might be a must.

[slickshoes]

Also, keep in mind that people with O blood type tend to be much more likely to be eaten alive than other blood types. My dad and I are both O's, and we get absolutely clobbered while the rest of the family just laughs.

We did TM to Waterwheel and back last year (also a wet year), and the mosquitoes got so thick in some areas, people started seriously freaking out. Got hard to breathe and just completely swamped several times. Fortunately those heavy patches were overall very infrequent.

Yeah, I'm wimping out. I'll definitely be bringing the headgear and a full bottle of Off! Deep Woods this season.

[zonachris]

bring one of the head nets. I wished I would of had one last year and the littler buggers will fly into your eyes, nose, mouth. The screens can't weigh more than a piece of paper and can't cost much either.

[orion]

just came across this hat, the net falls down from the end of the brim and the hat is fairly compactible. seems like the way to go:

http://www.rei.com/product/751956

[TigerFan]

Thanks for the suggestions. The "veiled hat" design looks good. I also saw a design that has a ring at the lower end to help keep the netting off your face. We all have our favorite hiking hats, so i think I'm going to buy some netting and sew them myself.

[hotrod4x5]

Thanks for the suggestions. The "veiled hat" design looks good. I also saw a design that has a ring at the lower end to help keep the netting off your face. We all have our favorite hiking hats, so i think I'm going to buy some netting and sew them myself.

Read the reviews for this one http://www.rei.com/product/751951 They like it more, and they claim to have bought all of them to compare.

[bill-e-g]

The ring one is the best.

I left mine at the top of Crown Pt. and then bought a Sea to Summit one.
Hate it.
The ring keeps the netting off your face.
With baseball cap I flip the ring up and netting off the face when hiking.
They gotta be REALLY bad to smack you around when hiking...
(unlike the little bugger black knats).
Flip it down when stopping.

Good luck making one.

Have fun

[orion]

olive oil, any oil, works well as a repellant. it doesn't take much, as long as you don't mind being a little greasy. they'll land and tap, and then clean their proboscises, tap repeat. doesn't keep them off you, but keeps them from drawing blood.

growing whiskers helps (where appropriate) or long hair.

wearing dark colors, such as a black fleece, on sunny day attracts them to its infrared signature. your back and shoulders might look like a west texas oil field, but at least they're not biting skin.

when hiking through mosquito country, don't stop. frisk your legs now and then to wipe them off. if you get bit a couple times, you'll live. it's not like we have malaria or dengue fever around here.

if you have a raft, lounge out in the middle of the lake. kill all who follow like you're godzilla decimating the japanese airforce, then take a nap.

camp in a breezy location, know that mosquitos are at their worst in the morning and evening.

smoke tobacco. papillion used to wet cigarettes and apply the juice to his skin, though i never tried this myself. if not tobacco, the campfire will keep them away.

deet is the worst. deet lacks imagination. if you are going to poison yourself you might as well smoke heroin until you don't care about the mosquitos. deet also enters the drinking water when you go for a swim. i
don't care to drink you deet.

[bill-e-g]

Just hike naked.

Mosquitos are like me. The last thing they wanna see on the trail
is some dude with a gut sticking out. They'll just fly away.

[bill-e-g]

Seriously. There's a lot of nice hiking clothes out there.
Tight knit shirts and pants. Mosquitos can't get thru those.
Long Pants... Long shirt... Something like REI Sahara.
Spray very small amount of deet in your hands and rub on
area to be protected.
Don't need much. I have a small 2oz bottle that I've used
for 2 years now... and I go a crazy number of times.
Most people don't go very often... so unless you're doing
the PCT then deet. But, hey, smoke em if you got em.
That's good for you.

[orion]

"Although few studies have been conducted to assess possible effects on the environment, DEET is a moderate chemical pesticide and may not be suitable for use in and around water sources."

here's another: DEET "has been found to have a slight toxicity for coldwater fish such as the rainbow trout." - wiki

Again, I do not care to drink your DEET. If you don't care for me or aquatic species, then think of yourself. It soaks right through the skin.

I'm sure people used to debate the usefulness of DDT back in the day too. Kids in the midwest would follow the spray truck around town because they thought it was neat. Maybe DEET isn't so neat either.

[bill-e-g]

I don't want to drink any of the crap you put on your body.
Sunscreen.... anything...
Biodegradable soap... anything

Don't go in the water and don't put anything in water.

I hardly ever go in the water... but one time I asked someone
that was at Tilden Lake if they went in the water.
The guy says "no... people have to drink that water".
What a tool. I walked away. Have a nice day.

When the wife and I go during prime mosquito season we
set up the tent mid-day and bail in it to eat lunch and
take a nap.

Out