View Full Version : Beware- Bumper crop of mosquitoes
I just read two article in The Record of northern NJ on the subjects of bugs and bats.
This year, with the unusually heavy snow melt, plus twice the normal rainfall for March, coupled with the loss of up to 90% of the bat population due to a fungus; we are about to face what could be the worst mosquito infestation in 30 years here in NJ and generally through the Appalachians.
In case you didn't know it, bats can eat up to 3,000 flying insects on a single summer night, so losing most of the bats in NJ is definitely going to increase the number of mosquitoes and other flying insects.
It appears that this bat killing fungus is spreading throughout the Appalachian mountains.
My advice; carry lots of DEET. Take all precautions against bug bites, and pray for a dry remainder of spring and early summer!
FW
Ah, the NJ state bird.
I eat garlic pills. They seem to leave me alone. Wish the blackflies would take a hint.
Ah, the NJ state bird.
I eat garlic pills. They seem to leave me alone. Wish the blackflies would take a hint.
Manwich, I do the same thing but I carry fresh garlic and mince up a clove in every evening meal. The mosquitoes don't bother me nearly as bad but the black flies are just too retarded to take the hint.
I was just up at the DWG. Coming back to the car, around 3 pm, I heard a comotion down below the trail near the river. A young lady was running around screaming. A bat was chasing her and dive bombing her. Was actually kind of funny to see. Eventually the bat flew off, but I was wondering if this fungus does strange things to the bat before they die from it.
I tried the garlic several years ago on a hike in the Catskills. It didn't work. I had taken the pills for several weeks prior to the hike. Maybe fresh garlic works better.
FW
I was just up at the DWG. Coming back to the car, around 3 pm, I heard a comotion down below the trail near the river. A young lady was running around screaming. A bat was chasing her and dive bombing her. Was actually kind of funny to see. Eventually the bat flew off, but I was wondering if this fungus does strange things to the bat before they die from it.
Yes, it does. The article mentioned bats flying crazy like that. Or, maybe it was a vampire bat, and the lady had really sweet blood:banana
That is really sad. A 90% death rate for bats, in that amount of time? I wonder if any will survive at all. Wow.
I just read two article in The Record of northern NJ on the subjects of bugs and bats.
This year, with the unusually heavy snow melt, plus twice the normal rainfall for March, coupled with the loss of up to 90% of the bat population due to a fungus; we are about to face what could be the worst mosquito infestation in 30 years here in NJ and generally through the Appalachians.
FW
Oh joy! Something to look forward to.
I hear the mud is going to be extra thick too.
Snowleopard
04-02-2010, 12:18
I was expecting the mosquitos to be awful last summer because it was so wet. It wasn't bad here; I guess they all drowned. They were somewhat worse in the Berkshires, but still not awful.
BAG "o" TRICKS
04-02-2010, 12:26
I use a battery operated mosquito repellant device while hiking. No chemicals and it keeps the little bloodsuckers at bay. I turn it on when stationary for any period of time.
Crazy bats, mosquito plague, mud, and blackflies.
These are a few of my favorite things.
Wasn't there a song along those lines?
DrRichardCranium
04-02-2010, 13:29
I have heard that bats don't eat very many mosquitoes anyway, that they tend to prefer big meaty bugs like moths and junebugs.
Crazy bats, mosquito plague, mud, and blackflies.
These are a few of my favorite things.
Wasn't there a song along those lines?
Yep. It ends with:
I simply remember those buggy things
And then I just feel so mad!:rolleyes:
Praying for bug-less nights ~K2~
drink your tonic water, orgininally i was told about how gin keeps the squeeters away, but little research and i found out its the quinine in the tonic water that keeps the sqeeters away
Yep. It ends with:
I simply remember those buggy things
And then I just feel so mad!:rolleyes:
Great, now I got that song stuck in my head!:eek:
Ramble~On
04-02-2010, 15:23
Read any trail journals from last summer and you will likely find that allmost everyone was complaining about the mosquitos in CT and MA.
They were bad! very bad! The registers were full of entries about those bastards. I hiked a couple sections while flailing a branch around my head.
MA was by far the worst and if they're gonna be worse this year than last.....:eek:
I use a battery operated mosquito repellant device while hiking. No chemicals and it keeps the little bloodsuckers at bay. I turn it on when stationary for any period of time.
There isn't really such a device, is there?
I looked for exactly that kind of thing several years ago, and no luck.
FW
There isn't really such a device, is there?
I looked for exactly that kind of thing several years ago, and no luck.
FW
OK; Sorry I didn't believe it. I just found some of them for about $60. They say good for outdoors; but do they really work, and how long do the batteries last?
FW
Kerosene
04-02-2010, 20:38
Numerous vendors sell electronic devices to repel skeeters, but there is no proof that they really work. I'd save your money and a bit of excess weight.
Captain Blue
04-02-2010, 21:25
Myth: Bats eat up to 600 mosquitoes an hour.
This one may have gotten started with a study in which bats were released into a room full of mosquitoes while researchers counted how many they ate. The bats consumed about 10 per minute, or 600 per hour. But mosquitoes were the only insects in the room for the hungry bats to eat. Since then, studies have found that mosquitoes make up less than 1 percent of bat diets. Truth is a bat would rather eat a fat moth than a mosquito.
This myth is propagated by bat lovers, such as me, to give people a reason to like bats. It works. Keep the myth going.
I just killed 2 of the critters in my garage.
Panzer
johnnybgood
04-02-2010, 21:51
I just killed 2 of the critters in my garage.
Panzer :-? Did you use the army tank ?
I didn't read beyond the OP, but, if no one's said it yet,
THERE WILL ALSO BE A BUMPER CROP OF TICKS, FLEAS, SPIDERS, CHIGGERS, and anything with six or eight legs, biting or not - due to the very wet spring (at least in the northeast). I'm using permethrin products on my clothes (except the ones I swim in). It's going to be real tough hiking in long pants in the heat. I might just have to buy another pair of mosquito mesh pants :rolleyes:.