chiggers??? and other bugs??
along the trail, what bugs are most likely to get you. i know black flies in the north, i ve experienced them first hand, any southern bugs and things to look out for?
"some rise, some fall, SOME CLIMB to get to Terrapin"
Ticks for sure.Originally Posted by climber2377
I have never seen any ticks on the AT in the south. Its usually too cold for them. And the trails are fairly maintained and weeds cut down.
''Tennessee Viking'
Mountains to Sea Trail Hiker & Maintainer
Former TEHCC (AT) Maintainer
the bugs are going to have a banquet and you are the main course.
Panzer
I sat on a stump somewhere on the AT in GA in the month of May and had 4-5 of them crawling on my legs when I got up.
There are most definitely ticks in the south....
Which bugs?
ALL OF THEM.
You: It's what's for dinner.
House flies, horse flies, deer flies, black flies, gnats, mosquitoes, deer ticks, dog ticks, wood ticks, chiggers, carpenter ants, they're all waiting for you and your blood, sweat and tears.
Horse flies, yellow jackets and ticks are the most common in the south.
And running into a pissed off nest of yellow jackets sucks.........big time.
Our group got hit by them twice in the same week when hiking the Nantahala section.
"Why is it a penny for your thoughts, but you always have to put your two cents in?"
- Stephen Wright
Well, it got warm here yesterday (hard to believe one week ago it was snowing here). As we were sitting outside I noticed mosquitoes! I was hoping all those days of weather in the teens and all the snow would minimize their existence. Apparently, not!
At least it's not as bad as FL (where the mosquito is the state bird). Oh well!
My experience is ticks everywhere in NC.
I 2nd that! We have about 3 weeks before the 8 month semi-perpetual hatch starts up.
Not sure what I would will worry about the most, on our week on the trail in June- Yellow Jackets or Ticks. Ticks are easy enough to spot and eradicate, but I am a shaggy headed guy. Yellow Jackets can be like a kicked fire ant hill, only they have wings!!!
Ticks from VA north. Deerflies. Mosquitoes in southern NE (mainly MA).
One year while sectioning I got a nasty case of chiggers under my socks, around the ankles.
Another year I felt fortunate to escape PA with nary a drop of blood leftover by the swarms of mosquitos that feasted upon us.
Last year was the best, though--I got stung by yellow jackets so badly that one of the areas was swelling so much I had to come off the trail and literally watched blisters appear on the way to the ER, one by one.
Other than that, nope--no bugs at all
Darwin, when will we have a bug that's evolved strictly for feeding on thru-hikers?Which bugs?
ALL OF THEM.
You: It's what's for dinner.
House flies, horse flies, deer flies, black flies, gnats, mosquitoes, deer ticks, dog ticks, wood ticks, chiggers, carpenter ants, they're all waiting for you and your blood, sweat and tears.
Add bees to your list and there's a nasty little wasp that lives in the ground in Mass.
i have had run ins with most of the pests mentioned... but have never seen a chigger till i googled em. little red suckers. weird. after reading on them a little, i dont really want to meet any in person. all in good time i suppose. maybe we will even become really good friends. but i hope not.
"some rise, some fall, SOME CLIMB to get to Terrapin"
Chiggers...spawn of the devil's son....
remember the movie foof of the gods? this is what you need to fear!!!use the 2nd link.
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Just a matter of time, I suspect!
And you're right, I forgot about the stinging ones...
I must've blocked them out.
I got hit by a yellow jacket on the side of my knee while climbing down from Dragon's Tooth. Ouch.
One time I accidentally stuck my hiking pole into a yellow jacket hole beside the trail ... had to run that time. Wasps are a hazard, too. Some shelters have them. Passed a honey bee hive in a tree north of Boiling Springs on that flat section, but they were placid.
The stinging ones must be respected.
In SNP I sat down on one of those concrete parking bumpers at a pull-off. Discovered a deer tick on my leg. The saw the red spider mites crawling all over me. And the parking bumper. Chiggers, too. That was fun.
Before that, somewhere north of the Audie Murphy marker in Virginia, I got sick from the heat and lay down on the big flat rocks just before Dragon's Tooth, on the big mountain shaped like the number "2" on the maps. The carpenter ants went after me, but I was so sick I hardly cared. (Got stung by the yellow jacket the next day.)
Here in Jersey the chiggers can get bad in the spring and summer, around local hiking trails. I have had them several times. An old timers remedy that I swear by is Absorbene Junior on the chiggers. Helps the muscles too. Makes me wonder if it would also ward off other insects on the trail. That would make it multiuse and worth the weight!
The Big J
Me too! I was sitting outside a coffee shop in Greensboro and got ate up the 1 hour I was out there. Not a good sign for this year's misquito season.
"A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do."
-Bob Dylan
My wife ended up getting hit by a nest of yellow jackets last September. I was leading, so I guess I stirred them up for her....I felt so bad. THere were yellow jackets everywhere between Amicalola and Neels Gap though. And while I've had way more ticks than Ive wanted near my home, we never really got any while on the AT. We did use the permethrin to soak our clothes though, and I will continue to do so. I also picked up some Jungle Juice to spray on arms and legs if needed, but only if needed.
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