How to Deal with Insects in the Appalachian Mountains

Video Transcript

Hi this is David Jackel on behalf of Expert Village, and I am here to talk to you about handling insects in the Appalachian Mountains. Now most of us hate insects; I personally really hate insects. And one thing that I have to deal with whenever I go up into the mountains is that there are insects everywhere, particularly during certain months. Insects are a big problem for several reasons. First of all, they can harass you and make it unpleasant to hike. Secondly, they can bite you, which is painful. And third, they can actually make you sick, which can be a very serious problem. There are different steps you can take to protect yourself from the various insects out there. For mosquitoes, you can always use a bug spray. You can also stay in an area that is breezy because mosquitoes tend to not like areas that are breezy. Avoid still water. Still water is a haven for mosquitoes. Often times you will see a little pond that is not having any movement in it and then there is just a cloud of mosquitoes above the pond. So stay away from those ponds. It is very important is to keep things zipped up. Keep your tent zipped, keep your clothing zipped at all times, because once a mosquito gets into your tent, or into your clothing, it may not leave for quite a while, and you may be stuck with a mosquito buzzing around inside your tent, which is just awful. You should always wear light-colored clothing because mosquitoes tend to be attracted to darker-colored clothing, which brings us to our second kind of insect, ticks. Ticks are easily spotted on lighter clothing, which is another good reason to wear lighter clothing. Otherwise, it can be very difficult to spot ticks, particularly the smaller ones which unfortunately can do the most damage. And those are deer ticks. If you wear clothing that is loose-fitting and thick, ticks will have a difficult time biting through the clothing to get to your skin. You should also be checking your hair constantly for ticks. If you are traveling with someone else, you can check each other's hair. And check your clothing periodically, particularly if you are walking through tall grass. What I like to do is actually tuck my pants into my boots when I am hiking so that it is hard for insects like ticks to get into my boots. Insects are attracted to scent, so it is a good thing to bathe often, which can be difficult in the mountains, but it is still worth it. It is worth braving the cold water for a little bit if it is going to keep the ticks and mosquitoes away. You should also avoid sweet-smelling products that you use on your body because insects are attracted to sweet smells.

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