[pct-l] Mosquitos

[Neil Petersen]

this is a very big issue. thats why I think every person who is going to
do any major backpacking or hiking should take a leave no trace course
where these issues are brought up. just thought i would throw that out
there as this is something that concerns me as well. and those of us who
are educated must try to educate others.
-neil

> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2008 09:50:12 -0700
> From: "t.n. turner" <barnumbaileypdx at hotmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Mosquitos
> To: Paul Cronshaw <beemancron at hotmail.com>, <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Message-ID: <COL101-W43E260A2D39A6947D8FC15BE390 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"
>
>
> So I've seen here in this thread lots of folks saying that DEET is a last
> resort for many reasons. It isn't a resort at all for me as I, too, have a
> severe reaction to it when I apply it to my skin and a lesser one in sinus
> headache, when I apply it to my clothes or smell it on others. The
> headache is almost as bad as I get with some of the perfumes I get a whiff
> of from day hikers and tourists in towns (I get them in my regular life
> too).
>
> Regardless of all this, my concern continues to be; do any of the people
> who wear DEET, or even sunblock, do you wash it off before you put your
> hands/body in the water sources?? I asked that of a group of boy scouts
> that were foul with DEET and sunblock, and their 'leader' smiled ruefully
> at them and said "See? I'm not the only one." (or words to that effect)
> So, do you? do you even remember that you've put something on your hands
> and body that might harm the water source and hence the little creatures,
> frogs, water bugs, fish??
>
> Okay, sorry but that has bugged me for years!!! And just in case someone
> is going to ask me, yes I do remember, I wash each night and if I'm going
> to use sunblock, I try to get my water before the need of sunblock has
> arisen, if not, I clean my hands, away from the water source, then get the
> water. Yep, pretty much a weird human about this one. I also only used
> sunblock in SoCal last year for the first week or so and the first few
> days this year in NoCal! (I know I can still get skin cancer, but. . .)
>
> Have a great Monday all!! Thanks for letting me vent on DEET and water
> sources!
> tammy t.
>
>