East Coast Climbers, Mosquito Virus Risk

[climbingmonkey24]

Any northern east coast climbers here, you hear about this potentially deadly mosquito virus that’s circulating near MA, CT, New Jersey? Any thoughts?

Curious if anyone else is in the area and what you guys might be doing to protect yourself.

 

[Budbaker13]

Any northern east coast climbers here, you hear about this potentially deadly mosquito virus that’s circulating near MA, CT, New Jersey? Any thoughts?

Curious if anyone else is in the area and what you guys might be doing to protect yourself.

I am in the CT Area this is the first I have heard of This but I will certainly look into it although is there really much we can do mosquitoes are every were regardless I guess they will die down now that it will start to get colder

 

[climbingmonkey24]

I am in the CT Area this is the first I have heard of This but I will certainly look into it although is there really much we can do mosquitoes are every were regardless I guess they will die down now that it will start to get colder

I mean I’ve started wearing long sleeves, covering my neck and I’m gonna get some bug spray.

We don’t work at night when they’re most active so that’s a good thing I guess. At least I don’t think anyone is working at night lol.

And you’re right once it starts to get colder it’ll die down.

 

[Budbaker13]

True indeed but it is certainly something to think about

 

[samsquatch]

Haven’t heard of this either, but As for the cold, there’s always next year too, I’d have some sort of plan if I was you.
Flamethrower drone comes to mind..

 

[Chaplain242]

This deterrent may be worse than the disease, but if chew raw garlic will keep em away, but once stop chewing got a 15 min window before wears off. Tested in Malarial hot zones of Thailand to great effect.

Only prob is if in shadows the dawn/dusk thing doesn’t mean much, so will still need deterrent during day...

 

[Jonny]

A guy I used to work with swore by odorless garlic tabs. Seemed to work for him, but who can say what other variables could have played a part. Diet is probably a big part of attracting mosquitoes.

You can buy permethrin treatment for your clothes. In 05 I had to treat my uniforms with permethrin before deploying to Iraq. Protection against sand flys that spread a parasitic infection, leishmaniasis.
While I was there I provided medical care to thousands of detainees (read prisoners) and saw zero cases of leishmaniasis, but better safe than sorry I guess. There was lots of scabbies and lice going on there though, the permethrin likely helped protect from that too.

 

[JeffGu]

...the permethrin likely helped protect from that too...

And probably a lot less traumatic than using a flame thrower.

I survived West Nile Virus and now I've got EEE Virus to look forward to, I'm sure. It will find me. Mosquitos see me and I appear to them like an open bar with unlimited free beer/blood. I can stand in the back yard with the wife and there will be none around her, but a hundred buzzing around me. If I complain, she always says, "They're not bothering me!" and I always say, "There are some things even a bloodsucking insect won't eat." Luckily, I can still outrun her.

 

[Jemco]

It seems the outdoorsman in Alaska, where mosquito season's so bad they can bring down weak deer, elk n caribou, all swear by DEET mosquito repellant.

I also read using DEET's recommended as a deterrent by the Feds, for this particular EEE outbreak.

Apparently great stuff, and used quite effectively for decades.

DEET - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Jemco

 

[ATH]

It does work well...but I hate putting it on. Always feels greasy. No fun when sweating. 100% DEET will melt certain kinds of plastics.

I use it...but only when all that seems better than the alternative! A real threat of EEE would seem one of those circumstances.

 

[JeffGu]

Yeah, it's that whole falling over, dead as a doornail thing.... kinda takes the fun out of the picnic.

 

[climbingmonkey24]

Just take precautions. Cover all exposed skin. Use bug spray. The cold weather is gonna be moving in soon which means bugs are gonna die off.

The one thing I learned is that the media doesn't help anything. I stopped paying attention to the news and deleted the app on my phone. The media makes everything seem worse than it is. Half the time it seems they only report all the bad stuff and not enough of the positive stuff.

 

[Chaplain242]

It does work well...but I hate putting it on. Always feels greasy. No fun when sweating. 100% DEET will melt certain kinds of plastics.

I use it...but only when all that seems better than the alternative! A real threat of EEE would seem one of those circumstances.

DEET is toxic (read cancer) - we just use it on our clothes/hats/boots etc - will likely still migrate to your skin but a much smaller dose than if applying it directly on to skin.

Tea tree oil works pretty good too, if you can stand the smell of it.... tea tree oil is a great instant cure for conjunctivitis too (if you can handle a 1% solution in your eyes...) - very handy for any lodging that doesn’t hi temp wash their bedding...

 

[theatertech87]

DEET is toxic (read cancer) - we just use it on our clothes/hats/boots etc - will likely still migrate to your skin but a much smaller dose than if applying it directly on to skin.

Tea tree oil works pretty good too, if you can stand the smell of it.... tea tree oil is a great instant cure for conjunctivitis too (if you can handle a 1% solution in your eyes...) - very handy for any lodging that doesn’t hi temp wash their bedding...

I also remember hearing that deet is highly flammable and conductive so it's a no go if you're working near powerlines

 

[Chaplain242]

Another good use of 100%DEET is spilling it on your skin when suffering food poisoning from eating tuna from tropical areas - couple hours and good to go...

 

[ATH]

"Researchers have not found any evidence that DEET causes cancer in animals or humans. DEET has been classified by the Unites States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) as "not classifiable as a human carcinogen", which means that there is not enough evidence to say that it does or does not cause cancer."

DEET General Fact Sheet

npic.orst.edu

Not even listed under CA Prop 65.

I'm not saying it is good for you...but let's not call it something it is not.

 

[moss]

Assuming you're taking about Eastern Equine Encephalitis, it's carried by the Black-tailed Mosquito, Culiseta melanura. Interesting thing about this mosquito species is it has very specific requirements for it's breeding/egg laying site. The female needs acidic water with a PH lower than 5, she finds it in bogs and low swampy areas. But it doesn't stop there, she lays her eggs in what are called "crypts", small holes filed with water at the base of live Atlantic White Cedar, Red Maple and rotted trunks. This mosquito does not breed in a bucket of water in your backyard. I have a friend who's job it is to monitor their populations, I've been out with him in a cedar swamp, he uses a very small aquarium dip net to fit into holes often 3-4" wide to catch the larvae. If he finds larvae in one of these crypts it's pretty much guaranteed to be the target species. That's why the disease is so rare, even this year where ground water levels are high in New England following two relatively rainy summers (2018/2019), the mosquito is doing well but there are only a handful of human cases.
-AJ

 

[moss]

EEE is a nasty disease for sure but it bums me out that in all the local news reporting and even in the Massachusetts state official bulletins/alerts on the disease they never mention the mosquito species or its habits. The state and the media underestimate the intelligence of everyday people.
-AJ

 

[Mowerr]

I'm in New York and I've only heard of people getting these diseases in Massachusetts but I also stopped watching TV news outlets a while back so I'm not too current.

 

[Woodwork]

Permethrin on your clothes works pretty well. I put it on my trousers and shirts when I'm working in the woods, and if mosquitoes land on them, they fall off dead. On contact. In certain pieces of woods, I'd get chewed to pieces by chiggers if I went in there in the late summer, but with permethrin on my pants, I don't get a bite.

It's pretty safe for humans and dogs (but not cats). I think it's the #1 most-used pesticide in the US if not the world, and used on many food crops. Farmers around here go through barrels of the stuff (it has a distinctive smell, and you can smell it when they drench the soybeans). I'd much rather use permethrin than risk Lyme, WN or EEE. It's also good for keeping fleas and ticks off dogs (but not cats – again, it's toxic to cats).

One good thing is that once you treat clothing with it, it will persist for something like 6 washings. And if you know how to do algebra to calculate doses, you can get enough for your clothes, your dogs, your house and your shrubs and trees for the next decade or two for about $25.