leeches (yuck !)
Laurie
? Can they eat though leather or plastic etc ?
I have heard that using Aerogard on your socks or boots can prevent
leeches - if this true or an old wives tale ?
Has anyone had any previous experience with these pesky creatures ?
--
Regards
Lawrie
ps - Mega pissed off - went all the way to the Borders Rangers National Park
today only to find the road was closed and the gate was locked - Grrrrr !
Anthony Dunk
to keep leeches at bay, though. If you keep walking they have trouble
climbing aboard. Its usually when you stop that they hitch a ride.
If you have to stop in leech territory, stop on top of a log or rock where
you can see them coming. Also check regularly on the outside of your
shoes/boots and just flick them off.
Anthony
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~mdunk/anthony
Margaret Covi <mc...@hotkey.net.au> wrote in message
news:3cf0a...@news.iprimus.com.au...
> Leeches can't get eat through plastic or leather, but they will get into
> boots over the top or through lace-up holes etc.
> Aerogard in my experience will keep them off but you have to overdo it &
not
> miss a spot or they will attack it. And also if your shoes get wet (even
on
> the outside) the Aerogard will wash off & the leeches will get in, so you
> need to respray. However I have found Aerogard works better for me than
> anything else I've tried & I do a fair amount of walking in leech
territory.
> Margaret
skibug
> Worth considering the environmental effects of using poisons on your boots
> to keep leeches at bay, though. If you keep walking they have trouble
> climbing aboard. Its usually when you stop that they hitch a ride.
My experience is slightly different - I've found that if you have
boots with a deep tread, they will latch onto the bottom of the boot
and eventually make their way up the side to your ankle - so they can
still get on even if you don't stop. They have very tough, rubbery
bodies, so stepping on them a few times doesn't seem to bother them.
I've actually tried destroying a leech with a hammer on concrete, with
disapointing results.
> If you have to stop in leech territory, stop on top of a log or rock where
> you can see them coming. Also check regularly on the outside of your
> shoes/boots and just flick them off.
>
Soaking the exposed parts of socks and the rim of your boots with RID
or equivelant works for me - if it's not raining, or you're not
actually walking through water, it lasts, and contamination to the
environment is probably minimal - although I have to confess I don't
know if DEET eventually breaks down to environmentally tolerable
compounds.
In damp conditions, things are different - much harder to keep socks
RID'ed, and a much higher risk of leeches getting onto you all sorts
of ways - especially from brushing bushes and sitting anywhere. I'm
always amused by the teenage D of E students I work with, who display
aggravated paranoid schizophrenic behaviour (I'm sure most murder
victims scream less!) when seeing a leech on their boot, but who will
thoughtlessly throw their pack to the ground when stopping for a
break, then hoik it back on without a thought for leeches.
Doric
David Springthorpe
wrote:
>Has anyone had any previous experience with these pesky creatures ?
Surely you jest.....?
>ps - Mega pissed off - went all the way to the Borders Rangers National Park
>today only to find the road was closed and the gate was locked - Grrrrr !
It's always good advice to contact the relevant NP authority
beforehand.....for instance, looking at the NSW NP&WS site today, I
found out (dated Friday 24 May) that :
"In Kanangra-Boyd National Park the Uni Rover walking track in the
Boyd Range is closed due to a hazard reduction burn."
They did not specify a time frame - luckily this did not affect me,
but others intending to be in this area next weekend may wish to
check.....
D.S.
David Springthorpe
wrote:
>Leeches are worse than that. I've experienced cases where they've burrowed
>a hole through my tent, got through my canvas pack, through a plastic bag
>and even burrowed through aluminum to get to a black pudding left in my
>cooking pot ;-)
They must have been interbreeding with the local bush rats.....?
D.S.
Jamieson
Rid spray also does the trick.
The little buggers don't respond well.. in fact don't live to tell much of a
tale.
Cheers
Roy
"Laurie" <mr_w...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:_g1I8.178950$o66.5...@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
James & Melanie McIntosh
Leeches can be bad news. Many walkers who have had numerous leech bites
have become allergic.
James McIntosh
"Laurie" <mr_w...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:_g1I8.178950$o66.5...@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
Maurice
leech bite, e.g., large area of red swelling (could be 20 cm in diameter),
hot, red and itching. Other times I don't react much just the usual lump and
localised area of itching when hot.
Any suggestions on how to prevent the really adverse reaction?
BTW I heard of a b/w who ended up in hospital for 9 days as a result of a
bad reaction to a leech bite.
--
Cheers & good walking
Maurice
"James & Melanie McIntosh" <jmmc...@melbpc.org.au> wrote in message
news:acson6$i0s$1...@possum.melbpc.org.au...
gaza
"Maurice" <maur...@SPAMPROTECT.ihug.com.au> wrote in message
news:act2s8$kn1$1...@lust.ihug.co.nz...
> Your comment about adverse reactions is true, at times I react badly to a
> leech bite, e.g., large area of red swelling (could be 20 cm in diameter),
> hot, red and itching. Other times I don't react much just the usual lump
and
> localised area of itching when hot.
>
use DEET etc (I reckon it doesn't work) but I seem to be more alert or seem
to sense it better when a little critter has attached himself and I remove
them straight away. At the end of the day I apply an antiseptic like Tea
Tree Oil or similar and if I notice they are reacting too bad I pop a
antihistimine.
My main trouble seemed to be if I didn't treat them until too late and I
scratched them in my sleep and then they reacted and flared up got worse.
What do they live on when unsuspecting bushwalkers aren't around......they
say one good suck can last them a year.......old wives tale or
not????????????
Ruley
"Margaret Covi" <mc...@hotkey.net.au> wrote in message
news:3cf1a...@news.iprimus.com.au...
> I find that in heavily infested areas, leeches still get on while I'm
> moving. A year or so ago, I even had one that got into my eye & lodged
under
> the eyelid, as I quickly brushed past a branch. I saw it happen but wasn't
> quick enough to stop it.
> Margaret
Ruley
"Tintin" <sp...@all.costs.must.die> wrote in message
news:3cf16...@news.iprimus.com.au...
>
> "Laurie" <mr_w...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:_g1I8.178950$o66.5...@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> > Can leeches get though boots - ie Waterproof Scarpa boots or Katmandu
> Boots
> > ? Can they eat though leather or plastic etc ?
>
philipj
there.
leeches hate this oil, just ask any tasmanian farmer who has the trees on
his/her property.
cheers. p
"Laurie" <mr_w...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:_g1I8.178950$o66.5...@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
philipj
"David Springthorpe" <david.spr...@idx.com.au> wrote in message
news:3cf18c96...@news.idx.com.au...
Margaret Covi
group seriously doubted what I said had happened! Luckily we had a nurse
with us who was able to roll my eyelid back (didn't know before then that
you could roll an eyelid up like a scroll) & yank it off.
Margaret
> Eeew..... what did you do?? had it 'gotten a hold' when you realised?
David Springthorpe
wrote:
>Don't you carry a hacksaw ? Not unknown in our club.
Er, I'm lost here - carry a hacksaw for what.....?
D.S.
philipj
think spherically, it's 3 dimensional whereas lateral thinking is 2
dimensional.
cheers, p
"David Springthorpe" <david.spr...@idx.com.au> wrote in message
news:3cf300c0...@news.idx.com.au...
Jamieson
Perhaps the 2002 version of Texas chainsaw massacre?
"David Springthorpe" <david.spr...@idx.com.au> wrote in message
news:3cf300c0...@news.idx.com.au...
David Springthorpe
wrote:
>To cut the little buggers in half David.
>Perhaps the 2002 version of Texas chainsaw massacre?
You'll have the RSPCL on to you next.....on my last bout with leeches
quite a while ago, the leech I flicked off in the train back from the
Royal NP was still galloping up the aisle as the train pulled into
Central.....
D.S.
River
little blood suckers"...
I've had excellant success using a dieluted water spray mix of Eucalyptus
Oil in a small hand pump spray unit.
By spraying the boots and socks plus any other parts of one's body, packs,
etc, myself and friends have found that all leeches and ticks too will 'drop
off' very quickly. Re-spraying every so-often during bushwalks or water
crossing has made for many an enjoyable walk, plus the product had a
pleasant scent too.
River
philipj
long as 27 yrs.
cheers one up, don't it ?
however the same reliable source could nottell me as to what purpose they
serve on this planet, mind you we also have humans like this.
cheers p
"gaza" <lazy...@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
news:act4ah$set09$1...@ID-137617.news.dfncis.de...
gizmomaker
Laurie wrote:
>
> Has anyone had any previous experience with these pesky creatures ?
>
> --
> Regards
>
> Lawrie
Leeches seem to be ubiquitous, but why are there no leeches in the inner city
area?
I know they are in the outer suburbs, but around my shopping centre car park
and various other places around the city there are veritable mini rain forest
areas
with lots of moisture and pools of water.
Never had a leech.
Rob
Neil Miller (Webguy)
I too have had a bad reaction to a leach bite, was off my foot for a
week, still bear the bite marks and that was 2 years ago.
May be totally wrong here, but, does anyone think a layer of say
vaseline over the foot and lower legs would keep em off? Take a wile
to soak into the skin, would not really wash off to easily, maybe it
would offer a barrier to them.
And hell, it would keep your feet nice n soft! ;-)
Any thoughts?
Cheers
wrote:
skibug
> Laurie wrote:
>
>
> Leeches seem to be ubiquitous, but why are there no leeches in the inner city
> area?
> I know they are in the outer suburbs, but around my shopping centre car park
> and various other places around the city there are veritable mini rain forest
> areas
> with lots of moisture and pools of water.
> Never had a leech.
>
> Rob
My theory is that to support a leech population you need a population
of hosts that are suitable victims, along with the right environment
(moist, shady, hiding places, few predators (?) ). Grassy areas with
lots of roos & wallabies, wombats, cows etc. allow the buggers to have
a constant food supply, and so support a large population. Urban
areas, despite the feral cats, unrestrained dogs, and arboreal
critters like possums (which spend less time on the ground), don't
have that reliable, constant animal population. Water pollution, stray
herbicide use, and perhaps urban bushfires, may also help keep numbers
low.
Perhaps, also, the ability of potential predators like kookaburras,
currawong, and magpie to survive in urban zones may make it even
harder.
I'm assuming in the above that leeches need primarily mammals as hosts
- does anyone know if they can attack birds, lizards or reptiles?
Doric
Trentus
Let's see ... locked gate blocking the way ... hacksaw ... lock on gate ....
hacksaw .... Well I don't get the connection ;)
Trentus
Of course you could just hitch the gate up to your vehicle and reef the
whole damn thing out of the ground like one gate I came across on a walk in
the hills in the Brindies. Either that or a mob of Kangaroos ran into the
gate strategically hitting only the post holding the lock - one or the other
Trentus
That could leave one bemused traveller wondering how the hell they got a
leech on them while coming home from work through the middle of town.
Might collect some in a jar and release them on the train next time I'm in
town, could be fun.
Trentus
in my home, do I suddenly
feel creepy crawly feelings all over my ankles and legs.
EEEEWwwwww
Super_Aussie
Why Yuk they are TASTY
David Springthorpe
>Why Yuk they are TASTY
You could have had the one I found next to a big blob of congealed
blood attached to my sleeping bag inner this morning.....
-------------------------------
David Springthorpe
Sydney NSW
Jason
(sorry)
Jason
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