Bug spray

[dokrando]

I am beginning my first Camino in about 2 week Starting in Tui. I am curious about the current need for bug spray. I am very susceptible to these little critters…they love to bite me. Thanks!

 

[Anniesantiago]

Not sure about bedbugs but I was eaten alive by mosquitos on the Portuguese route.

 

[CaminoSherpa]

Not sure about bedbugs but I was eaten alive by mosquitos on the Portuguese route.

What timeframe and which route on the Portugues?

 

[HumanistHiker]

I'm also a mosquito-magnet. I'll be setting off on the Littoral on 28th September before switching to the Central at Vila do Conde. I'm assuming that my blood will be as delectable to Portuguese mosquitos as it is to French and Italian ones, and will be bringing and using Incognito spray, and have hydrocortisone cream and antihistamines for when the blighters do succeed in biting me.

On the plus side, for anyone else walking the Portuguese at the same time as me, you might be safe as they'll probably go for me instead of you (just as they leave my husband alone when he's with me).

 

[lovelyshell]

I walked the CP central in April and didn’t encounter any mosquitos.

 

[Damien Reynolds]

IMO, bug spray is not necessary (multiple times of year, multiple routes). The only times I've been bitten on the camino is when there is a hotel room, by a lake or stream, and its hot so the window is open. Oh, and in Spain, they don't have screens. Generally. Why don't they have screens? Because you don't need bug spray...

 

[Anniesantiago]

What timeframe and which route on the Portugues?

Spring, Central route

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

In Spain (my only caminos) I didn't encounter enough mosquitoes to bother with repellent. At home I generally use 25% DEET effectively. I haven't been thrilled with the effectiveness of picaridin. Just a few days ago I used some lemon eucalyptus oil and was impressed because I walked through swarms of mosquitoes with DEET covered Peg and only had two land on me. I think the problem with it and picaridin is you must cover every bit of skin or else the bugs will find the untreated area. Apparently DEET is strong enough to have treated areas cover the untreated areas too. That's just my opinion though.

 

[OZAJ]

As far as biting insects are concerned, I am ice-cream. So was my father.

Having said this, I have had very few problems with insect bites on any of the Caminos I have walked in Europe, apart from a few episodes with bedbugs.

I usually walk May to August and maybe September, mostly in Spain, but also UK, France and Italy.

 

[Dick & Kitty]

I don't recall any mosquitoes--just nasty biting flies in the tall grass outside Astorga (I think). Of course, it was in August and quite hot so maybe that's the only time they are there. They didn't bother me so much as my husband. Our other walks on the Frances have been in September and May. Didn't notice any noxious insects at those times. Lots of lovely butterflies, however.

 

[lalaone]

I can recommend this DEET-free lotion. Bugs like me, too. They seem to bite wherever and whenever. This is nice because it is fragrance-free, gentle for sensitive skin, and moisturizing to boot. It also really works, at least for me

14-Hour Odorless Lotion | Proven Mosquito Repellent

Our 20% Picaridin insect repellent keeps mosquitoes, ticks, flies, chiggers and other listed insects away. Use with confidence for the whole family.

provenrepellent.com

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I can recommend this DEET-free lotion.

Picaridin in lotion form instead of spray. The three repellents I mentioned earlier I apply with a spray and that may be why I get uneven coverage and some bites with picaridin and the lemon eucalyptus oil. A lotion might be more effective on skin. A spray can be used on clothing.

 

[David Tallan]

I've never had problems with biting bugs in Galicia. My wife was shocked, seeing the woods we sometimes walked through, that they weren't filled with mosquitos like our local woods tend to be in the summer. But I've never had problems there.

Now walking along the Canal de Castilla on the Camino de Madrid is another story. But that is far from where you will be walking.

 

[jenwearing]

I recently finished The Norte and in Galicia alone, I did get several bug bites. In SDC, I got three of which turned into large annoying blisters. In Asturia, I was swarmed by mosquitoes and in one night, had over 100 bites. I had a couple dozen just on my face!
I know this is not the norm but if you are like me, a big magnet, and were allergic as a kid and suddenly allergic again in Spain () you might really suffer. I recommend having bug spray. They sell a really good one in all the pharmacies there that really works and doesn’t smell too awful.

 

[CA_Pilgrim]

I am beginning my first Camino in about 2 week Starting in Tui. I am curious about the current need for bug spray. I am very susceptible to these little critters…they love to bite me. Thanks!

I did the CF in June of 2022. The main issue I had with bugs was little face flies. They were not biting insects but very annoying. If Spanish face flies are anything like California face flies, the problem only gets worse in the hotter months because they are in search of water. I found that spraying my hat with Permethrin spray I brought along for bed bugs (which I never used for that purpose) helped a lot. When they got really bad, I'd put a small amount of a DEET containing cream (Ultrathon brand) on my neck and forehead.

 

[SilentNight]

IMO, bug spray is not necessary (multiple times of year, multiple routes). The only times I've been bitten on the camino is when there is a hotel room, by a lake or stream, and its hot so the window is open. Oh, and in Spain, they don't have screens. Generally. Why don't they have screens? Because you don't need bug spray...

I have a feeling that you are not a mosquito magnet, like my husband. Even when a stray mosquito, not coming after me, bites him, his bites do not swell alarmingly, itch terribly, nor make him look lumpy. I recall hiking in Yosemite in winter in the snow. The sun came out for a bit. So did mosquitoes. They came after our son and me. None bothered my husband and daughter. So for anyone like you, who does not attract mosquitoes, what if you respect another’s far different experiences?

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

This afternoon I was on the phone with a friend who had been camping amongst mosquitoes and we talked about mosquitoes and repellents. Not long afterward my YouTube feed brought up a video about the same. I sent an email and since then I figured "Why not send the email here too?" So, here it is:

... about repellents, this just came up on my YouTube feed. Probably the best video on the stuff (DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, IR3535) that I've come upon. Try, try to ignore the CGI mosquitoes.

youtube video id: gOlf1ORDQYs

 

[SilentNight]

This afternoon I was on the phone with a friend who had been camping amongst mosquitoes and we talked about mosquitoes and repellents. Not long afterward my YouTube feed brought up a video about the same. I sent an email and since then I figured "Why not send the email here too?" So, here it is:

... about repellents, this just came up on my YouTube feed. Probably the best video on the stuff (DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, IR3535) that I've come upon. Try, try to ignore the CGI mosquitoes.

youtube video id: gOlf1ORDQYs

Deet also lasts for 20+ years. We still have backpacking sized bottles of Deet bug spray and cream. They survived the 2018 Woolsey Fire and smoke damage, and they still ward off the mosquitoes. BTW, in my experience as a longtime mosquito magnet, the natural deterrents, e.g., citronella, eucalyptus oil, etc. did nothing to make me less enticing to mosquitoes. However, for major health reasons, I take daily megadoses of vitamin B12. I no longer attract mosquitoes. They now pass me by, and instead bite my husband.

 

[KDub]

I did not encounter any mosquitos in the last week on the CP central… but definitely take precautions against bedbugs!