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Mosquitos - Camino de Santiago

G

Giane

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Plan to walk Camino de Santiago April 2016
Not long to go now before my Camino begins on 22nd April & very excited to start. Unfortunately I do have a very severe reaction to mosquito bites and wondered if anyone could confirm whether or not they have experienced mosquito bites before in April/May?
Thank you for your help.....
 
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Hi Giane, I too am very allergic to bites and although I walked September/October, did not experience any mosquitoes. I was also concerned with possible bed bug bites which thankfully did not happen. I honestly do not know if my precautions worked or I was just lucky, but did the following:
- had a treated bed bug sheet from Lifesystems
- took Vitamin B1 while on the trip and for a month before
- took a product I purchased from the health food store ( I am in Canada) called Mozi-Q
Hope this helps.
Linda
 
Some mosquitoes have been seen already on the east coast.
I always take a mossie net with me - folds into v. small space: I also buy anti-mosie spray and use it on exposed areas - face, neck, arms etc. You can buy it in the local chemists. Hope this helps!
 
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Thank you for your response, much appreciated
Giane
 

Thans you for your response, much appreciated
Giane
 
I am also very allergic, I take an antihistamine with me and take one immediately after being bitten. It helps.
 
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Since the sun sets late (after 10pm) and we typically end up inside the albergue by 10pm, evening exposure to mosquitos should be limited.

Also, if wearing a lightweight, long-sleeve backpacking shirt/windjacket and long pants/tights in the cooler morning air when first starting out, we tend to minimize contact. And, those can be used if in areas where there is likely daytime exposure (moist, shady areas, forests, rivers/canals, etc.).

Some mosquito attractants are the scents given off by specific bacteria that grows on the skin and within the clothing. Some people grow those bacteria more than others based on their own body chemistry; I am one of those, and mosquitos find me rather attractive (thankfully, I'm not as highly reactive to their bites as some appear to be here). Therefore, I made sure to shower carefully and used washing machines when possible for more thorough cleaning of my clothes than I could get with a sink and a bar of soap.

Just with clothing selection, timing of walking, and careful hygiene, I never even needed to apply repellent from late May through mid July 2013 on the CF. I'm not sure I'm even going to take any this time around because my pilgrim habits make me less susceptible to bites than in my own backyard in the evenings.
 
I walked last year from the end of April, all of May, and the first part of June. I didn't take any precautions and didn't get bitten or actually even see any mosquitos.

I had sprayed the outside of my pack with permethrin because I was concerned about bed bugs but I didn't see any of those either.

There is a good chance you may be lucky as well!

Buen Camino.
 
I got badly bitten by mosquitos when I walked along the canal just past Boadilla in the early morning. There was a fantastic sunrise mirrored perfectly in the water which we all photographed - then the mosquitos appeared in a swarm and left us all bitten badly.
 
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Don't know about April or May, but on three Caminos during the warmer months between June through September never saw a single mosquito.
Cold mornings and evenings during April and May I don't think you will encounter any mosquitoes.
 
I walked May and June and don't recall any mosquitos and only remember 2 days near the end of the mesata where there was a couple of small bug clouds to pass through. Very limited compared to other places I've been.
 
We walked several caminos in September and we never saw any signs of mosquitos. You can buy insect repellant treated shirts and other clothing. . I wore one on a trip to the Amazon and didn't get any bites.
 
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Have walked in May, early June, September and October and have never seen or heard a mosquito. Which is why I walk in Spain and not here at home where one would be eaten alive. A few bees near and around Rabanal, but so mellow, not interested in me at all.

Cringing a bit at the thought of mosquitos on the Portuguese walk... Please say it ain't so!
 

We walked part of the Camino Portuguese in September starting in Lisboa and unexpectedly ended in Coimbra due to a back problem that require a return to the states. But never had mosquito problems !!
 
I wouldn't be so much worried about the mosquitoes as I would be about the wild boar, wolves and poisonous snakes on the Camino.....
 
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The mosquitoes on the Chesapeake Bay in the summer are big enough to carry you off to their lairs to feed on you at their leisure. They can be a real nuisance at our boat pier parties. I find that Deep Woods Off applied on my skin under my clothes as well as exposed skin will keep them away. I also burn a cintronella candle (not really practical on the Camino). The Chesapeake mosquitoes only come out at night. Don't know about Spanish mosquitoes. Some people swear by Avon's Skin So Soft, which is now formulated as an insect repellent as well as a skin moisturizer.
 
I walked in May last year and was expecting to be bitten - I did not see any and didn't get so much as a nibble. I did use Avon skin so soft oil which apparently they don't like.
 
I also walked last Spring, and saw no sign of mosquitoes anywhere. I am very attuned to the sight and sound of them - we get a lot of them at home and they drive me craaaazy!! Being on the Camino was a blessed relief! - although I think it would be weather-dependent and in places near drainage ditches or still ponds I wouldn't be surprised to see the them in more humid weather.
 
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