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Mosquitos on Camino Frances in Sept/Oct?

Tim and Paula

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Camino de Santiago (2019)
Probably another dumb question but are there Mosquitos present on the Camino Frances September or October? On this mornings training walk here in tropical Mexico, we encountered quite a few of these flying delights, which had us wondering if we'd be seeing them again this fall. More my issue than hers since I usually act as her garlic necklace for flying critters while she attracts all the bities that swim in the ocean. Any input gratefully received.
Buen Camino!

Tim
 
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I attract mosquitos terribly, and I've never had a problem in Spain, with 4 trips there in Sept/Oct.
Buen Camino!
 
At the risk of mockery or deep sighs from an audience who have heard it all before: of course there are mosquitoes on the Camino huge ones, man-eaters, but luckily they don’t eat pilgrims - apparently they taste to bitter 🙃Mosquitoes, bad ones, prefer a more tropical climate than northern Spain has to offer. Which is not to suggest that normal sensible precautions should not be taken if you find yourself close to static & limpid water sources. Exposed mosquito food should be treated with mosquito repellent wherever the little sweeties are present. Or we can all just sit near you @Tim and Paula, in which case we can avoid the cost and weight of a small tube of repellent 😉
 
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Yes, I remember swarms of little flies near Astorga. They don't bite (apparently), they are just annnoying. It was in a short stretch of the Camino, and disappeared where the terrain went higher.
Now, the GMGBs (that's the acronym for Genetically Modified Giant Bebdbugs) are another, definitely creepier story...
 
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Probably another dumb question but are there Mosquitos present on the Camino Frances September or October? On this mornings training walk here in tropical Mexico, we encountered quite a few of these flying delights, which had us wondering if we'd be seeing them again this fall. More my issue than hers since I usually act as her garlic necklace for flying critters while she attracts all the bities that swim in the ocean. Any input gratefully received.
Buen Camino!

Tim


Tim, I walked the CF in starting mid-September and ended November 4th - not a mosquito . . . zip . . . nada.
 
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Probably another dumb question but are there Mosquitos present on the Camino Frances September or October? On this mornings training walk here in tropical Mexico, we encountered quite a few of these flying delights, which had us wondering if we'd be seeing them again this fall. More my issue than hers since I usually act as her garlic necklace for flying critters while she attracts all the bities that swim in the ocean. Any input gratefully received.
Buen Camino!

Tim
Why not just buy or being some mosquito spray/ cream/wipes with you?
 
I was bitten by a mosquito on my 2nd camino in 2014. Taking a wild wee, bitten on my leg I hasten to add! I realised in retrospect I have had stepped in a small puddle of stagnant water. I didn’t really feel the bite just realised after another mile or two that my leg was hurting. Stupidly didn’t want to slow down my companions and only investigated when arriving at our destination. By this time the bite had been rubbed by the seam of my trousers and within a day became infected. A trip to the medical centre necessitated anti-inflammatories, anti-histamines and antibiotics. Still have a scar to this day. I must admit I’m a hyper reactor to any insect bite. I’m just glad I didn’t ever come across any of the dreaded bed bugs. I’m the only person I know that was bitten by a mosquito, that’s over three separate trips to the Camino, all September/October. I would take extra precautions if you react badly to bites.
 
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You probably need to take precautions for possible encounter with Bedbugs more than mosquitos in the Fall! I must have the right kind of blood... have been bitten in the fall by BBS on 3 different caminos...never in the winter or early Spring. I carry a package of deet wipes should I encounter crawlers or dive bombers. I have never had a problem with mosquitos in the fall....
 
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Mosquitoes, bad ones, prefer a more tropical climate than northern Spain has to offer.
You haven't heard about the mosquitos in northern Ontario, in the Canadian tropics? OK, so they don't carry malaria but they are otherwise very bad!

I have never seen/noticed a mosquito in Spain, but I am pretty sure they are there.
 
You haven't heard about the mosquitos in northern Ontario, in the Canadian tropics? OK, so they don't carry malaria but they are otherwise very bad!

I have never seen/noticed a mosquito in Spain, but I am pretty sure they are there.

The Alaskan mosquitoes are fierce, too :)
 
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Thanks for all the responses. I don't react badly to bites, normally. But Paula and I have spent the last 13 years in the tropics where our little flying "friends" are a fact of life and got a very mild case of Dengue a few years ago in Guatemala. So I take a little extra care so that I don't have a repeat of that lovely episode. Deet is indeed our friend but the smell is kind of off-putting. We found this other stuff called Picaradin, which was recommended by cruising pals as working better than deet and no smell or melting of plastics that make Deet so much fun. So we'll be bringing a small bottle with us.

Thanks again for all those who've helped. I look forward to the day we'll be with you on Camino in a few months.


Tim and Paula
Puerto Vallarta, Nayarit, Mexico
 
Thanks for all the responses. I don't react badly to bites, normally. But Paula and I have spent the last 13 years in the tropics where our little flying "friends" are a fact of life and got a very mild case of Dengue a few years ago in Guatemala. So I take a little extra care so that I don't have a repeat of that lovely episode. Deet is indeed our friend but the smell is kind of off-putting. We found this other stuff called Picaradin, which was recommended by cruising pals as working better than deet and no smell or melting of plastics that make Deet so much fun. So we'll be bringing a small bottle with us.

Thanks again for all those who've helped. I look forward to the day we'll be with you on Camino in a few months.


Tim and Paula
Puerto Vallarta, Nayarit, Mexico

I've walked Frances twice in the September/October time frame and mosquitoes are definitely not an issue. Bringing repellent is up to you, but it isn't needed. Besides, Spain does have a variety of stores and shops which do carry repellents -- just like any first world country -- so you do not need to worry about a 'just in case' scenario.
 
I walked the first 230 miles of the Frances in early October, and scarcely encountered a gnat or mosquito.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Walked from Burgos last Sept/Oct. No skeeters, one case of bedbugs is all.
 
I have never encountered a mosquito on the Camino Frances, but walking in the fall after the farmers have turned over the fields, the small flies were very annoying. A wide-brim hat and a bandana over my nose and mouth worked just fine. We decided they were dive-bombing our faces because they could see their reflection in our sunglasses and wrongly thought there was a mating opportunity.
 
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I walked the Frances Sept 22 - Nov 03,2017 and had no issue with mosquitoes. I will say that I did run into some big as heck biting flies for a few days.
 
Probably another dumb question but are there Mosquitos present on the Camino Frances September or October? On this mornings training walk here in tropical Mexico, we encountered quite a few of these flying delights, which had us wondering if we'd be seeing them again this fall. More my issue than hers since I usually act as her garlic necklace for flying critters while she attracts all the bities that swim in the ocean. Any input gratefully received.
Buen Camino!

Tim
Might see you in Sept/ Oct. Starting on 5th Sept.
X d
 
Deet is indeed our friend but the smell is kind of off-putting. We found this other stuff called Picaradin, which was recommended by cruising pals as working better than deet and no smell or melting of plastics that make Deet so much fun. So we'll be bringing a small bottle with us.
Try out that Picaradin at home pre-camino. I've tried it in place of DEET in New England USA and I was very disappointed with the repellent results (although the smell, stickiness and non-solvent properties beats out DEET for sure). I'm unsure of the availability of DEET in Spain but I have read that Picaradin based repellents are very common in Europe. You may want to bring the DEET with you as Picaradin should be easily available.

Corrections welcomed.
 
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Hi Rick--we live in Tropical Pacific Mexico and the local mozzies seems to want nothing to do with Picaradin. Northeastern versions and the ones we used to encounter in the Sierras might be more resistant to it. From all the posts, it sounds as is mosquitos won't be much of an issue and, if they are, so be it--we'll just purchase what we need locally rather than haul our own goo from Mexico via the States. Thanks for all the kind replies!

Tim
 

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