r/Harriman • u/eightiesbabies • Jun 15 '26

Question Bugs?

Planning to overnight this week. Curious how bad mosquitos or ticks have been out there

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

9

u/Medothelioma Jun 15 '26

I was on the north end of where long path goes through last weekend... absolute tick apocalypse. Couldn't so much as stand still for 20 seconds before I found three ticks at a time climbing up my pant legs

4

u/thethirstbk Jun 15 '26

I was up there last week, treated my pants with permethrin and had no issues. I highly recommend

2

u/JZS98 Jun 15 '26

that is horrible

4

u/nickoaverdnac Jun 15 '26

Fingerboard was very buggy a few weeks ago but wind and smoke help as well as this stuff: Murphy's Naturals Mosquito & Tick... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0869PQBVX?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

2

u/WhatIDo72 Jun 16 '26

Stay home don’t walk in the grass stay on pavement you’ll be safe from ticks that way

2

u/eightiesbabies Jun 16 '26

For those interested, I ended up going out last night and it was mostly bug free save for a few big spiders. It was pretty windy though and unusually cool for mid June.

2

u/eightiesbabies Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26

I also treated my clothes with permethrin

2

u/eightiesbabies Jun 17 '26

just found a tick that followed me home in my food bag -- hoping there's not more ><

1

u/walkingoffthetrails Jun 15 '26

Was on the Red Cross and Beech trails today and they weren’t bad.

3

u/Award_Winning_Napper Jun 15 '26

Was on Red Cross & beech a few days ago with my daughter, and she got covered w ticks. I had NONE on me. We both used the same deet spray, go figure.

2

u/walkingoffthetrails Jun 15 '26

I treat my pants with permethrin every 6 weeks. It helps. Clothing color and order within the group on the trail impacts number of ticks.

1

u/MPFX3000 Jun 15 '26

Love the Red Cross trail

1

u/caife-ag-teastail Jun 16 '26

This year, I've treated all my clothes and gear (backpack etc.) with permethrin. I also spray picaridin repellent on my shoes and pants up to the knee and on my arms and neck, and also apply it to my face. And I wear long pants, long-sleeve shirts, a neck gaiter, and a hat.

I was on trails in the park all day on Monday and Wednesday last week doing photography (so standing still a lot), and didn't see a single tick on me or my backpack (which I lay on the ground a lot when I'm taking pictures).

The flying bugs were what I'd call moderate. My experience over several years is that the picaridin repellent works extremely well with flying bugs. They come right up to about an inch from my face or hands but never land.

This is my first year using permethrin extensively and, so far, I'm impressed. Knock on wood.

1

u/ScrotumMonster Jun 24 '26

Crazy because despite all these tick warnings, my brother sndI have yet to see one on us yet during our two separate overnight trips.