Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Mosquitos??

What is the current mosquito activity on the mountain? Is a net something to consider bringing for an overnight trip?

Nets are nice where they are really heavy.

Or else bring lots of repellent.

Anti-aircraft artillery is more like it...

Nets are fine...no smell...

Mosquitoes are pretty bad at the Portal. One day there were lots of them, the next day not so many. Quite a few at the creek crossings along the MR. I'm sure it's the same everywhere. BUT, I didn't wear any bug spray, did wear sunscreen and that seemed to help a lot. Guess the mosquitoes don't like Sun protection. I wouldn't wear a net.

My guess is you are going to need DEET into mid to late August this year.

Skeeters have to awfully bad before I'd use a net.

I've posted this many time in the past few years, but will do so again. First some background, I'm a physican who spends a lot of time in the backcountry working on trail crews doing hard physical labor, often in the worst mosquito areas. We are drenched with sweat, we have to wear helmets.

I have come to love Permethrin, an insecticide that is applied to clothing. It is often used in combination with DEET, which is used on skin. I find that I use FAR less DEET when I use Permethrin treated clothing, perhaps 10%, and I get far fewer bites. It is also effective at repelling ticks. You can buy it in spray cans at most sporting goods stores. You can also buy clothing from "Ex Officio" that has it pre-treated, but it is a bit pricey. It is totally safe as a chemical.

You only have to apply it once a season, it is not removed by washing. One tip, it is important to SATURATE the fabric in the area that the bugs might land on.

If it has an effectiveness of 3 and DEET has an effectiveness of 2, the combination seems to have an effectiveness of about a 7 or 8.

It the bugs drive you crazy, as they do me, give this a try on your next trip! Cheap, safe, effective!