Re: [Paddlewise] Wetsuit sites wanted

Elaine Harmon wrote:

> On Wed, 18 Aug 1999 LIZCSTM_at_aol.com wrote:
>
> > OK, Elaine, what's a midge?  Related to the no-see-ums I've heard about?
>
> Hi- yes. The same genus, Culicoides. The Scots claim they're worse than
> other species, but then the Scots always think they have the worst of
> everything.
>
> I haven't experienced no-see-ums, but I can tell you the midges are
> vicious biters who descend in swarms and go for the warmest, moistest
> places. Once I was almost into my boat taking off from Niall's when a
> small swarm hit my head. I fell out of the boat trying to fend them off,
> the while teaching a guy nearby, who had just put in, some new language.
> He very nearly fell out himself, from laughing.

No-see-ums are more than just a nuisance! On an early summer camping trip
around Lake Superior a few years back, my boyfriend and I were swarmed by
no-see-ums during a day hike, in spite of wearing long sleeves, bandanas on
our hair, and lots of repellant. Back in the tent that night, we started
counting the bites (which BTW, swell up to substantial size) and got to about
30 each above the neck only before we stopped counting and went to sleep.
Based on that, I would guess we probably had about 100 bites each on our whole
bodies. The next two days we were very sick - headaches, nausea, dizziness -
from the bites. We were told to eat healthy, drink lots of water, take tylenol
and wait it out. It wasn't life-threatening, but it certainly ruined two days
of our trip.

BTW, they do follow movement, so if you have long hair, tie it back or cover
it up, and don't wear loose and flowing clothing.

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