Oak mites? Oak mites!

[cantunamunch]

And yes, they totally bite right through Lycra .

 

[scott43]

Ewwwww... I went into the bush yesterday for about 5 mins and got 10 mosquito bites..at least you can see those fuggers. Mites...ick...

 

[cantunamunch]

These things swell up to the size of blackfly bites...not as painful but fz8ck.

We're told they're expected all through leaf-fall. On our oaks that's like ~ March 2022.

I'm going gravel flannel jersey shopping. And maybe a third boiler suit.

 

[Tony S]

What?

 

[cantunamunch]

What?

Just another fun-loving little prank by our local? gods of pestilence.

 

[Tom K.]

Ewwwww... I went into the bush yesterday for about 5 mins and got 10 mosquito bites..at least you can see those fuggers. Mites...ick...

Ride -- ahem -- FASTER!

There is a ride in Oregon around Waldo Lake. An astounding 20 mile loop of old school, sometime rugged, always beautiful, pure singletrack.

I've done it twice with friends before Labor Day. The mosquitoes are so bad, that you never stop, and everybody agrees that if you flat, we'll see you back at the TH.

After about mid-September you couldn't find a mosquito to save your life.

 

[François Pugh]

I try to avoid going into the bush without my deep woods cologne for men.

I also keep an old bottle of ~99% DEET Muskol (the kind that eats steering wheels) in the car for emergencies.

 

[Tony S]

Muskol

I remember that!

 

[scott43]

I remember that!

Hard to forget. I remember it eating the foam handle on my fishing rod one summer deep in the woods of Algonquin Park.... I wonder how much I've ingested over the years....

 

[firebanex]

Things like this remind me why I live in Alaska. It's only mosquitos and gnats I have to deal with. Keeping it simple with only one or two different bitey things.

 

[dan ross]

I try to avoid going into the bush without my deep woods cologne for men.
View attachment 139274
I also keep an old bottle of ~99% DEET Muskol (the kind that eats steering wheels) in the car for emergencies.

I believe it will eat through ALL of your wheels....:but it works )

 

[dan ross]

Tons of rain here in Maine in June but I learned about a new thing- brown moths which were plentiful then - their wings emit an allergen. Everyone who worked outside was covered in a rash in June. New one for me. Bats, which have been absent for the last 10 years or so are making a slow comeback which is always helpful in controlling mosquitoes.

 

[Rudi Riet]

Ride -- ahem -- FASTER!

Oak mites don't care about speed. They are tiny - think like chiggers only much smaller - and they fit through the pores of most clothing. DEET doesn't faze them, either.

I ride with some semblance of speed and when I'm in an area heavy with oak trees I'll return with welts, even if I'm averaging over 20mph as I ride. The problem this year is due to the Brood X cicadas: they split the branches on oak trees to lay their eggs and in doing so gave the mites more freedom to explore.

I've found that taking an Allegra™ helps soften the itch of the welts these buggers leave behind. Diphenhydramine (a.k.a. Benadryl™) also helps but its drowsiness side-effect is not welcome.

 

[cantunamunch]

They are tiny - think like chiggers only much smaller - and they fit through the pores of most clothing. DEET doesn't faze them, either.

Just to give people an idea - they are smaller than the ashes of your wood fire. Easily small enough and light enough to fly wherever the wind blows them.

Staying on the pavement doesn't help - unless it's downtown-level urban. I'm kinda surprised I haven't inhaled a few by now.

 

[Tom K.]

Look guys, my "ride faster" quip to Scott was totally sarcastic.

So I'm sticking with it, facts be damned!

 

[scott43]

Look guys, my "ride faster" quip to Scott was totally sarcastic.

So I'm sticking with it, facts be damned!

Ha! It's totally legit and I assumed you meant mosquitoes!! Even worse is the damn deer flies, biting my ass off... 11km/h just ain't cutting it!!! I'm in deep scat if a bear finds me on an uphill....

 

[Jwrags]

I have never heard of oak mites and we have huge oak trees in our yard. Must not have them in this part of the country.

 

[cantunamunch]

I have never heard of oak mites and we have huge oak trees in our yard. Must not have them in this part of the country.

Lucky.

I had not heard of these things before this season either. Peculiar, 'coz the last two cicada broods were just as big.

 

[Rudi Riet]

Lucky.

I had not heard of these things before this season either. Peculiar, 'coz the last two cicada broods were just as big.

Given you don't have big cicada broods in the PNW, @Jwrags, it's not surprising that you don't have the oak mite issues.

I'm guessing it's the sheer size of Brood X - possibly combined with the warmer overall temperatures of this summer - that is making the oak mite issue such a big one in the Mid Atlantic.

 

[Jim Kenney]

My wife and I each have 3 or 4 unexplained welts on our torsos. We thought they might be spider bites, but kind of weird that we'd both get them same week; i e, last week. We live in Wash DC area.