So I went hiking monday morning... The day after some hefty rains.
And while i thought the standing water and lack of dust on the trail was pretty cool, the amount of gnats and other flying insecti was horrible...
They were congregating on the sunny side of rocks by the bazillions. I had to run part of the way to get past some of the clouds. It was pretty bad. Now im not much of a runner, but it sure beats getting carried away by insects to be consumed later.
I was hiking Usery Monday morning and found the same thing. Nasty little critters! With the rain comes the bugs. Which is better, Dry air-no bugs, or, wet air-lots of bugs?......It's a toss up. :
Just be glad we aren't living in the swamps of Houston (or Louisiana or Florida for that matter). There is a constant cloud of bugs - primarily mosquitoes - rain or no rain. But that 90% humidity is awfully good for the skin... :verymad:
Those little blood-suckers are so plentiful down there they'll bleed you dry in a matter of minutes.
I actually became somewhat imune to the itching after a couple of years.
Don't even get me started on Brazil - the mosquitoes they have there that can carry off a small child.....
I don't miss that stuff AT ALL - I'll take the gnats thank you...
'Weird is a relative, not an absolute.' - A. Einstein
Back in the years, '75 through '92, when I was running the trails around Walnut Creek, CA after work, I hated warm, damp weather; I'd be going along at a good pace and spot a swarm of gnats ahead of me and hold my breath as I went through....but then there are the ones I didn't see ....inhale....chew...spit....
I'd get home with a pound or two of gnats plastered to my forehead, mustache and beard and tell my daughter.."come give your dad a great big hug"....Don't think I have to say what her response was!
Hooli, aka Trihairopelli
"They say the dog is man's best friend.
I don't believe that. How many of your friends have you neutered?"
--Larry Reeb
I guess buying a townhouse right next to a golfcourse wasn't a good idea - I have ducks waking me up in the middle of the night, I had to put up extra fencing so my little dogs won't get out onto the golf course and now I have swarms of gnats all over my house!
I noticed this morning a clump of gnats hovering inside of my house, right next to my patio door. Is there anything good for getting rid of these guys? I thought it was the lake causing so many gnats, but now realize it's the addition of the humidity from the monsoon season. I learn so much from this site!
Route Editor
Route Scout
....inhale....chew...spit....
