THE COMPLETE OUTDOORSMANS HANDBOOK.pdf - Doczine

mosquitos and blackflies. A head net is very effective where these two insects are most troublesome, butgenerally the peak deerfly and horsefly season is in the summer when hot weather makes a head neteven more uncomfortable than deerfly or horsefly bites.Both of these insects are most common in areas where cattle and horses are abundant or in good biggamecountry. The more deer, elk, or moose in an area, the more deerflies and horseflies. If you arerambling about in big game country hoping to see, photograph, or bag a deer, elk, or moose, you willhave to put up with these flies during the summer and early fall.CHIGGERS AND ITCH MITESChiggers are almost microscopic. One of these little red devils is about 1/200 (.005) of an inch long.They live on vegetation brush and tall grass and are picked up on your clothing as you walk by. Oncethey hitch a ride on a human, they crawl into the warm areas - under the armpits, under the wristwatchstrap, and into the groin.The itch mite is about the same size as the chigger and is white or pale yellow in color. The femaleburrows under the skin and lays eggs. As it burrows, it feeds on the tissue and releases a toxin thatdissolves tissues and causes swelling and itching.If you are traveling in chigger and itch mite country, keep away from stands of thick, lush vegetationwhenever possible. Keeping pantlegs inside boots may also help. Dusting ankles, wrists, necklines, andother exposed areas with powdered sulphur is a good bet if chiggers or itch mites are really bad. In theevenings, if at all possible, take hot, soapy baths or a shower. Water will wash chiggers and itch mitesoff. There are also ointments on the market that kill both of these insects. Drugstores in chigger and itchmite country generally stock these ointments.TICKSTicks are very common insect pests. They live by sucking blood. They can also transmit a diseaseknown as spotted fever, but this disease is not at all prevalent. Most ticks are brown or green in colorand are about one quarter of an inch long - before they gorge themselves with blood. Bloodfilled ticksmay be several times the length of ticks that have not fed.Ticks are picked up off vegetation and, like chiggers, they crawl to some area of bare skin. Here theybite painlessly through the skin and bury their heads in. A favorite area for ticks on humans is the backof the neck along the hairline or the back of the ears. When traveling in known tick country, check yourclothing carefully and your body every night. Insect repellent sprayed on clothing acts as a deterrent tosome extent.Exercise great care when removing ticks to insure that you do not simply tear off the body and leave theinsect's head or mouth parts under the skin where they may fester. Ticks may be removed with tweezersin one hand and a pin or needle in the other. The pin or needle is used to pry the mouth loose. A slower