BLOODSUCKING STILETTOS

Whether you bike, trike, hike, or fly a kite, within seconds after stepping into Alaska you'll run into your goliath----killer mosquitoes.

From the beginning, Rick and I have waged a losing battle with these little buggers.  What has kept us sane and steady has been an ample supply of DEET--compliments of Marge, Rick's wife.  

"Mosquitoes are the reigning champions in the 'Most Annoying Bug' category," according to a writer in the Huffington Post.  If you think the lower 48 mosquitoe variety is the same thing, Alaskan researchers would respectfully disagree.  In recent field work, Jesse Krause spent 78 days in the very part of Alaska we've just pedaled through--the Toolik Field Station.  

Here's what his research discovered.  Alaskan mosquitoes  . . . 

• are notoriously aggressive & large
• can drive entire caribou herds from feeding grounds
• swarm
• crawl up sleeves and pant legs

The Alaskan Dispatch notes that recent batches of mosquitoes are, "nastier than they've been in years . . . and seem to be growing in number."  Consider this (I have, since I share a tent with these beasties), one researcher exposed a bare arm in the Alaskan tundra and five minutes later had an ouching 435 bites.  It gets worse--500,000 mosquitoes and one naked man in the Alaskan woods will end in the man's death withinin three hours due to blood loss!

Why?  Why are there so many mosquitoes in Alaska?  My guess is that we've messed with their habitat in a way that has extended their turf.  That is, when the permafrost warms, (often through oil exploration) it forms thermakarsts (big holes filled with water) and thus more and more mosquitoe breeding grounds have been created.

Moral of the story:  never run naked through the woods for more than three hours.  OR better, know thy enemy and be prepared by ample supplies of face / body nets, DEET (my favorite), or by investing in mosquitoe patches--each patch will effectively combat the stiletto-beaked bugs for up to 48 (not 49) hours.

Or, ride a bike faster than seven mph, thus out running the mighty blood-suckers :)  

(LIZ-ENDING:  I hope you've enjoyed reading this blog as much as I have enjoyed researching it.)