NRDC’sPerrin Ireland talked to microbiologist Shannon Bennett, who studies Zika and mosquitos. Bennett explained that some species of mosquitos thrive particularly well in urban settings — feasting on humans and spreading viruses in the process.
A few days ago Jason and I went on an amazing hike! It was quite the adventure, to say the least. Snow, rocks, rushing water, amazing views, bugs, it had it all. Who would have thought I’d be hiking through snow in the middle of July? The summit is amazing, with a 360 view of the Cascades and surrounding area.
If you have never been on this hike I strongly suggest it! Although if you aren’t prepared for the snow, like me, it can be a little dangerous. Also bring bug spray! The mosquitos were unbelievably terrible.
Every year I see dry ice marketed for use by campers, and it’s certainly effective for keeping things cooler longer, but I never see anyone talk about the fact that it’s a tick magnet, to the point that a cooler containing dry ice, even fully closed, is the go-to lure used by field researchers who WANT to attract as many ticks as possible. Here are some tick traps in action:
The fact that people are told to take dry ice with them into the woods, and not told that this is a thing, feels kind of glaring to me???
This happens because dry ice is solid carbon dioxide, and the carbon dioxide in our breath is what ticks use to track us. Not just ticks, either; mosquitoes and other blood-feeding organisms also rely on it. I’ve never been camping myself, but I imagine if you do use dry ice, you should keep it away from where you intend to sit, eat or sleep.
Makes sense.
But also Yikes!
Seems like the best thing to do when you’re going camping is not to bring dry ice at all. Because leaving the dry ice in the car would make the drive home surprisingly unpleasant.
Dehydrated food that doesn’t need refrigeration seems like the best bet (and there’s a lot more good choices for that, too, these days.
