Hi, I'm going to be spending a month in Borneo this summer trekking in the jungle- can't wait! However, I have a very irrational fear of leeches and similar things. I know that I WILL get bitten by them at some point, it's impossible to avoid; I was just wondering if anyone has any tips on how to avoid bites as much as possible. Will gaters be useful? Thanks!



1. I haven't spent any time in leechy areas (yet) but a friend who has recommends the following (she's a primatologist).
Wear leech socks.
Avoid zip-off/sided trousers (they can get through the gaps in the zip).
Use DEET.
Avoid having a period there (eg time it or use birth control pills).
Check for them regularly.
Also, of course, take appropriate drinking-water precautions.

2. Well, I spent three months in Borneo, I stopped counting my leech bites after 3 weeks because my total number of bites was about 130 . Basically, your right in thinking you cant avoid them. Best bet is to wear shorts - that way, the leeches wont get too far up your leg before you notice they have struck and they are much easier to spot. Trousers are not a barrier, because they will go straight through the fabric. Most bites will be on your feet. Goretex boots are no deterrent, they can squeeze through the fabric so that when you take your shoes off you will find a sock full of soft pulsating leeches. Leech socks will stop them getting on your skin, but often you will find that they just make their way to your skin by crawling up to the top of them and into the sock.Deet will kill them and spraying your shoes with bleach will deter them, but if your trekking, you will have to do this every 5 minutes and its not really practical. Gaiters wont really help either, because they will just go straight through them. The most important thing to worry about regarding leeches is at the end of every day clean all of your bites with iodine and dry them with baby powder - otherwise they will just stay open and get infected. Honestly though. Dont worry about them too much. It is only in some areas that you will get leeches and if it hasn't been raining for a while you really notice their numbers go down.

3. In Nepal, I saw people sprinkling salt on Leeches. They curled and just fell down in no time. So take pocketful of ordinary cooking salt...

4. Agree with the salt. If you just pull at a leech then it makes it worse. Sprink some salt onto the bit that it's sucking and give it a flick and it should just come off. Though you'll need to carry it in a suitable container cos the humidity will make the salt clog. You can't really feel leeches either but once you notice they're there then you kind of convince yourself that you can feel them sucking your blood....

5. be careful about applying salt to leeches as this will cause they distress and they will simply vomit their stomach contents into the wound before they fall off, which can cause infection and/or disease (if the leech is carrying any) also try not to simply pull them off as they will leave parts of their jaw in the wound and will probably vomit into you too. a way that i was told is to break the seal of the oral sucker by pushing your fingernail along the skin against the leech, it will detach it's jaw and you can flick it away. Don't worry if the wound bleeds for a while, leeches secrete an anticoagulant which stops the blood clotting and keeps it free flowing for them to suck. if you are going to encounter ticks, my parasitology prof told us the best way to remove them is with a pair of tweezers, twisting them anticlockwise (to unlock their jaw) and pulling them out. again, distress will cause regurgitation of their stomachs and they can carry some nasty diseases. they will also leave their jaws in the wound if simply pulled out.