Bushwalk Australia

Ive been walking a fair bit in wet ferny areas. areas where I would expect to encounter leeches. but so far this spring/summer nothing...

Im not complaining!

I wonder if the long dry winter as reduced the leech population?

anyone been encountering significant leeches over the last few months?

Nope but have only been to drier areas and also had time off from walking.

Keen to know where they are prevalent, I'd rather ticks than leeches

Have read that they can last 2-3 months without rain.

There are plenty of leeches in Breakfast Creek and Carlons Creek, and near Marble Arch in Deua.

They were also swarming on top of Mt Solitary, despite the dry conditions, when I went to the wet ferny area upstream from Singa-Jinga-Well Creek.

Barrington Tops/Chichester has for the most part been dry too until the recent rains, with the region in the grips of drought.
However, I had one of the most 'leechy' walks ever after a very small shower in early January at Problem Creek Falls. It was like something out of a horror film. As soon as you stopped moving, dozens of leeches would be making their way to you. We were constantly flicking them off each other. As it had been so dry, I hadn't brought deet and ended up with 5 'friends' inside socks etc when I got back to camp. Ugh.
Rocking Crossing walk in a light drizzle of rain a few weeks back- plenty of leeches more up the Blue Gum Loop portion of the track and then they were few and far between the closer we got to Rocky Crossing.

I recently completed the Great North Walk from Sydney to Newcastle, and someone in our party got a leech on 13 out of the 14 days.

Was on a grassy point just upstream of Crosslands Reserve, Berowra Ck last Sunday. A dusk storm, people sitting on grass got a total of 4, none attached. A few days later, none seen as the same spot.

They had a light brown stripe.

In the Blue Mountains, I can't recall having ever seen a leech in sandstone country, regardless of how wet or lush.

However, get into basalt country, or below the sandstone cliffs in the Caley Formation, coal measures or Berry Siltstone, and it's whole different story.

Also, the Sydney sandstone doesn't seem to have the same leech-defying properties!

Until recently I hadn't encountered a leech for ages. It's been too dry for them. But several recent outings in the Blue Mountains have resulted in a minimum of one bite per trip, despite using repellant and other precautions. The still healing wound on my right foot in the photo below was from a trip on the upper Grose nearly three weeks ago. I had a warm sensation while walking and thought it was just a hot spot. As we weren't far from stopping to camp I ignored it. Later in the day I removed footwear and socks to go for a swim and discovered the biggest, fattest, engorged leech I've ever seen firmly attached to my foot . Oh, and blood everywhere. The itching and inflammation has mostly gone, but going on past experience it will likely be many more weeks before the residual bite mark finally disappears and it may leave a scar.

the itch is terrible isn't it?!
I had tried bite creams with a local anaesthetic, antihistamines etc with my recent bites to no avail. A work colleague (who was probably tiring of my whingeing and scratching) suggested sodium bicarbonate as a remedy, I drew it up in a syringe and then squirted it all over my bites and it really did stop them driving me insane. Although I 'borrowed' the sodi bic from our epidural trolley at work, essentially I think it is just baking soda and sterile water so could be replicated at home easily enough.

I hope it gets better.
This may shed some light on the itching subject
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214250914000031
This article mentions "In Australia, the terrestrial leech, Haemadipsidae, was the only blood-sucking invertebrate found to be a trypanosomal carrier"

While I have not heard of any established cases of infection, there is evidence leeches may be pathogen vectors, e.g. Hep B, HIV, Toxpoplasma, Plasmodium, Trypanosome
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8073013

This strongly supports the ethical case for destroying any blood engorged leeches you find.

Ms_Mudd wrote:the itch is terrible isn't it?!
I had tried bite creams with a local anaesthetic, antihistamines etc with my recent bites to no avail. A work colleague (who was probably tiring of my whingeing and scratching) suggested sodium bicarbonate as a remedy, I drew it up in a syringe and then squirted it all over my bites and it really did stop them driving me insane. Although I 'borrowed' the sodi bic from our epidural trolley at work, essentially I think it is just baking soda and sterile water so could be replicated at home easily enough.

Oh yes, the itch can be excruciating . I've tried many remedies with mixed results, but have found what works best for me is Eureka Tea Tree Oil Water Soluble Solution 20%. Nothing special, it's just the one you can buy in Woolies supermarket etc. It seems to relieve the itch and swelling much faster and more reliably than other remedies (YMMV).

Avatar wrote:I hope it gets better.
This may shed some light on the itching subject
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214250914000031
This article mentions "In Australia, the terrestrial leech, Haemadipsidae, was the only blood-sucking invertebrate found to be a trypanosomal carrier"

While I have not heard of any established cases of infection, there is evidence leeches may be pathogen vectors, e.g. Hep B, HIV, Toxpoplasma, Plasmodium, Trypanosome
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8073013

This strongly supports the ethical case for destroying any blood engorged leeches you find.

Thanks, it is getting better. I have read some of that before, but those are very good scientifically based articles and explanations. I just wish the leeches would read them and modify their behaviour . I have to admit I didn't destroy this particular individual. The bigger ones can be quite hard to destroy by hand, it's like trying to kill a piece of moving rubber.

I've had dozens of leech bites over the years, with no problem apart from the intense itching for three weeks after each bite. But this summer I had one that became infected.

One week after the bite, a lymph node in my groin swelled up to the size and hardness of an almond, although the leech bite still looked normal. By the next morning it was obvious that the bite was swollen and infected. My body didn't clear the infection, so after four days I went to the GP and was prescribed a course of Cefalexin. This didn't help, so I returned after five days and was prescribed a course of Dicloxacillin. After six days I saw signs of improvement and a couple of weeks later the infection had cleared and my lymph node subsided.

This photo shows what happened, but wasn't taken at the peak of the infection.

Looks nasty ribuck and obviously had been worse from your description. Keep an eye on things going forward in case prone to further infections after being bitten. Touch wood I have never had an infection but similar experience with many bites and aways the intense itch that takes a long time to settle down. Recent one was worse than usual.

Ever since I got an infection from one, although nothing compared to ribucks, I've been tucking my pant cuffs into my socks when I think I'm anywhere near a leech. Haven't had a bite since.

Maybe that old fashion hiking look of having pants tucked into long socks was born from practicality.

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All the more reason to avoid attachment/bite in the first place. Gaiters, tucking in and sprays.

No good at all Ribuck. Looks like a seriously nasty infection. Glad your nodes went down though. Out of interest, any issues with previous bites at all?
I have an appt next week at my GP to follow mine up, as I have swollen nodes in the left side of my groin after my early January bites (the horror film type leechy walk I mentioned above) that have still not resolved.
1.5 weeks after the bites I had IV fluids as I was tachycardic and febrile- although I actually felt okay, only presented to local rural ED re:lump discovery. The enlarged nodes were looked at under ultrasound and looked just like swollen lymph nodes, nothing sinister which was a relief. Unlike you though, my blood work showed no signs of bacterial infection , so my response was an over the top immune response and treated with antihistamines, not that I noticed any reduction in itching from taking them. Each time I have been exposed to leech bites, my physical response has become more and more exaggerated.
Bit annoying really, as my area is well known for leeches. Typically I manage to avoid them with appropriate clothing and DEET, but they are resourceful suckers (pun intended) and can be known to drop from great heights to get their target.

Lots of rain showers in the Barrington Tops area this past week. Rocky Crossing Track early Fri morn- leeches everywhere. I was leech free on return to the carpark, I don't think I could say the same of the walkers I passed on my way back close to the cottages, one noteworthy couple with the woman in a sundress with strappy sandals and the male shirtless Like an all you can eat buffet for leeches