As mentioned, it is no joke getting lots of leech bites - as the problem in
the tropics is that they can quickly turn septic. We had the problem in
Southern India & the lowland rainforests of Malaysia. After being leeched
several times we bought some closely woven white sheet material & went to
an Indian tailor (we were in India at the time or it would have been more
difficult) . We explained what we wanted & picked them up a couple of hours
later. They are the shape of large socks(Wellington boot) which pull up to
just below the knee and are either tied with a lace to hold them up or held
in place with elastic. You wear your ordinary socks into which you tuck
your trousers and put the leech proof socks over the top. I think that the
length of the socks is quite important as is the fine weave. Any leech can
easily be seen on the white material and tends to fall off before it
reaches the top. We never got leeched while wearing them - the trouble is
you look a bit of a wally when wearing them.
In India we also used a mixture of snuff and Castor oil which is
smeared over the boots - seemed to work - possibly in more ways than one!
Mostly we have sprayed our boots with 'Baygon' which we bought in
Malaysia. It is sold for killing cockcroaches and is particularly nasty
stuff - best to put your boots outside and spray them liberally and then
leave them for ten minutes to dry. If you get any on you make sure you wash
it off. It works very well and is the least hassle. If you go through too
much water it tends to wash off and needs spraying on more frequently. We
found this out in Eungella during a particularly wet time last February.
A final option is to wear red socks!!
Good leeching,
Chris Padley
P.S. Julian B. sends his regards - no leeches here in the U.K. but he got a
few ticks!
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