Anti leech socks
 

For anyone heading out to the jungles of Borneo or anywhere else that leeches may be omnipresent (Kathie, are you listening?), my husband has found what appears to be a good substitute for anti-leech socks. The Sportsmans Guide has waterproof socks, called Seal Skinz, at 2 for $19.97 (watch out for the $8.00 shipping though). If they are waterproof, I assume leeches can't penetrate them either. Since we need to buy 2 pairs, this seems like a decent deal.
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/

Thanks for the info, Laurie. I'm waiting until I get to Borneo.

Laurie, remember that the point of the leech socks is for your traveling companion to be able to see the leech crawling up your leg and knock it off before it finds a place to attach! Are the Seal Skinz light colored so you can see the leech? That's the important thing. The leech wants bare skin to attach and it will crawl up you until it finds it. As I understand it, leeches cannot attach through clothing (I guess unless it had a VERY loose weave).

laurie---will i also need my glasses to see the leeches?? don't forget to bring them as pets to S&T at GTG....

Kathie, actually, they are black. You make a good point but we will wear them with our pants tucked into the socks so they can't get through. If they make it up to the pants, we'll see them. I plan on buying leech socks in Borneo as well, these are just insurance in case we don't find them the first day.

Bob, I haven't forgotten. But what do I tell the customs agent?

there should be some interesting trip reports eminating out of Borneo....looking forward to it!

hawaiiantraveler, if there are, it won't be because of you--you did give me the site to buy the leech socks but $50 for two pair just seemed too high. If my trip report has details of pulling leeches out of our skin, you can laugh and say "I told you!" ;-)

required viewing prior to your Borneo trip: the leech scene from the African Queen.

Kathie, speaking of leech scenes, I sent the dvd out to you today.

I haven't seen The African Queen in a couple of years. Great movie but I think I'll watch it again AFTER the trip!

laurie, many thanks for sending the dvd

laurie---just tell the truth...they are your pets...you take them every place you go...they have been to mexico, canada, europe, africa, mars and have lived to tell the tale...ask him if he wants to talk to them?? and also tell him that they speak 5 languages, including governemnt ese...

they will allow them in and detain eric.

hi laurieco

i hope your leech socks work but i must say, the leeches can elongate into a thin stringy thing that can get into any crevice - not meaning to alarm you. also, some leeches are hanging from leaves on the trees too. sorry

my solution has been to try to spot them as soon as they latch on and try to flick them off, usually with a twig or something. and i walk first and fast coz once you pass an area, the vibrations alert the leeches and are more likely to latch onto the next person.

also, i carry a little bag of salt. coz when in contact with salt, the leeches kinda curl up and hopefully drop off. they dont like ash either. i never had to use the salt before though.

hope this helps.

Thanks hornbill. I think I'm going to be sick.

very sorry. you know i have been to quite a few treks here - up mount kinabalu, then gunung api in mulu then some of the little treks in and around kuching where i live and i have only ever had a leech maybe twice! its really not so bad. and they are not so bad creatures - they only look bad

I'm certainly relieved to hear that leeches are not as pervasive as I was led to believe. They truly seem too disgusting for words. When I told my husband about them, his response was "and we're going there because?"

I went backpacking in Yosemite National Park last fall. My friend slid down some moss covered rocks into a beautiful emerald pool. When he got out, his girlfriend notices something on the back of his legs. Turns out they were some sort of fresh water leech (we had trouble finding much info on them) but she had to pick several off his leggs and butt. Other than being a little gross, it was no big deal (but then it didn't happen to me). I'll have to tell him to check the web site to see if they have leech proof boxers :-) If only I had my camera ready for the deleeching!