5. Protection from midges and insects. Safety. Removing the camp

Midges and insects - mosquitoes, flies, midges, horseflies, gadflies, wood lice, ticks, sand flies - can cause a lot of trouble on a hike. Some of them are also carriers of pathogenic bacteria.

Which insects are most active and when?

Horseflies are most active in sunny weather, midges are active during daylight hours, midges and mosquitoes are active around the clock. Clothing and various repellents, for example, the preparations “Taiga”, “Taboo”, “At a halt”, cologne “Gvozdika” and others produced by industry can protect against them.

If there are no repellents, then other means must be used. The face, neck, and ears can be protected, for example, with a mosquito net, a beekeeper's hat, or a gauze net. A homemade mosquito net can be made from nylon stockings cut across, stretched onto rings of such a diameter that the lower part rests on the shoulders and the upper part on the headdress.

A homemade ointment made from mixed equal parts of pine resin and petroleum jelly works well to repel mosquitoes and midges. A mosquito net impregnated with a mixture of dimethyl phthalate (1 part) and flammable film dissolved in it (4 parts) can serve as a good repellent for the entire season and even longer.

Mosquito bites can be lubricated with a solution of a teaspoon of baking soda in two glasses of water or ammonia. The best protection against ticks is lubrication with clove oil or dimethyl phthalate. A tick that has been absorbed into the skin should be lubricated with a thick layer of sunflower oil, Vaseline, and other fat. After 30-40 minutes, the tick weakens due to lack of air and is easily removed. After removing the tick, wash your hands with soap or wipe with cologne.

By placing damp grass, leaves, and rotten birch on the fire, you get a smoker that disperses insects. A tin of smoking coals can be brought into the tent, smoked out insects and the entrance tightly closed.

Places where flies accumulate should be doused with boiling water; Do not leave food or its remains or slops open.

It is good to place bivouacs near bird cherry bushes, which flies do not like. Fresh wormwood, tansy stems, and wild rowan are good at driving flies and mosquitoes out of the tent.

Insect bites can be treated by lubricating the bitten area with mashed plantain leaves and fresh wormwood juice. For bee and wasp stings, you can use thyme, black nightshade, tansy, and dandelion. Fresh juice from plant leaves and white dandelion juice are applied to the bite site. Plants and their juices must be used with caution, some of them are poisonous.

Safety

Axes, saws, and knives must be carried in a sheath. At rest stops, sharp tools are stored in one place; no need to stick them into trees (especially at human height); When spending the night, axes are placed under the tent at the entrance. Always wear gloves when using a saw or an axe. When cutting off the branches of a lying tree, be on the other side of the trunk. Don't throw knives and axes into trees.

Those on duty at the fire must be dressed and shod, have gloves. Fire fliers, a crossbar or a rope for hanging buckets must be reliable; Do not place dishes containing hot food or boiling water where they could be stepped on or knocked over. When preparing food, you should use a ladle with a long handle.

When using primus stoves, especially in a tent, it is advisable to have a homemade camp kitchen. The folding frame of the kitchen is made from a duralumin corner; The pans are placed in the holes of the metal sheet. Primus stoves are placed under the sheet on a stand. The frame is covered with fiberglass on the sides.

When lighting a primus stove, do not lean over it: the fire can flare up like a large torch and burn your face.

First of all, however, it is necessary to observe safety measures when choosing a place for camp, as already mentioned above.

Removing the camp

At the beginning, it is advisable to pack your backpacks. In winter or rain it is better to do this in a tent. If it is warm and clear, then all things are taken out of the tent and dried. If necessary, the tent and sleeping bags are turned inside out, shaken out, and dried in the sun or in your hands by the fire.

Pegs and stands, if they are not carried with you, are left near the stacked remains of firewood. If barriers, benches, or tables are made in the camp, they are left intact for other possible guests.

Leftover waste food is kept aside for forest birds and animals. Garbage is collected and burned, non-flammable garbage is taken with them, and on long trips it is buried. The fire is then extinguished (with water, snow, earth).

Before leaving, the guards check to see if any things have been forgotten, if the fire is well extinguished, and if the camp site is tidy.

The parking lot must be left in the same condition as it was before you arrived, or even better. Those who come after you should like this place. It goes without saying that living trees and shrubs and wildlife should not be harmed by your intrusion. This immutable law must be observed without exception, which will preserve not only nature, but also our morality, our ethics, our souls.