It was much like this back in 2016 but not quite as bad.
We were on an extended trip across Victoria from West to East.
The mozzies were horrific & you couldn't even sit under your caravan awning for 5 minutes at any time of day or night.
We even had to call into a vet clinic to get repellent for our dog.
In every town we went through the supermarkets had sold out of all types of repellent.
We managed to get some Tropical Strength sh*t from Aldi, it actually attracted the Bast*rds.
Whenarewethere said
02:17 PM Nov 17, 2022
2016 we travelled around NSW, everything was green, water in a lot of places, in the end we drove home due to more rain, had had enough, car was washed clean from underneath from pools of water, but fortunately no mosquito issues.
Craig1 said
05:53 PM Nov 17, 2022
If at home, beer, mouth wash(blue is best) and bath salts, mix and spray anywhere under, plants, tubs, deck etc
Giggleswick said
06:01 PM Nov 17, 2022
Better than a mice plague then again maybe not
Ivan 01 said
06:03 PM Nov 17, 2022
Encephalitis is a real risk and much worse during times after floods.
Any traveller to those areas should be very aware of the threat and take appropriate precautions.
86GTS said
06:19 PM Nov 17, 2022
We've got the trifecta down here in Victoria, Ross River Fever, Buruli Ulcer & Japanese Encephelitis.
Whenarewethere said
06:23 PM Nov 17, 2022
I remember the sand flies in south west New Zealand. It didn't matter how much insect repellant you put on, it didn't work. You go mental with the number of insects.
You couldn't even go to the toilet, 1s or 2s, without all exposed surfaces looking like the surface of lychee nuts!
Ivan 01 said
06:23 PM Nov 17, 2022
86GTS wrote:
We've got the trifecta down here in Victoria, Ross River Fever, Buruli Ulcer & Japanese Encephelitis.
Unfortunately many mosquito borne diseases are not isolated to designated areas these days.
Wannabe nomad said
05:28 PM Nov 18, 2022
Very soon we are expecting the mozzies to increase rapidly down south too.
Whenarewethere said
06:17 PM Nov 18, 2022
This ARB screen enclosure is brilliant. The only issue we have is that because it is attached to the car you can't drive off. Maybe I can modify it.
If buying one again I would buy a separate enclosure. Three sides of this one fully open, so great for hot weather. It has a built in floor & ceiling & having a ceiling under the awning creates great double layer heat barrier.
A fly swat is really handy to belt the one or two that get in while you enter or exit.
86GTS said
06:19 PM Nov 18, 2022
Wannabe nomad wrote:
Very soon we are expecting the mozzies to increase rapidly down south too.
Victoria is down South & they're already here in plague proportions in many areas.
Wannabe nomad said
11:41 PM Nov 18, 2022
Sorry I meant right down south as in Mannum, Murray Bridge and the Murray Mouth.
Mike Harding said
07:27 AM Nov 19, 2022
The large-ish IGA in the small Victorian town in which I shopped yesterday was almost out of stock of all mozzie repellent products, however they did have some Aeroguard Tropical Strength still, exactly the same product I buy in Safeway for $10, but priced at $18! I left it on the shelf.
Wow, have never seen mozzies that bad & hope never to.
That said we have never lived in the middle of a rainforest throughout a tropical wet season as we will be this year.
Sounds like it was a smart move to stock up on mozzie repellant when we did, by mail order a month or two back. Don't like any of the sprays, Deet or non Deet. Have found the RID Tropical strength (about 20% DEET) roll-on 'milk' - (2 sizes 50ml & 100ml) to be the most bearable & is the one most used by others around here which is telling. Bushmans do a spray with 40% DEET, but the 'milk' is far less unpleasant & seems to do the job. Coles used to do an own brand equivalent, same ingredients/made in Australia, probably the same stuff, still have one left, but could not find it listed on their web site this year.
At the moment the mozzies are no better nor worse than they have been since we got here at the end of the last Wet season, a few around at dawn & dusk. It's the biting Blackflies which have started making their presence felt in the past 10 days or so. Not huge numbers, but they sure do nip, through clothing too.
There are reports of Japanese Encephalitis being present on the Cape too this year, apparently spread by wild pigs? Don't think the risk is as high as down in NSW & Vic though, no mention of vaccines up here that I know of.
-- Edited by Cuppa on Saturday 19th of November 2022 10:12:58 AM
86GTS said
10:19 AM Nov 20, 2022
Cuppa wrote:
Wow, have never seen mozzies that bad & hope never to.
That said we have never lived in the middle of a rainforest throughout a tropical wet season as we will be this year.
Sounds like it was a smart move to stock up on mozzie repellant when we did, by mail order a month or two back. Don't like any of the sprays, Deet or non Deet. Have found the RID Tropical strength (about 20% DEET) roll-on 'milk' - (2 sizes 50ml & 100ml) to be the most bearable & is the one most used by others around here which is telling. Bushmans do a spray with 40% DEET, but the 'milk' is far less unpleasant & seems to do the job. Coles used to do an own brand equivalent, same ingredients/made in Australia, probably the same stuff, still have one left, but could not find it listed on their web site this year.
At the moment the mozzies are no better nor worse than they have been since we got here at the end of the last Wet season, a few around at dawn & dusk. It's the biting Blackflies which have started making their presence felt in the past 10 days or so. Not huge numbers, but they sure do nip, through clothing too.
There are reports of Japanese Encephalitis being present on the Cape too this year, apparently spread by wild pigs? Don't think the risk is as high as down in NSW & Vic though, no mention of vaccines up here that I know of.
-- Edited by Cuppa on Saturday 19th of November 2022 10:12:58 AM
We've spent lots of time in the Tropics & Top End & have never seen as many mozzies as in Victoria after rain & flies in outback QLD/NSW after rain.
The millions of mosquitoes reminds me when we were in Kakadu NP, luckily we had a full screen enclosure.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-16/mosquitoes-in-plague-proportions-in-flood/101659516
We were on an extended trip across Victoria from West to East.
The mozzies were horrific & you couldn't even sit under your caravan awning for 5 minutes at any time of day or night.
We even had to call into a vet clinic to get repellent for our dog.
In every town we went through the supermarkets had sold out of all types of repellent.
We managed to get some Tropical Strength sh*t from Aldi, it actually attracted the Bast*rds.
2016 we travelled around NSW, everything was green, water in a lot of places, in the end we drove home due to more rain, had had enough, car was washed clean from underneath from pools of water, but fortunately no mosquito issues.
Any traveller to those areas should be very aware of the threat and take appropriate precautions.
I remember the sand flies in south west New Zealand. It didn't matter how much insect repellant you put on, it didn't work. You go mental with the number of insects.
You couldn't even go to the toilet, 1s or 2s, without all exposed surfaces looking like the surface of lychee nuts!
Unfortunately many mosquito borne diseases are not isolated to designated areas these days.
This ARB screen enclosure is brilliant. The only issue we have is that because it is attached to the car you can't drive off. Maybe I can modify it.
If buying one again I would buy a separate enclosure. Three sides of this one fully open, so great for hot weather. It has a built in floor & ceiling & having a ceiling under the awning creates great double layer heat barrier.
A fly swat is really handy to belt the one or two that get in while you enter or exit.
Victoria is down South & they're already here in plague proportions in many areas.
The large-ish IGA in the small Victorian town in which I shopped yesterday was almost out of stock of all mozzie repellent products, however they did have some Aeroguard Tropical Strength still, exactly the same product I buy in Safeway for $10, but priced at $18! I left it on the shelf.
Wow, have never seen mozzies that bad & hope never to.
That said we have never lived in the middle of a rainforest throughout a tropical wet season as we will be this year.
Sounds like it was a smart move to stock up on mozzie repellant when we did, by mail order a month or two back. Don't like any of the sprays, Deet or non Deet. Have found the RID Tropical strength (about 20% DEET) roll-on 'milk' - (2 sizes 50ml & 100ml) to be the most bearable & is the one most used by others around here which is telling. Bushmans do a spray with 40% DEET, but the 'milk' is far less unpleasant & seems to do the job. Coles used to do an own brand equivalent, same ingredients/made in Australia, probably the same stuff, still have one left, but could not find it listed on their web site this year.
At the moment the mozzies are no better nor worse than they have been since we got here at the end of the last Wet season, a few around at dawn & dusk. It's the biting Blackflies which have started making their presence felt in the past 10 days or so. Not huge numbers, but they sure do nip, through clothing too.
There are reports of Japanese Encephalitis being present on the Cape too this year, apparently spread by wild pigs? Don't think the risk is as high as down in NSW & Vic though, no mention of vaccines up here that I know of.
-- Edited by Cuppa on Saturday 19th of November 2022 10:12:58 AM
We've spent lots of time in the Tropics & Top End & have never seen as many mozzies as in Victoria after rain & flies in outback QLD/NSW after rain.