Attacked by Leeches- TMI Photos

[LotsofLeeches]

My friend and I went on a 3 day remote area hike in tropical Australia. We are experienced hikers and normally deal with leeches in a sensible manner.

This was something else- on our 3rd day hiking out, we experienced a leech attack of biblical proportions- we actually couldn’t stop to remove them because every 10 we got off, 20 more would climb on while we were stationary. We couldn’t sit down anywhere as they were just oozing out of the ground. The track was very overgrown so our legs and torsos and heads were constantly brushing against foilage, letting the fuckers get all over us.

My friend had them in her mouth. I had them deep inside my eyelid- twice. Friend acted as an emergency medic and heroically tweezered them out. Sadly we don’t have a photo of this as we were already at maximum freak-out.

Enjoy the photos of our leechy legs.

You're so lucky! I'd love to pick up some leeches.

Re. getting them off, in the memoir 'Wild Swans' a peasant girl removed them from Jung Chang's legs in a paddy field by slapping her legs just above the leeches which dislodged them so they fell off.

THIS IS THE WORST ONE YET. DO NOT LOOK IF SQUEAMISH

Friend just sent through- was on her camera, not mine. Watch the shoelace eyelet.

Oozy Leech

Australia isn't paradise, it's where all the bloody crazy animals, insects, reptiles and arachnids live!! Now I can add leeches to that list!!
I visited my brother, me and DH slept in DB's bed and he had the single room. We were there a week. Recently asked DB if he ever saw a huntsman spider and he told me one had been living in the light fan over his BED!!! 😱😱😱

I love huntsman spiders. The patterns around their eyes are beautiful.

Omg that really is traumatising. If someone was injured and fell or passed out they'd completely cover your whole body, and go inside as well!!
Why did they used to use leeches in medicine? Are they the same ones that you had? Also, I know it sounds gross but can you eat them?

Invest in leech proof socks! An absolute essential for wet tropical forest trekking. They’re a tight weave sock that they can’t penetrate attached to a waterproof gator. Then wear thick enough trousers that they can’t get through. You still have to watch the parts where clothes meet (where your top tucks into your trousers for example) but they’re an absolute game changer of a weapon against them. It didn’t stop the ruddy tiger leeches climbing up trees and dropping down to get to me but it meant the majority of the critters coming from ground up couldn’t get hold of anywhere and could just be flicked off.

I assume it was raining? The critters can live for 6 months+ without food and come out when then sense the warmth of a mammal body and the conditions are right. Amazing really if it wasn’t so disgusting.

I’ve had a similar experience in north/central Borneo. Everything being wrapped up massively reduced them - but the carpets of wiggly waving leeches trying to get only you was truly foul! My guide said it just depended on the conditions, it was really wet and he said a wild boar had been there the week before (he showed me the tracks) so the leeches move to where food is.

I slept under a tarp on a groundsheet and for hours that evening I sat flicking hoards of leeches away that we’re trying to get to me. In the end I wriggled to the bottom of my sleeping bag, pulled it as tight as it would go, twisted the remaining opening and slept on it. I must have moved during the night to expose a tiny bit of the top of my head though and they had a feast 🤢

@LotsofLeeches ... you're a lost cause 😂

They still do!! Certain medical conditions are still being cured with leeches. Specially bred ones of course, no random wild leeches but leeches all the same

Oh god, I'm going somewhere this summer that's known for leeches, and we're trekking in the jungle. I've equipped myself with repellant and leech socks, but it had not occured to me that they would go for your EYES!! <faints>

I never knew this and worked in NSW for 6 months! Apart from this, I bet you are having an amazing time.

OMG. I feel you're very calm about this OP.
I'd still be up a tree screaming.

Wow, thanks for posting this. I have been well and truly educated...

I want to see, but I cant make the link work. Please post it

Maybe you can eat them. Kind of like a black pudding, I suppose. But to eat them, they first would have had to feast on you.

Oh dear. I wasn’t sure if it would post right. How to I upload a video? I’m on an iPad.

Christ on a bike!!

The leeches were all over tree foilage too. There was nowhere to run.

@LotsofLeeches if they feasted on a really posh wagyu beef cow, then I'd eat them, I do love black pudding, and snails?! Haha.
Are you feeling alright now?
Do the locals not have some special way to stop them munching? I guess there were no locals, with good reason!

We slathered ourselves in DEET but that didn’t work. You can buy fancy anti leech gaiters which we will consider next time. We just underestimated how overgrown the track was going to be and that it was going to be leech nirvana.

I have done many tropical hikes and leeches have never been more than a mild nuisance before. This was something else.

Yes, the leech day was rain day. And we saw three wild pigs and heaps of evidence of where they rutted up the track. Very interesting.

How do they get in your eyes?! Do they jump at you?! Do they worm their way up from ground level?!
The only time I've seen anything about leeches was on Stand by Me, I thought they were just really slow sneaky vampire slugs!

Tempted to buy this now for my jungle trip:

And this is why I don't hike. Or go to jungles. Or Australia.

Off to rinse my eyeballs in bleach.

So at one point wait-a-while knocked off my hat and glasses. (Wait-a-while is an evil vine with razor hooked tendrils that pretty much shreds you. Sometimes known as lawyer vine because once it gets its hooks into you…..) My friend had to find my glasses as I was blind as a bat. In the kerfuffle, I left my hat behind. Without a brimmed hat, the leeches could then drop down from my hair into my eyes.