Those who make their living outdoors tell us their secrets

Aug 24, 2009 04:30 AM 

Trish Crawford, Living Reporter

Okay, it's war.

This wet summer has been a procreating bonanza for mosquitoes who lay their eggs in stagnant water. But you don't have to take their buzzing and biting lying down.

The Star went to the experts in the field – provincial parks staff who battle these bloodsucking attackers daily – to learn their wily lessons of self-protection.

While the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care says products containing DEET are the only insect repellent proven scientifically to work, our bug fighters resort to homemade solutions ranging from donning oily rags to lighting smoky fires.

At Chutes Provincial Park, on the Aux Sables River, the mosquitoes are so bad this year that "the maintenance crews are just running behind the lawn mowers," says assistant superintendent Mike Stoneman.

To keep the insects out, he says, it's customary to cover the body from head to toe, including gloves and boots. He often wears a bandana under his hat or he soaks a rag with diesel fuel, wring its out and attaches it to the back of his hard hat, "like the French Foreign Legion."

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