Leeches On Your Trail

Hi guys!

Leeches vary in size and appearance in different parts of the world. In the Philippines, they are relatively small in size ranging from 1-3 centimeters long. Their diameter is usually small, just like a baby earthworm's body but they have the same blood sucking abilities as their bigger counterparts. Due to their small size, they could enter even the nose or eyes once they get the chance. Their commonly called "limatik" but different towns and provinces also have their own term for leeches.

Photo courtesy of pinoymountaineer.com

Do you always encounter leeches on your trails? What are the characteristics of leeches in your area?

Here's an article about the leeches in our country with a list of mountains which are infested with these blood suckers just in case you would soon visit one of these mountains someday:

Limatik (blood leeches): an overview - Pinoy Mountaineer

 

Ewww I have the creeps now. Wow they can get in your nose and eyes? They'd think they was in deep jungle if they got in my nose.

I have not seen a leach in these parts.

 

That's a whole lotta nope from me... I'm having Wrath of Khan bad special effects flashbacks.

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Lol! The thought of them entering the eyes and nose are indeed kinda creepy. There was this place where we used to hike every week before which had a lot of these small leeches along the way after a rainy day. This was back when I was still in college when we would go in groups to the mountainside for immersion. We would usually wear long boots and light colored plastic pants to protect ourselves from leeches. They can easily be seen with light colored outfits so we could immediately remove them from our pants whenever they come sticking onto us.

 

I remember when I was 9 we lived in norther Michigan 35 miles south of the upper peninsula. We were playing in a local river called the Black River, and it was black, it looked like someone poured ink in it. Must've been the soil color that made it look that way. Great trout stream and yes plenty of leeches. My brother, who is a year older than i, came running up the bank screaming his head off like he was dieing. He ran up to dad and held his foot up to show him a leech that was stuck to his ankle. I guess he thought it was going to suck all his blood out or something. That would've been fine with me cause he picked on me all the time, the ole bully. We get along great now, but it took him over 40 years to realize my superior intellect. Anyhow dad liked his cigars back then, and the glowing end from the swisher sweet cigar ended that that little blood sucker, and silenced my whining brother.

Oh great I got the creeps now from thinking about them things. Eewww. They do say they make excellent bait for walleye fish. Yum

 

I never really knew how it felt for a leech to suck on my blood but I could really imagine how your brother felt that time especially if the leech was big. I notice how easily they succumb to fire and heat though. I once tried burning one before and it really coiled itself fast, giving in to the heat of the fire. Due to the thin characteristics of leeches here though, I sometimes mistake them for small earthworms but when I look at them closely and realize that they're leeches, I automatically feel the need to burn them before they suck on my blood.

 

In one camping during my scouting days, we passed by a lagoon which was infested by mosquitoes. As we waded, we boys were so engrossed in driving away the mosquitoes that we were unaware of the leeches that were sticking on our legs. When we came out of the water and a bit far from the lagoon, that’s the time we noticed those sticky creatures. We were all in a mad rush to pull the leeches from our legs much more when our scoutmaster said that those leeches may suck all our blood and we can die. Of course, that was a joke but boys do not know that it was just a joke.

 

Yikes! Just seeing the pictures gives me the creeps I really don't like leeches and anything that's slimy and long as they give me goosebumps because I'm totally scared to them. I saw a leech before when I was a kid and I remember having a nightmare about it. One of my not-so-good experience in my childhood.

 

Yeh them things are yuck. I hate when they get between your toes and latch on. Eeww. I have heard walleye fish love em.