Northern Olympic Peninsula mosquitoes? (Port Angeles, Port Townsend: apartments, neighborhood, camping)

[TribalCat]

I'm looking into moving to either Port Townsend, Sequim or Port Angeles, and I wanted to find out what the mosquito situation is there. I'm basically living in the desert now and haven't seen a mosquito since I moved here nine years ago. With all of the moisture in western Washington, are they a problem in the rainshadow towns on the peninsula?

[Sobefobik]

I'm not sure about the cities themselves, but a few years back I went hiking in the Olympic mountains and was about eaten alive by mosquitoes. They were just swarming me for 3 days.

They may not be that bad in the cities, but you will definitely see them there. The conditions here allow for many more mosquitoes than what you're used to.

[Hemlock140]

You can expect them all summer in the areas that have any standing water. For the Olympic Peninsula the mountain snowmelt provides underground streams that come up even in the lowland areas of Sequim that get very little rain. I have relatives at about 500 foot elevation in the foothills where they get 10" of rain a year, and have never had mosquitos attack there but you can see the bats catching them in the area on summer evenings at dusk.

[TribalCat]

Great, thanks for the answers

[Giesela]

So what's the tick situation?

[Sobefobik]

Originally Posted by Giesela

So what's the tick situation?

We have them but I don't think they're a huge problem.

[ukiyo-e]

We had a very late, wet winter this year and I noticed more mosquitoes this summer than last here in Port Townsend. But I went camping recently out in the National Forest and didn't get bitten once. It's really a localized thing.

I've never seen a tick here, though they certainly are around. I do a lot of hiking so I always check for them when I get home.

[TribalCat]

Okay, how about fleas? Would my dog be likely to pick up a lot if we're walking on paths through the forest?

[Sobefobik]

Originally Posted by TribalCat

Okay, how about fleas? Would my dog be likely to pick up a lot if we're walking on paths through the forest?

Haha, you really are from Arizona. I can't say I've ever really seen statistics on that. My guess is that you don't have to worry about it too much, but of course it could happen. I think you'd be more likely to pick them up if you were walking around a neighborhood where a lot of people had animals, and their pets had fleas. Or maybe if you lived in an apartment building where fleas were coming in through the walls from adjoining apartments.

Fleas are definitely a problem around here, though, and your dog is likely going to pick them up from somewhere at some point. My suggestion is to give your dog "Advantage" when it does get them. But, really, walking your dog through the forest is not going to up your chances.