Florida Trail Activities in Your Area

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Check out our chapter websites and Meetup groups for activities in your area.  Visit the Chapters page, scroll down to the bottom and look for your county.  Click on the chapter for a county to go to its web page.  Florida Trail Association activities include day hikes, backpacking trips, canoeing and kayaking, bicycling, picnics, and campouts.  Day hikes may focus on birding, plant identification, geocaching or historic sites.  Most activities are held locally, but some chapters travel to other parts of the state or out of state for extended trips.  However you like to enjoy the great outdoors, there's a Florida Trail activity for you!
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Home arrow Trail arrow Hiker Safety arrow Insects
Insects PDF Print E-mail

Golden orb spider (Winnie Lo)Florida's infinite natural resource
We’re extraordinarily happy when the first freeze hits each fall and the insects die off for the winter. But a fear of insects and mosquito-borne diseases shouldn’t keep you off the trail. There are several methods of protection available.

 

 

HOW TO COMBAT FLORIDA'S INSECTS
Wear protective clothing. A lightweight long-sleeved shirt and pants does wonders in keeping most of your skin protected from insect bites. If you’re headed into an area (like Big Cypress) known for its mosquito population, carry a headnet or mosquito netting. To avoid bug problems when you sit, carry a plastic garbage bag or a chunk of foam as a cushion between yourself and the ground.

Use insect repellant. Some hikers balk at the use of products with DEET, but there are many options available on the market. Always be cautious: it never hurts to spray before your hike. To keep ticks and chiggers off of your clothing, spray your clothing (not your skin) with permethrin, a long-lasting insecticide. Dusting your socks and waistline with sulfur powder (available from a compounding pharmacist, or at some outfitters) will fend off chiggers.

Be alert. What habitats are you hiking through? Mosquitoes breed around standing water. Ticks thrive in deep shade. Spiders like to string their webs at eye-level between trees, so it seems; duck under the ones you can (after all, the spiders are doing their part to catch mosquitoes) and otherwise use your hiking stick to clear the path. Particularly when you are setting up camp, always scour the ground for signs of red ant nests. There are few insect encounters more miserable than being swarmed by red ants, either by putting your foot in a nest or by setting up your tent atop one.

Follow up afterwards. Once you’re off the trail, check yourself for ticks. Remove them carefully with tweezers, making sure to extract the head from your skin. If your legs feel itchy after a hike, you’re suffering from chiggers. Take a 15-minute soak in a hot tub or a hot bath to neutralize these microscopic bugs that attach themselves to your skin to feed.


-used with the author's permission from The Florida Trail: The Official Hiking Guide (Sandra Friend)
 
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Upcoming Events

Tue, May 22nd
Trail Care - Seabranch Preserve State Park
Sat, May 26th
Urban Breakfast Walk
Wed, May 30th
Stuart Causeway Mid-Week Walk
Sat, Jun 2nd
A2 Day hike at Estero Scrub Preserve
Sat, Jun 2nd
National Trails Day Hike in Rafael Sanchez