Can anyone tell me about the possibility of leeches in the BWCA or Quetico? I am trying to figure out if I need to wear knee boots when exiting/entering portages or if water shoes are okay. I read some posts about people getting leeches in the BWCA and frankly the posts almost made me vomit. Yes, I am entirely a wuss when it comes to this. I can handle most critters, but blood sucking parasites are too much.

Seem pretty rare, but yes they are a possibility.

If it's that big a deal (sounds like it is), use the knee boots. Depending on when you're going, they might be the best option anyway, leeches or not. Many people wear them rather than having wet feet all day.

Thank you Treehorn for answering my question. I will wear the knee boots. It seems pretty extreme to cancel my trip because I have an aversion to parasites. I don't need opinions or lectures on patience and understanding. I just need facts so I can make informed decisions.

Carla: "Thank you Treehorn for answering my question. I will wear the knee boots. It seems pretty extreme to cancel my trip because I have an aversion to parasites. I don't need opinions or lectures on patience and understanding. I just need facts so I can make informed decisions. "

You’ll be just fine, especially with boots. However, I’d be more concerned about bugs than leeches. Loading in and out of the canoe should be quick and easy and I can’t recall every pulling off a leech at camp or portage in 50+ trips. Hopefully the latrines aren’t too much of a problem, especially with lack of any in Quetico...
Enjoy your trip, it’ll be a blast!

I've had leeches on me a couple of times. One time I had a little one between my toes after wading or swimming. I don't like them either. That said, just pull them off. Knee boots will probably help.

Mike

did have one attach itself to me one day. Under the strap of my sandel. After see took it off it bled forever. They inject some type of anticoagulant and keeps on running. Like that little everready bunny.....

Carla: " but blood sucking parasites are too much. "

Did anyone mention mosquitoes to you? I would guess they are 10,000 times more likely than a leech.

Go and enjoy yourself.
And if by a rare chance you find one on you, pull it off, dub it with one of the names of the people who dissed you here and fling it as far as you can back into the lake, where a fish is likely to find it before it makes its way back to shore. :-)

Never used boots, only water shoes. Never had a leech on me, that I know of. They have attached to my thumb while attempting to put a hook through one, as others have stated, not a big deal, pull it right off.

Every time someone in my group has had a leech attach to them it has been on a sandy beach. Don't have any science to back this up, just my experience. You might want to avoid camping at the sandy beach sites.

There's always the pantyhose option . A couple highschool friends who served in 'Nam swore by this... And, yes, I've seen leeches both in Quetico and the BWCA.

TZ

I believe they are two kinds of leeches.the ribbon leeches we fish with and a more red leech that are the real blood suckers.
In the younger day of learning the dub. I fished with one of the reddish leeches.Didn't catch a fish all day. It was still lively so I kept using it. Turns out the fish know the difference and will not bite on it.

I'm not sure the ribbon leeches although they can attach to you are the real drain the blood supply kind.
I have only seen a couple of the red variety in the bwca....

I’ve seen them, had on my rubber muck boots, so of course they didn’t attach. I agree, the thought is disgusting. But it didn’t stop me and sounds like it won’t stop you, either. Have a great trip.

We have had leeches many times over the years. Not really a big deal. They like warm, weedy, and sandy areas. Don't stand still in the water too long and you can mostly avoid them, or wear boots. A young man we took with us one year found a warm, weedy, sandy and shallow spot to sit and soak. When he got out, he had literally hundreds of tiny baby leeches attached to him from the waist down, many on his genitals. They almost looked like hair growing. When he saw them he was screaming and crying. Removing all of them was not pleasant for any of us, as he could not see to get them all by himself, and they were mostly on his privates. I thought he might be emotionally scarred but we had a great trip, lots of fish, great weather, some swimming, and no more leeches. You will not get them swimming out in deeper water. If wearing sandals, wear socks and a rubber band around pant leg (or just keep moving!) My wife despises them too, but it does not stop her. They are pretty common in many of the lakes.

haha, I clicked on this thread because I thought it was about leeches for bait.

Never had a leech attached up north as far as I can recall.
I got them as a kid all the time down south, when I was always chasing turtles and snakes. Just pull them off. Their bite is no worse than a mosquito or horsefly, really. They don't hurt at any point...just itch afterwards.
Joe

I just got back from the BW. I have been paddling the BW for over 20 years and have only had two small leeches attach to me. Until this year, that is. I just had three large leeches attach to me in one day. What's weirder is that I had over 5 dozen extremely small (1/4" in length) leeches attach to me as well. I am not squeamish and my job requires me to see very nasty things on a daily basis. However, I must say that I was just a bit put-off by the site of dozens of leeches attached to my foot. For the record, I was on a system of lakes I have never been on before. I just wonder if they aren't particularly suited for leech growth. They were Cherokee, Gordon, and Long Island Lakes. We traveled across them from 7/31/2019 - 8/2/2019.

My first trip to the BWCA, when I was 14, I also had dozens and dozens of baby leeches latch onto my barefeet. I rubbed them off frantically. They were easy to rub off but it was not my favorite event of the trip.

I've seen an occasional leech in the BWCA but never had one attach itself. Truth is leeches are probably in almost every body of water in minnesota just depends on the density. In the vast majority of lakes I wouldn't give them a second thought. If you're traveling through wetland type area with shallow mucky water then you might be more apt to find them.

I think its likely close to 99% certain you won't encounter any sort of leech problem so knee boots might be overkill but if its going to make your trip more enjoyable not having to worry about that 1% than go ahead and wear what makes you comfortable.

I don't have a huge dislike of leeches (had more than a few on me over the years) but I'd personally opt for a normal shoe option so that I can better see when something might have attached itself to me so that I can deal with it. If water or mud ends up over the top of your knee boots (always possible) you could end up dumping a leech in your boot that you won't find until later on in the day when you take your boots off and the leech has had time to have a snack.

As long as they are not the giant yellow-striped variety....! :O

I have been going to the Quetico and BWCA since 1967 and have never had a leech on me. We always see them--most commonly on the canoe after a portage from a shallow, muddy landing. A grandson had a small one on him during a swim/wade at Dry Falls on the Bass Lake Trail. Another grandson had one on his foot under a sandal after wading in Frog Lake. I flicked the small leech off his foot and there were dozens of tiny leeches accompanying it! None had drawn blood. We always try to select campsites with deep drop offs and diving ledges which seem not to be leech habitat. After a long, sweaty day on the canoe trails, my disdain for leeches is far surpassed by the inviting dive into a cool lake. I wouldn't go crazy if I ever got a leech but I prefer not to. The ankle biters, mosquitoes, deer flies and horse flies will keep you busy protecting your blood supply, don't lose to much sleep over an unlikely leech confrontation.

Just got back from a trip and my wife and I ran into a group that said they had gotten some leeches on their feet - we never have - this group had people with open shoes and no socks - my wife and I wear keens and Merrel type shoes with wool socks - never had an issue with leeches - we wouldn’t go any other way - we wet foot and these dry rather quickly and also not bad on the portages

In all my years of tripping, I can only remember a couple times I have had a leech on me. Both times were when I was swimming on a hot day. Both times they were on my feet as I walked out of the water. Just reached down and plucked them off.

I personally hate those disgusting creatures. And yes I've had them on me a couple of times in bdub and just pulled them off. As others have said, it could bleed a fair amount if they're attached because of the anticoagulant in their saliva, but it will quit eventually. They also aren't vectors for any known disease, so no issues there either. They're just disgusting.
But I get my revenge because I use them for bait!!

Just got back and I can honestly say I have never seen so many leeches. Saw one in the canoe at the start of a portage on the Frost R. It bled when I killed it and my son innocently wondered whose blood it was. Turns out it was my blood; it had dropped off the back of my calf.

I am not bothered by leeches, but at the next portage we spotted a HUGE one coming for us as we were hefting out the pack. We jumped back on a rock. Then we saw a 2nd, then a 3rd, and pretty soon there were 5 of the longest leeches we had ever seen. They were hunting us like a pack of wolves. We both started shrieking and jumping around trying to figure out how to get the gear (couldn't let the borrowed Kevlar touch a rock). It was pretty hilarious. My husband said to my son, "Your mom said she was shrieking like never before." My son looks up and says, "Oh, believe me, I was shrieking just as much."

Wow!!! This thread really renewed once I posted. It's amazing to hear that I wasn't the only person to have issues with leaches this year.

Regardless of the seemingly high abundance of leaches this year, I will continue to wear my sandals while portaging. I'll just check my feet after each portage. (I only wear my gum boats during the colder times of the year.)

nofish: "I've seen an occasional leech in the BWCA but never had one attach itself. Truth is leeches are probably in almost every body of water in minnesota just depends on the density. In the vast majority of lakes I wouldn't give them a second thought. If you're traveling through wetland type area with shallow mucky water then you might be more apt to find them. "

I agree. There seems to be leeches in every lake I have ever been on in Minnesota. It's never stopped me from wading, fishing, or swimming in the water. And honestly, I've only had a couple dozen leaches on me in my life. One thing is for sure, I won't let my experience this summer change the way I do anything.