Flora & Fauna - Limatiks

One factor that adds flavor & spice to the Philippine Mountaineering experience is this creepy guy on the picture, the Limatik.

Limatik is a blood sucking leech that inhabits in Philippine forests, especially at dense and mossy forests thus, a common sight of the mountaineers. Inhabiting at some mountains such as Mt. Makiling, Mt. Banahaw de Lucban, Mt. Halcon, Mt. Natib, Mt. Kanlaon, Mt. Tapulao and more ( see Pinoymountaineer for the full list), the Limatiks are feared or avoided.

In detecting their victims, limatik depends on their sensory receptors that detects warm bloods, movements and Carbon dioxide exhalation. Their saliva have anesthetic substance that made their bites barely felt, and anticoagulant substance that stops blood clotting to help them easily suck blood.  

Based on the Author's observation, there are two species of limatik, the dark brown or black specie and the green/yellow striped specie. Both have nature of leeches, seeking & sucking bloods from humans and animals, but different in techniques in finding their sucking spots. The black or dark brown ones are contented in the tissues around your feet and even has the ability to penetrate in a two-layered socks while, the green/yellow striped ones are the ones that targets soft tissues that are commonly present at the upper body parts of the man such as eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Because of their targets, they are the ones that usually coils up and flip/jump once they sensed  their victims.

Preventing limatik bites starts with physical get up, dressing up with closed gears to avoid them to even approach skin. Wearing of light colored clothes is also advised as it helps you easily spot limatik coming your  way. To avoid limatik in entering your ears, you may use ear plugs. Goggles may prevent limatik in entering your eyes, but will limit your vision thus, hiking can be compromised.  Some also suggests to use fabric conditioners with insect repellent in washing your clothes to be used during your trek to a limatik infested mountain.

Using chemicals applied on your skin are also additional options to avoid limatik bites, but still, they won't give you 100% away from limatik. Off lotion maybe effective in warding off the insects and  even  limatik but, with the personal experiences, the Off lotion is easily washed away once you perspire which  leave you unprotected shortly after you applied the lotion. Rubbing of a detergent soap is also said to be effective way to repel limatik.

Also, the use of natural stuff such as tobacco leaves and jackfruit peels are proven by some locals that resides/lives by the mountains with limatiks.

Removing limatiks already scuking your bloods needs a li'l strategy as pulling it is not advisable. It might vomit everything in it's stomach back to your wounds that may cause irritation or infection. A simple way of removing the limatik is via sliding your fingernail beneath it's mouth. You may also want to use any alcohol based solution to spray to it or apply heat to them.