Leeches in Cambodia/Laos

They are a minimal nuisance, especially in winter. That said, walking through a stream bed or through a smucky area on a path could scare up a blood-sucker. If trekking, I avoid open-toed sandals (like Keens).

But really - you're chances of getting a single leech is pretty slim.

Keens are open toed ?

I had a leech go through the shoestring eye hole of my boot once. I used a lighter to encourage him to release, I would have used a cigarette, I saw that in a movie, but I don't smoke

, Minimal chance you will get one though

Leeches are not confined to streams, that is only in the movies. And they will get through very small openings. Leeches are not much of a problem during the dry season. If you do get leeched, do not burn it off (especially if it is on some more sensitive parts:-)), just pull it off and flick it away.

Leeches seem to get through any small hole. I was wearing long trousers but they had a zip half way up so they could be turned into shorts. I was treking in Chitwan Nepal through long grass and every 30 minutes had to de-leech around that area where they got in through the zip. I guess they are quite skinny until they fill up with your blood.

Leeches are present year round, although they tend to be in moister areas. Unless you are hiking in the countryside, you are unlikely to encounter them. That said, we had multiple land leeches crawling on us while hiking around the jungles of Laos during the hottest and driest month of the year (April). Luckily, they are only a nuisance and easily removed, so I would not worry about the occasional leech getting a taste of your hemoglobin. Happy trails!

Hi,

I spent time in Laos last year, from September to December. I came across a ton of leeches, but only ever in the north of the country, and only ever in the countryside. If you go out hiking in Laos, at least in the north, there's a good chance you'll come across them. They can be irritating, but they certainly don't kill you. The worst experience I had with a leech was when one crawled into bed with me in the middle of the night, but I think you'd be unlucky to have to deal with that. Still, if you're heading to north Laos and you plan on stepping outside of towns, there's a good chance you'll have some kind of encounter with a leech.

Thanks to all for the feedback

The easiest way, if you are scared, is to just put leech socks and spray some Deet on your boots.

I am not sure what people mean by heaps of leeches, compared to some places in Southern Thailand and Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia have hardly any;-)

I've been trekking a lot in Nepal and I've been terrified of leeches (though I've never been bitten) - so when preparing for a trek, where I was sure there'd be a lot of leeches, I went to a special doctor in Germany to have some leeches put to my legs as a sort of old-fashioned therapy - just to get to know what it is like.

What I learned is - leeches do not really like lotions and stuff like that - perfume your legs and they will not like it at all. If nevertheless you got a leech on you - they do not like alcohol either - if you put an alcohol pad under their nose, they just let go - which means, you will not have all the blood of a squashed leech on you, it will not vomit into you while dying (though that they do that might be a myth - I do not know) - but anyway, since that time I always have alcohol pads with me - which means, that when in the forests close to Luang Nam Tha at a place with heaps of leeches, I felt rather calm :-) (though still rather reluctant to look at my feet, after having removed the boots - but - no leeches where found :-) )