Mazury Warnings and Dangers

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One thing that you may not like about Mazury is the abundance of various insects, some quite harmless and a pleasure to watch, like the colourful dragonflies or ladybugs, others stinging or biting or even, like mosquitoes, feeding on your blood, following their natural instinct. The worst though are ticks, which may be the cause of some serious health problems, including meningitis. Using a repellent is only one way of fighting them and I have read that some repellents against mosquitoes can be used for ticks as well but for them they are effective for a much shorter time as ticks have a much poorer sense of smell. Ticks like to reside at the edge of the forest and along dirt tracks. They keep not far from the ground so can be found in the grass and on shrubs and tree branches no higher than 1 m above the ground. To be on the safe side, you had better wear some headgear, a long-sleeved shirt or blouse, trousers and socks, and certainly not sandals if you are going to walk in the forest. And remember that your dog (on a leash there of course) is in danger too.
Mosquitoes can be quite a plague near still waters, like shallow lakes or bog. They won't pester you much if you go kayaking on the Krutynia - the fish and birds will take care of that. But be careful when your kayak approaches an area with grazing cows or horses and, if you don't want to be bitten by the horrible gadflies, pass it as quickly as you can.
Insects can be a special nuisance on hot humid days, just before rain. It is then that you will encounter whole swarms of aggressive flies in the forest, very persistent if you have been sweating. And if you want to sleep peacefully at night, don't leave the door or the windows of your house open when the light is on, inviting not only flies but also midges. I'm not sure if it is the same kind of midges that can be found in northern countries but we were once shocked to discover masses of the tiny black creatures in our beds and all over the room when my friend and I were staying at a forester's house and had left the light on to go to the loo at night. There was no need to spend the rest of the night sitting on the stairs though as we did. :) It was enough to turn off the light and wait till they were gone.