Sea Nettles?

[aa3jy]

Just about every weekend I've been diving on the boat to keep her clean..so far no nettles in the upper reaches of the Bay in particular the Chester River and it's tributaries... So where are those nasty little buggers? How much more time do I have before I have to fore go diving on the boat? Normally around the 4th of July I'll see 'em by then but nothing so far..which I guess is a good thing. By-the-way if you hav'n been swimming/diving the water temps are 80+F

[RichH]

Panty Hose .... one set worn correctly, one set upside down (a slit cut through the crotch to let your head stick out) will prevent sea nettle stings. You will need an 'equivalent' to cover your head. Sea Nettles somehow dont perceive the need to sting through panty hose like they do when they come in contact with bare human skin ..... fine mesh panty hose, not coarse mesh that is.
;-)

[wingNwing]

Eh, they're here, just haven't gotten quite the right combination of salinity and temp to have reached this far north. NOAA shows where conditions are just right for the little nasties here: Forecasting Sea Nettles - Remote Sensing for Coastal Management - chesapeakebay.noaa.gov

[T37SOLARE]

So far no Nettels anywhere around Herring Bay, but I have heard they are a few in the Tread Avon by Oxford. Nasty buggers they are, but I will add the water quality in the Bay has been much better than I've seen in many years.

[wingNwing]

Happily, they're *still* not here! Article in today's Capital: http://www.hometownannapolis.com/new...jellyfish.html

[LandLocked66c]

So what's the amount of pain these guys can dish out? Very painful?

[DRFerron]

Originally Posted by LandLocked66c

So what's the amount of pain these guys can dish out? Very painful?

Never been stung myself, but I've heard the expletives loudly emitted from those who have.

[SlowButSteady]

Originally Posted by LandLocked66c

So what's the amount of pain these guys can dish out? Very painful?

It all depends on exactly which species of "sea nettles" (and sometimes even what populations within a species) one is talking about. People also vary in their sensitivity to various species. Occasionally, I've experienced some pretty painful stings; something like a small bee sting only LOTS of them. But usually they're more bothersome than actually painful. The real threats are box jellies (i.e., cubomedusea) and Man-o-War jellies/bluebottles (Physalia sp.), both of which are fish-eaters and therefore have vertebrate-specific toxins.

[pdqaltair]

Originally Posted by RichH

Panty Hose upside down (a slit cut through the crotch to let your head stick out) will prevent sea nettle stings.

I think I would sooner die. The stings arn't that bad.

Also it is very location dependent; the wnid and tide move them around a lot.