Bugs will be brutal this year

[surmisez]

My husband and I have decided to forgo camping this year. The bugs will be so bad -- mosquitoes are already out -- that we will be beyond miserable.

Our vet has already warned us about ticks -- we usually don't start using the once-a-month stuff until April or May. But the vet said to start using it in February.

Plus, last year was pretty miserable. We were not wet due to our strategic use of tarps, but it ended up raining on each of our trips.

The mosquitoes were really bad last year, I can't even imagine how they'll be this year. :(

[TexasMan77]

Re: Bugs will be brutal this year

Hey, where were you thinking of camping?

[immortal_ben]

Re: Bugs will be brutal this year

Can you maybe take one nice big camping trip elsewhere instead of lots of little ones near home?

Surely we can get you guys camping somehow this year!

[busere]

Re: Bugs will be brutal this year

100% DET = No bug problem (mostly)...or...OR...buy a good canvas wall tent with a stove jack and get into winter camping!

[surmisez]

Re: Bugs will be brutal this year

We usually camp for a week at a time, 2 or 3 times a summer. We usually camp within a 1-2 hour drive from home.

It won't be a total loss, we have plans to scape our plaster ceilings, patch where needed, and re-paint them.

Additionally, we need to re-paint all the trim in every room but the kitchen. We'll be pretty busy with household chores. We've been putting this stuff off for a few years. So, this is fixing our procrastination.

[busere]

Re: Bugs will be brutal this year

Well, this summer we have some of the same plans as you, but it's good to get away and decompress.

[Internetpilot]

Re: Bugs will be brutal this year

I always mutter under my breath every year from the top of an extension ladder while putting up Christmas lights, "Only in Florida", as I'm being bitten by mosquitos and deer flies in late November/early December. And so much for their hunting altitude theories, because I'm being bitten when literally 20feet above the ground!

We just try to have fun with it, use citronella candle buckets, tiki torches, etc. to decorate the camp site at night (no, not in the tents). I also have bug spray that I'll spray on the ground all around the site, usually if i notice an ant problem prior to setting up my tent. I'm sure that also helps with mosquitos. When RV camping I used to bring along a rather large (and quiet) bug light that is scented to attract mosquitos and flies as well as the light attracting bugs in general, and then a fan would blow them down into a water trough. One night of use and the water would be a sludge of bug carcasses. If the bugs are worse than usual this year, I might have to go the bug light route again...maybe use the full arsenal!

[GlitterHiker]

Re: Bugs will be brutal this year

Surmisez, I've been thinking along the same lines. I'm primarily a week-end camper and two trips this year have been canceled due to rain. And the insects are tough already. I want to finish making my backyard into a native garden and get it certified. So I likely will cut back on camping. I'll still be outdoors though!

[Awtted]

Re: Bugs will be brutal this year

off off off off off, lots of deepwoods off. the stuff has always worked for me. (but thats just me)

[stanleycamps]

Re: Bugs will be brutal this year

I camped in Mass. last summer, in the Berkshire and the mosquitos were in full force! I stayed in a cabin with a friend and we had the luxury of closing the doors at night so that helped a lot. But we also took garlic pills two weeks prior and used copious amounts of OFF spray. In situations like these I always wonder how effective those ultrasonic repellents are advertised on camping sites. I just remember the thousands of pests gathering around the porch light. Yikes!

[Weedy]

Re: Bugs will be brutal this year

Well I've yet to see the Florida State Bird "mosquitoes" that bad in the Everglades which is where I do 99% of my camping. I go down there from October to end of March and the no-see-ums are worse than the mosquitoes have ever been. I am planning on going down this summer for a three day trip and will let you know just how bad bugs can be.
I work for the local power company and have gone down there in the dead of the heat during summer. You have to wear bug suits and keep your mouth covered or they fly in your mouth or up your nose!! It can be insane at times!!!!!

[Internetpilot]

Re: Bugs will be brutal this year

In North Florida we don't get the clouds of mosquitoes that South Florida does, but we get deer flies, yellow flies, and horse flies -- those things are BRUTAL. They don't leave bumps -- they leave WOUNDS. We can't even go outside in our pool at certain times of the year because they'll dive bomb you, land on your head, and bite you through a full head of hair -- bald people like me are the dessert bar! I think they have switchblades for mandibles because they land and immediately bite. I guess they have to be pretty vicious since their primary food source has a much thicker hide than human skin. There's nothing you can apply, spray, etc., that will deter them either. The only solution is go inside and stay inside.

[Weedy]

Re: Bugs will be brutal this year

There are all the different biting flies in the glades as well (Deer, horse flies, the mid-sized yellow flies), they will turn a man into a mouse!! One thing that we use is the "Thermocell's"! They work AWESOME for the mosquitoes and there is no spray to worry about. Providing there is no wind/breeze, they keep about a ten foot perimeter around you with no bugs!!!

[Breezy Brigade]

Re: Bugs will be brutal this year

I thought Florida was supposed to be paradise! (Just kidding!)

It seems that no matter what kind of netting a tent has, at least a couple of mosquitoes make their way in. So now I have a sleeping bag with a built-in mosquito net. It keeps spiders, ticks etc. out as well. I keep it zipped up until it's time to sleep. Now if I could just figure out how to keep the bugs away long enough to finish dinner...

[omegapd]

Re: Bugs will be brutal this year

South Georgia skeeters are killing us this week. My 5 year old daughter looks like she has the measles because of so many bites she has scratched raw. As soon as the sun goes down you better be inside. But, on a good note- we're planning on 3 weekend trips the next two months so it's not exactly deterring us yet.