Our trip is planned for June 8-18. How bad are the mosquitoes and flies? Past two trips have been in July. Thanks for any info

A lot of the bug issue depends on the rain in the preceding weeks you go whether or not it is in June, July, or August. Warm weather after a rainy spell almost always spells BUGS.

quote bwcadan: "A lot of the bug issue depends on the rain in the preceding weeks you go whether or not it is in June, July, or August. Warm weather after a rainy spell almost always spells BUGS."

Agree, be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. BTW, I always treat my clothing with Permethrin when tripping in the summer months.

You should be able to study their habits at close range. Take lots of photos.

Always plan on them being bad, whether you go in May, August or September. If they're not bad, it will be a welcome surprise.

quote AndySG: "

quote bwcadan: "A lot of the bug issue depends on the rain in the preceding weeks you go whether or not it is in June, July, or August. Warm weather after a rainy spell almost always spells BUGS."

Agree, be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. BTW, I always treat my clothing with Permethrin when tripping in the summer months."

This used to be a major concern of mine when we started tripping in June about 6 years ago. The mosquitoes can be thick at sun up and sun down but for the most part have been far less than what most people hype them up to be. Treat your clothes with permethrin, pick campsites that are not near a swamp and you'll be fine.

One time on a trip in June, we were paddlpaddling back.into camp at just past dusk.. it was so quiet..... i.said.to my buddy.listen...........
You could hear the buzzing as we approached shore.


There must have been a bazillion of them blood suckers.....

quote DeanL: "

quote AndySG: "

quote bwcadan: "A lot of the bug issue depends on the rain in the preceding weeks you go whether or not it is in June, July, or August. Warm weather after a rainy spell almost always spells BUGS."

Agree, be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. BTW, I always treat my clothing with Permethrin when tripping in the summer months."

This used to be a major concern of mine when we started tripping in June about 6 years ago. The mosquitoes can be thick at sun up and sun down but for the most part have been far less than what most people hype them up to be. Treat your clothes with permethrin, pick campsites that are not near a swamp and you'll be fine. "

Ditto. Many trips into BWCA and a couple into Q, I can really only remember one campsite one day on Fourtown where the mosquitos were so thick and aggressive they literally chased us out of camp in the morning. Sometimes they can be a little irritating on some of the wetter portages, but for the most part - during the day - on the water and in camp, they aren't that bad.

^^ as TB stated portages (wet/calm shaded areas can become nasty even before june) i've seen inactive clouds of mosquito,s just after ice out , it doesnt take long. caught many fish on opener in the BW stuffed from mouth to sh*tter with larve hatch. sometimes small is better.

It's unpredictable and largely dependent on local conditions. I've experienced both ends of the spectrum in June. Just bring bug dope and a head net and hope you don't have to use them.

quote DCfreebird: "... How bad are the mosquitoes and flies? "

I always reply, "If you have to ask, The Bugs are bad!!"

As others have said, you have to be ready for anything. If my wife sees one mosquito, the bugs are bad. Everyone has a different tolerance.

The weather forecast shows a killing frost on June 8 with lows in the mid-20's so you should be good for the week!

The fretting about bugs seems so unnecessary, and surely a detriment to folks' overall trip enjoyment. Reasonable/modest preparation will make 99% of bug situations perfectly tolerable.

They will probably be bad. Take precautions and be prepared. Camping at an open air site with a breeze might help.

Suggest investing in Bug Zappers for each tent. Best way to eliminate bugs from tent and no messy tent walls to boot. Be sure to come at mosquitoes from underneath. Also, wrap them in bags as they have failed us when they get wet at all whether from rain drops or too much humidity. Available in lots of sporting goods departments or sporting goods stores for anywhere from $4.00 to $15.00.
Best price seen by me is Harbor Freight. I would not go with our them.

June has been the worst month for bugs for me. I use lots of Permetrhin and DEET. Don't forget a headnet.

Bug Zapper racquets.... I've seen them but never tried them. I can see where they would help in the tent to not have to deal with bug guts on the tent walls.

Anyone else use them?

We always trip in the beginning of June. Typically great fishing and occasionally lots of mosquitoes depending on the location. Swampy areas around camp and swampy portages seem to be the worst.

As other have mentioned, bring plenty of DEET and Premetherin and you will be fine. I have a headnet that I have only worn a couple of times but, it really doesn't take up any space and weighs nothing, so I take it along on every trip.

If you are on the lake, the mosquitoes are almost never around at all. In camp, dusk is the only real problem time and that only lasts for around 45 minutes.

Most of the time we will fish until sunset but, if we are going to enjoy the sunset at camp, we usually toss a damp log on the fire to pump out a bunch of smoke. If the skeeters are really bad we take turns in the "smoke bath" which gets rid of them fast.

Dawn is not usually a problem because the nights are still cold enough that they aren't super active right away until it warms up on most days in early June.

When entering or exiting the tent we take a bunch of swats at our clothing and the tent door screen, then open the zipper in the lower corner enough for a human to squeeze through and dive in or out, closing the zipper as fast as we can when we got on the other side. Probably pretty amusing to someone who is not from our crew of fools, but it works and we don't usually end up trying to kill them in the dark all night.

I guess I should have been more specific. What about the black flies?

All the above information is completely accurate based on our experience as well. BTW, just insert black flies for mosquitoes in all the previous posts it's all the same with all the same precautionary advice. BTW, I have seen the skeets and black flies so bad it became a mental endurance test but, only once so it's rare. Deet, permethrin, head net and you'll be fine.

quote DCfreebird: "I guess I should have been more specific. What about the black flies? "

The black flies will make you appreciate the mosquitoes...

quote old_salt: "

quote DCfreebird: "I guess I should have been more specific. What about the black flies? "

The black flies will make you appreciate the mosquitoes..."

Hahahahaha, let the bloodletting begin.

quote yogi59weedr: "One time on a trip in June, we were paddlpaddling back.into camp at just past dusk.. it was so quiet..... i.said.to my buddy.listen...........
You could hear the buzzing as we approached shore.



There must have been a bazillion of them blood suckers....."

2 years ago at dusk you could hear a solid buzzz for 10-15 mins....I loved it, it was so calm and still

Yes. The bugs will be awful! Don't go. If bugs are a deal breaker, you shouldn't go into the woods.

This is no need for sarcasm. We realize there will be all kinds of mosquitos/flies, etc. I was just wondering if going in early to mid June would be much different than July. This isn't our first trip. We spend all summer camping. thank you for the useful replies.

Unless the lake is frozen, bugs will be around.

quote DCfreebird: "This is no need for sarcasm. We realize there will be all kinds of mosquitos/flies, etc. I was just wondering if going in early to mid June would be much different than July. This isn't our first trip. We spend all summer camping. thank you for the useful replies."

You will be fine. Just prepare for the worst of the bugs and you will probably be pleasantly surprised. The low hum of millions of mosquitoes at dusk is a northwoods sleeping pill for me. LOL!!

Black flies should be winding down about the time of your trip ending. So they might be worse at the beginning and start to fade towards the end.

Black flies will be much worse but vary, mosquitoes same to slightly better. Mosquitoes are easy to deal with, black flies can be beyond ridiculous and without a head net you can have your hair and face full of them. They normally ignore bud sprays. if you are allergic to them you can get big bloody lumps around your head and neck. Fishing is awesome though:) We always go in early June. I cannot imagine in my wildest dreams being in BW or Quetico without a head net in May or June with literally millions of black flies swarming.

We are going in - at a similar time... Preparing for the WORST!

Planning at a minimum - hats (Tilly style) with bug nets, long sleeve light colored shirts, and loads of DEET.

I've heard June is the worst for bugs/skeeters.

Go June 1 like I did on my last trip. No Bugs besides ticks. Mainly because it was 32 degrees and snowing off and on during the week

Thanks to all. We will prepare for the worst. We didn't have any issues with flies in July but will plan on spending lots of time with them in June!!!! We had mosquitoes but for the most part it wasn't a big deal. Deet, deet, deet....... nets for all.

Black flies hate smoke, so if you don't mind a cigar every now and then....... Or a smokey fire.

I go every year in mid June. Permitherine and deet are a must. Last year was "special" as we had a different major variety at each of our 8 sites. We had a mosquito site, a black fly site, an ant site, a hornet site, a tick site, etc. Be prepared for all varieties. The June fishing is worth it!

Yes to treating your clothes. I also have bug net handy to throw over my head if needed. Sometimes it's nice during the portage to protect your face.
Like everyone said, there's no way to predict due to weather, temps, rainfall, terrain, location, wind, # of trees at your camp site.
I've been up there when we couldn't stay out of our tent, but most nights it's not so bad.
Preparing mentally, and physically for the worst is the best advice.

quote QueticoMike: "Black flies hate smoke, so if you don't mind a cigar every now and then....... Or a smokey fire."

Indeed we found this to be true. We hit Algonquin once in late May and upon arriving at the entry point my pal started to immediately panic and asked "what are we going to do"? Fortunately I had made him get an original bug shirt and that made the trip possible for my fair skinned friend who welts up with bites. The black flies were thick the entire week, even mid day, but the first thing we did when arriving to make camp was to build a fire and it largely vanquished the little devils.

Mornings can be a little rough with skeets. You want to move about and make some breakfast and coffee and the little buggars are quite persistent. Clothes make the trip when it comes to bugs but most folks unwisely omit hands and feet. I wear fingerless fleece gloves typically in the mornings.........they are just thick enough to deter bites and I still have complete use of my hands. Watch the fleece around flames. For my feet I use fleece wading socks which come up around the calves. Good all around sock, nice and warm for evening and mornings and again the bugs don't get through.

I sort of like the bug zapper idea........I have a very high tolerance for skeets, except when they get into my tent and then its a search and destroy mission.

I've tripped in June the last few years. It is very rare that I even use bug spray. I do pre-treat my clothing with Permitherine along with my tent. I do bring some Deet along, but don't like using it.

quote Frenchy: "I've tripped in June the last few years. It is very rare that I even use bug spray. I do pre-treat my clothing with Permitherine along with my tent. I do bring some Deet along, but don't like using it."

I always take Deet with me, but try my hardest not to ever use it. That stuff just eats your skin up.

quote old_salt: "

quote DCfreebird: "I guess I should have been more specific. What about the black flies? "

The black flies will make you appreciate the mosquitoes..."

Soooooooo true
they can drive you insane !