Does a harsher winter and later ice-out mean fewer mosquitoes this year?

Heading out for a week in late May and maybe just wishful thinking :-)

No, prepare to lose blood

The typical mosquito life cycle from a hatched egg to adult is only 1 1/2 to 2 weeks depending on temperature. The amount that hatch and timing of it depends on both temperature and amount of precipitation. It would be better to ask your question in a couple more weeks.

I predict voracious skeets.

They will be big. And bad. And they will last your entire trip. As always.

I always chuckle at this type of question... I find it hard to adjust my trip based on mosquito predictions, weather predictions, phase of the moon, etc. Plan for the worst and enjoy whatever you can out of the time you are there.

I once read that if you wear your clothes inside out they will not bother you. : p

Canoe42: "I once read that if you wear your clothes inside out they will not bother you. : p"

That's pure crap 1/2 the time i put my clothes on inside out (if I remember to put them on) and I still get chewed.

Canoe42: "I once read that if you wear your clothes inside out they will not bother you. : p"

I heard if you put dryer sheets in your socks, under your hat and in all of your pockets, you'll become bullet proof against skeets.

greywolf33: "

Canoe42: "I once read that if you wear your clothes inside out they will not bother you. : p"

I heard if you put dryer sheets in your socks, under your hat and in all of your pockets, you'll become bullet proof against skeets. "

Those things itch me worse than mosquito bites!

Dave

I've been at work for 12 hours and this thread made me smile and laugh out loud! Thank you! May the ice melt fast and I don't care about the mosquitoes.

I heard if you wear your underwear on the outside it repels all life.

But to the OP.... keep on dreaming (p.s. I do the same hope for the best, mentally and gear wise prepare for the worst) !!! and use permethrin spray/soak!

IowaGuy: "Does a harsher winter and later ice-out mean fewer mosquitoes this year?

Heading out for a week in late May and maybe just wishful thinking :-)"

We had a wet Fall and a late mosquito breeding season state-wide in 2017. My prediction... "PAIN"

No. They'll be waiting for you where ever you go!

One lake, just one day in, has seen all mosquitoes move to other areas. Are not expected back until sept 15. This is one secret I cannot share as I intend to basecamp there for the entire season and it would be hard to get a camp site if every one knew.

Hold on here......let me get this straight......so you people are saying that I might encounter bugs up there in the woods? LOL

A friend in Ely told me this morning that a few black flies were already out yesterday.

Got a trip coming up in 4 weeks, not liking the predictions here. Mosquitoes love me. I mean, they will ignore the people around me and come for me. I've had my friends say they're not getting bitten at all while I'm having to walk around to stop from being bitten, constantly swatting. It can really ruin my morale sometimes so I'm going to be trying permethrin this year and Thermacells, with backup DEET that I'm sure my friends will have with them. I really really want to avoid using DEET if I can as it has not made a big difference in the past and I am much more health conscious now than I was 10 years ago the last time I was in the BWCA. I'm not jazzed about permethrin either but if I'm a walking itch wart for 9 days I'm going to be miserable and so are my friends.

I haven't used it yet, but I just purchased The Original Bug Shirt Mosquitos seem to like me more than others as well. I'm looking forward to trying it out in June.

Cloudy to mostly cloudy.

flynn: "Got a trip coming up in 4 weeks, not liking the predictions here. Mosquitoes love me. I mean, they will ignore the people around me and come for me. I've had my friends say they're not getting bitten at all while I'm having to walk around to stop from being bitten, constantly swatting. It can really ruin my morale sometimes so I'm going to be trying permethrin this year and Thermacells, with backup DEET that I'm sure my friends will have with them. I really really want to avoid using DEET if I can as it has not made a big difference in the past and I am much more health conscious now than I was 10 years ago the last time I was in the BWCA. I'm not jazzed about permethrin either but if I'm a walking itch wart for 9 days I'm going to be miserable and so are my friends."

Research "Permethrin" on this site for dilutions to achieve 0.5% solution. Do the soak-in-a-bucket method. Wear gloves to wring out clothing and hang in shade--out of direct sun--to dry. If there's a lingering chemical smell, try a wash cycle with no detergent then hang outside for 3 or 4 days to air. Long-sleeved shirts, socks & pants. Spray outside of your headgear and under brim too. I believe you will be surprised at achieving 'untouchable' status. ;-)

Yes mosquitos will exist!
In my area in southern Wisconsin, we had 7 inches of snow one Wednesday, by the following Wednesday it was sunny, 65, and the mosquitos were out in full force. "Lateness" of the ice out means nothing, the present conditions matter, is it warm enough for mosquito larvae to hatch, is it wet enough for them to hatch, then they will exist.

mjmkjun: "

flynn: "Got a trip coming up in 4 weeks, not liking the predictions here. Mosquitoes love me. I mean, they will ignore the people around me and come for me. I've had my friends say they're not getting bitten at all while I'm having to walk around to stop from being bitten, constantly swatting. It can really ruin my morale sometimes so I'm going to be trying permethrin this year and Thermacells, with backup DEET that I'm sure my friends will have with them. I really really want to avoid using DEET if I can as it has not made a big difference in the past and I am much more health conscious now than I was 10 years ago the last time I was in the BWCA. I'm not jazzed about permethrin either but if I'm a walking itch wart for 9 days I'm going to be miserable and so are my friends."

Research "Permethrin" on this site for dilutions to achieve 0.5% solution. Do the soak-in-a-bucket method. Wear gloves to wring out clothing and hang in shade--out of direct sun--to dry. If there's a lingering chemical smell, try a wash cycle with no detergent then hang outside for 3 or 4 days to air. Long-sleeved shirts, socks & pants. Spray outside of your headgear and under brim too. I believe you will be surprised at achieving 'untouchable' status. ;-)"

Yup, on it! +1

A couple years ago the mosquitos in June where crazy bad. Generally I expect them to die down at night, but these suckers never did. I was in my hammock and they were buzzing around me all night.

I bring a Thermacell and use when sitting around camp, while using the latrine, and during that trip I actually left it on at night under my hammock.

adam: "
A couple years ago the mosquitos in June where crazy bad. Generally I expect them to die down at night, but these suckers never did. I was in my hammock and they were buzzing around me all night.


I bring a Thermacell and use when sitting around camp, while using the latrine, and during that trip I actually left it on at night under my hammock."

...this guy and his gadgets...

Do those ThermaCells really work?

No bugnet on your hammock? My buddy swears by the thermacell, he said they work great as long as it’s not too windy. But I suppose skeeters do t fly well in wind anyway.

3 words I now live by before every trip and it has helped a lot.

Per Meth Rin


It works.

Skeets need standing pools of stagnant water. So, if we had a wet fall, hard wet winter and low temps in spring there should be a bumper crop.

Even though I have a very high bug tolerance I have come to appreciate August canoe tripping. I check in and always hear the same thing, "the bugs have been really bad just a week or so ago" and I go in and hardly any. Nice!

To the cat who has a hard time with skeets I also suggest the Original bug shirt.

I bring mesh pants as well which wad up to practically nothing and weigh zero ounces (more or less ;-) They puff out like something "I Dream of Genie" would wear but allow plenty of airflow so you can still wear shorts around camp. They also work GREAT against biting flies while setting up a hot afternoon camp while having changed into shorts. Make sure you get the kind with elastic around the ankles.

Railriders weather pants are also skeet proof for the most part. I have had many dozens on my legs trying to get through.

Lastly, I like fingerless gloves (bicyclist, weight lifting or fleece) for when in camp and the skeets are bad. They usually don't often find your fingertips very often but will voraciously attack the back of your hands or palms which is aggravating. Whats good about fingerless is you can still perform all tasks. Better!

Who says the ice will be out by late May?

My prediction is there will be quite a few, more in some places than others. That's based on years of intense research.

Yeah, even with my minimal BW experience, the best advice: "If you want to avoid bugs, go when they aren't there." ... September is my favorite time to go anyway, and the lack of bugs is merely a happy bonus.

mvillasuso: "

adam: "
A couple years ago the mosquitos in June where crazy bad. Generally I expect them to die down at night, but these suckers never did. I was in my hammock and they were buzzing around me all night.



I bring a Thermacell and use when sitting around camp, while using the latrine, and during that trip I actually left it on at night under my hammock."

...this guy and his gadgets...


Do those ThermaCells really work?
"

They work great. The perimeter only covers a couple people wide, but frankly better then always being covered in deet.

IowaGuy: "Does a harsher winter and later ice-out mean fewer mosquitoes this year?

Heading out for a week in late May and maybe just wishful thinking :-)"

The soulwife and I were enlightened by the search feature of this site, and purchased stand alone chairs (flex lite knock offs) and a 9x9 nemo bugout so we will deal with the mosquitos in style this year (also end of may, and prepared for them, stop eating bananas, start b-12/ multi B complex now if u wanna give yourself addition protection)
also light colors seem to work somewhat at least for attracting less skeeters/etc..

and permethrin some stuff, it will pay itself off the first trip u take

adam: "

mvillasuso: "

adam: "
A couple years ago the mosquitos in June where crazy bad. Generally I expect them to die down at night, but these suckers never did. I was in my hammock and they were buzzing around me all night.



I bring a Thermacell and use when sitting around camp, while using the latrine, and during that trip I actually left it on at night under my hammock."

...this guy and his gadgets...



Do those ThermaCells really work?
"

They work great. The perimeter only covers a couple people wide, but frankly better then always being covered in deet. "

We really wanna try those one year as well. We heard if there is wind though, it wrecks coverage area..? makes sense but damnit there is always wind (except for when u need it, lol!)

IowaGuy: "Does a harsher winter and later ice-out mean fewer mosquitoes this year?

Heading out for a week in late May and maybe just wishful thinking :-)"

You can go with no bugs guaranteed for well over half of the year. Anytime between late September and early May! ;) I actually really enjoy my fall trips partly for that reason. Also fewer people. Never been in the winter. Some day.