Coming up to the S. Kawishiwi River area later this week. Does anyone have an idea of how I should be approaching bug situation? I just sprayed my gear with permethrin, and typically take a small thing of 100% deet, but I'm curious if I should plan to pack more spray repellent?

Sounds like a good plan to me.

Sounds like you have done what you can.

With Mosquitos the main thing to know is they get really really active right after sunset for about 30 minutes. I will usually just go hang out in the tent and then come out later if we want to hang out around the fire for awhile.

If the deer flies are out (I would hope they would be on the decline by now) that is a different story. I've tried a few things but nothing seems to really keep them away. They will be out in the day and can be quite irritating.

Then there are what I call the ankle biters. They taught me to have ankles and preferably legs covered all the time. Even if you want to wear shorts, having hiking boots and socks on goes a long way to keeping these guys at bay.

In general, everyone has a different tolerance level to bugs, but limiting exposed skin, getting inside at sunset, and picking a breezy campsite all will help make the experience more enjoyable.

I just returned from Sawbill and the bug were not bad at all. I never used repellant even once in almost a week.

Thanks all. I guess I'm mainly interested how the bugs are currently. I typically go up in the fall when there are no bugs, so I was just curious how active they currently are.

gshaw: "Thanks all. I guess I'm mainly interested how the bugs are currently. I typically go up in the fall when there are no bugs, so I was just curious how active they currently are."

I’m going in the same week and the weather is looking favorable and nights in the 40s which should slow the bugs down some.