Just got back from 5 days around Basswood Falls area.

Skeeters were pretty thick during usual times, dusk and dawn, but other times were not very bad. I used the thermacell next to the latrine trick and it worked brilliantly. My partner and I agree it was very effective in clearing the air around the potty in 10 minutes.

I didn't get bitten much other than a couple on the elbows and back of the hand. Carly got a lot of bites on her legs, even though the pants were permethrin treated. The material was spandex like, way too thin and either didn't hold the permethrin well or it was simply too thin. Perhaps the skeeters died after biting, not sure. My army issue jungle pants with permethrin kept my legs 100% bite free, but they are densly woven and loose fitting.

We did not encounter a single tick, at least not that we saw.

Horse flies were occasionally around camp, but not many. They were very annoying on the Horse River and I had to keep my hat and head net on at times. A little 100% deet on the brim of the hat helped keep them at bay a little more.

Overall, the skeeters were as bad as one would expect in a wet season, but most annoying during dusk and dawn. The combination of camp fire and thermacell and permethrin treated stuff mostly did it's job.

I'm hoping the skeeters die back a bit in the next couple weeks. Were the flies horse flies or deer flies? Overall, it sounds like the bugs weren't bad at all for you. That's good news. I was thinking about using permetherin, but I think I'm going to pass on it. I've never used it before. I think I would do it if the bug reports were bad.

quote Goldenbadger: "I'm hoping the skeeters die back a bit in the next couple weeks. Were the flies horse flies or deer flies? Overall, it sounds like the bugs weren't bad at all for you. That's good news. I was thinking about using permetherin, but I think I'm going to pass on it. I've never used it before. I think I would do it if the bug reports were bad. "

Honstly, I dont know the difference between a horse and a deer fly. They were bigger than a house fly and looked more brown on the back. They were relentless once they found you and swatting at them only provoked them! After looking at google pics of both, I am guessing they were deerflys.

I'm very happy with the permethrin. For $20 I bought 2 bottles of the Sawyer spray on and did all our clothes and our tent. Every morning the tent had a rather significant layer of dead bugs clinging to it, so I know it was working. As for long term effect of the chemical? I guess we will have to wait and see :)

That being said, I believe the right clothing is more protection than anything else. Just no tight fitting stuff and long sleeves.

Yup. Probably deer flies. Horse flies are HUGE! If it were a horse fly, you would know it. You would be worried about it hauling off pets and small children. I haven't found any permethrin around here, but I haven't looked real hard. If I happen to run into it, I'll pick some up. Otherwise, I'll just go with Deep Woods Off.
I loathe deer flies. Hopefully they aren'7
t too much of a problem next week.