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BigCurrent
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Black flies were horrendous a couple of weeks ago. If you are lucky they will be gone, but if that's the case you will have to deal with the Mosquito hatch. Bring a head net.
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Pilgrimpaddler
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Got back from Ottertrack last Thursday and the mosquitoes were doing fine - excellent reproduction this season and they had no trouble finding humans to bite (in other words, they were thick and aggressive). From dusk to dawn there was a constant hum of activity. No black flies and just a few ankle biters, so that was a plus.
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WhiteWolf
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Was on the E side of Rainy on fishing trip that ended Tuesday; in the heat on Fri and Sat the stable flies (ankle biters) were the worst I've seen'em. Half dozen on each leg most of the time. Colder weather/rain drove them into hiding.
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Me2012
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Just got out of Brule. No bugs for the week. Best trip we have had in many years.
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jdsellner
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Paddling in this Tuesday the 4th. Wondering g what the big situation is looking like. Live in southern MN and have not seen any skeets yet but the gnats are out in full force. Curious as to what can be expected next week. TIA
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egknuti
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The mosquitoes have officially hatched.
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x2jmorris
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I was just in grand marais for the day and plenty of gnats at the moment. I'm hoping they go away before the 9th.
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onajourney
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Just back from the Gunflint Trail area. Both mosquitoes and gnats were pretty bad in rainy weather. If you're in open areas with a breeze they are tolerable. There was possibly a light frost Thursday so that may help the bug situation!
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Worried
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Jackfish: "Worried: "Any advice for how to deal with them? We have 98% deet, headnets, long pants and shirts. Anything else you recommend? Gloves? "
Looks like you have it covered. The only other thing you could do is stay home, and who wants to do that? :)
Plan for the worst, but hope for the best... and go with a great attitude. You'll be fine."
Thanks for the input. I'm sure we'll have a great time.
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jillpine
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Bring a screen if you're concerned. For sure head and hand.
You can get all kinds of bug nets from fancy UL backcountry netting to doing what I do: pack the screenhouse without the heavy poles. String it up like a tarp using canoe paddle or long log for center pole). With some attention to stringing it up, it works well, is spacious and doesn't look all that bad. It provides a significant layer of relief if they're particularly fierce.
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naturboy12
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Cold nights while we were up there this past week kept them mostly at bay. The couple of warmer mornings/evenings (relative term...) they mosquitoes showed that they are poised for a huge breakout, so be prepared for that to happen any day. Almost no flies to speak of, but we all know they will come back as well. Gnats were crazy the day before our entry while we camped at Lake Jeanette (June 8th), but it was in the upper 80's that day, so it wasn't unexpected.
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Oldtown13
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Just came out of S. Kawishiwi River, and bugs weren't bad. I had expected them to be terrible, and convinced a buddy to get the Original Bug Shirt, but he never used it. In the evenings the mosquitoes were out for about an hour, but were controlled with bug spray. During the day, bugs were not an issue. A VERY pleasant surprise.
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minnmike
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We were in the Clearwater area and the bugs were not bad except a few days the gnats were worse than I've seen in quite a while.
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x2jmorris
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Gnats left me with some welts a few days ago
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agrippando
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Harv: "Went to Basswood yesterday; didn't have 1 mosquito. We were all surprised at there being no bugs"
Annoying flys during the warmer days on the west side this week.
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Harv
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Went to Basswood yesterday; didn't have 1 mosquito. We were all surprised at there being no bugs
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snakecharmer
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Very few mosquitos, but the black flies were present last week on the Ely side.
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BigBearArlich
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Just got back from my second trip of the summer - EP 44 Ram Lake area.
Bugs were bad. We had a 10-15 MPH wind most of the time which made them a non-issue, but any lulls between the gusts and the skeeters were out in force. Especially at dawn and dusk.
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Richwon4
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I appreciate this thread...please keep the reports coming.
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TrailZen
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Today's Wizard of Id seems an appropriate addition to this discussion...
TZ
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Aries
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Tons of skeets at East Bearskin Campground, lots of biting flies on Clearwater.
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WhiteWolf
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Skitters thick and stable flies also but not as numerous. Pine Lake/ McFarland/ John lake area.
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BigBearArlich
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Just got home from Mudro -> Boot lake. Did a day trip up through Fairy, Gun, Bullet, Moosecamp and Fourtown.
Bugs were non-existent. I think we saw 1 or 2 mosquitos the entire trip. 3 horse flies. 0 ticks. 6 gnats.
It was the best weather and bug conditions Ive ever had up there.
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egknuti
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Just paddled our from Oyster. Deer flies swarming around heads with a few landing bites. Some moderate mosquito activity on portages and at dusk.
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Bearpath9
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Bearpath9: "Just got back from Hegman lakes. Skeeters were present, but too bad. No gnats or flies to speak of. Of course, the cool nights (low 40's) may have had something to do with it."
Should say "not too bad". Caffeine hasn't kicked in yet.
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buzz17
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The sand flies and skeeters were bad as of 6-9-19 on the Kawishiwi. It will depend on weather and location.
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Bearpath9
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Just got back from Hegman lakes. Skeeters were present, but too bad. No gnats or flies to speak of. Of course, the cool nights (low 40's) may have had something to do with it.
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Worried
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Any advice for how to deal with them?
We have 98% deet, headnets, long pants and shirts. Anything else you recommend? Gloves?
Would hate for this to put a huge damper on our trip.
We leave out of Snowbank Lake on the 22nd.
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Jackfish
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Worried: "Any advice for how to deal with them? We have 98% deet, headnets, long pants and shirts. Anything else you recommend? Gloves? "
Looks like you have it covered. The only other thing you could do is stay home, and who wants to do that? :)
Plan for the worst, but hope for the best... and go with a great attitude. You'll be fine.
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walllee
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In Quetico the last 10 days. There were a few bugs around, but nothing compared to other trips in the same time period.I was quite surprised.
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IndyElden
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The bugs last week on Isabella River, Bald Eagle Lake, Gabbro Lake and South Kawishiwi River were no problem. We pre-treated our clothing with Permethrin, and I only got the bug spray out two or three times when I was in short sleeves. I came out with zero bites.
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foxfireniner
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At 9:55...I don't care what you are doing, they will chase you into the tent!
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Maxus
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Came back from 4 days in Crab and Cummings. Similar report to those immediately above me, misquotes were thick and hungry in the evening, heard a constant buzzing in the woods just before no light. Portages and river paddles were complete with head swarming deer flies. No issue with gnats or black flies, expect for one or two while paddling in Cummings.
Treated clothing with Permethrin for the first time and it worked as everyone described, no issue with any bugs on our clothing. Thanks for the tip on that everyone
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BobDobbs
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jdsellner: " How are the Bugs"
I wouldn't know - I use permethrin ;-P
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minnmike
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I'm assuming that the cold temps on some nights, including tonight up there are keeping the mosquito numbers pretty low so far. I have not seen a mosquito so far in SE Minnesota and usually by the end of morel season they are out in force in bluff country.
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Twins87
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We spent last week in the Long Island area and the bugs were bad. Mosquitos, deer flies in particular. The usual hum at dusk was present at other hours of the day. We did all of our cooking in our CCS bug tent. And had thermacells set up around camp for our 'outdoor' time. First time in quite a while that I put bug spray on when we were daytripping and on the way in/out for portages. I ran out of time while prepping for the trip and skipped the peremthrin treatment of my clothes. I regretted that.
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gopher2307
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Black flies were pretty bad the last 5 days up in the Saganaga - Ottertrack - Little Knife area. They might have been improving, or I was just getting used to them. Actually used my bug head nets for the first time!
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old_salt
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They’re pretty good with a little oil and salt. Pan fried, an excellent appetizer!
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ghamer
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Just got back from a loop out of Kawishiwi Lake... mosquitoes weren't a problem for us but whenever temps were above 50 and winds calm the black flies were out. So we did use our headnets. We didn't see any ticks.
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heavycanoe
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I thought the bugs were not too bad on little caribou - bugs were present but not unbearable.
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x2jmorris
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Only had gnats the last 5 days and even they weren't terrible
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burrow1
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we also came out on Saturday little to no bugs all week cold weather is helpful
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MN_Lindsey
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Just came out of Wood Lake EP on Sunday and the mosquitos were horrendous. Our 98% deet barely deterred them!
I will say when I switched to picardin mid-way they were noticeably better, but they were awful.
We didn't have any biting flies or any ticks. Just mosquitos.
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SevenofNine
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Worried: "Any advice for how to deal with them?
We have 98% deet, headnets, long pants and shirts. Anything else you recommend? Gloves?
Would hate for this to put a huge damper on our trip.
We leave out of Snowbank Lake on the 22nd."
Yes, buy a screen enclosure for hanging out in to get away from the bugs. Some that hang over beds are quite inexpensive.
You could also bring several OFF Clip on products to hang in key areas or hang on your belt. These are very dependent on the amount of wind blowing on the site more wind = less effectiveness.
OFF
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GunflintTrailAngler
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Horse flies were nonexistent. Mosquitos were average at worst. But the gnats were the worst I’ve ever experienced on the gunflint trail! Bring a head net, as bug spray is useless against them.
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Nelsonti
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I put in on Moose Lake last week and the bugs were not bad at all by BWCA standards. A few mosquitoes, but that was it. We never even used bug nets.
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