Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Trip Planning Forum :: The flying critters, question for those experienced
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TuscaroraBorealis |
sns: " Come on! Where's your spirit of adventure?!? ;-) |
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oldwinter |
I have always been to Q or the BWCA during June/July and dealt with lots of mosquitos/biting flies. I understand they usually become very minimal later in the year. August 7-17, 2021, we were on Basswood Lake and had virtually no bugs. My question - was that due to being in August or because of the severe drought? Do the bugs get that much better in early August most years? I suspect the drought kept them down more than usual for that time in August, or maybe even July/June of 2021. |
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Jaywalker |
schweady: "A1t2o: "...With the drought you probably didn't see them much at all..." Stable flies - a.k.a. ankle biters - lay their eggs in rotting vegetation along the shoreline, which often times collects on sandy areas. Drought could actually expose more vegetation to rot. Can't explain why their numbers go up and down though. I still get a few mosquitos in August, but far fewer than earlier. Like MikeinMPLS mentioned above, they generally are declining by August but can vary lake by lake or pop up with a rain fall. |
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MikeinMpls |
Don't know if this helps much but that's been my experience. Mike |
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schweady |
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Speckled |
Mosquito's have never bothered me much. I can't stand the sandflies and deer flies for their constant buzzing around your head and face...and those ankle biters, argh!. A single ankle biter can be such a pest in the canoe, and they're so hard to slap dead, they always fly away at just the right time. They're the worst. |
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A1t2o |
Personally, I think that gnats are the worst. They come in swarms to the point you are inhaling them and there is little that you can do about them. Only certain sprays work and only some of the time. Mosquitoes are the most tolerable because I feel like they are the most responsive to repellants like deet and smoke. Horse flies and ankle biters are bad but not maddening like swarms of gnats. They demand your attention but at least you can get some relief from killing them. I always like to go on trips after the gnats but before the bigger flies. This means we deal with mosquitoes. We have developed ways to deal with them though. |
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schweady |
A1t2o: "...With the drought you probably didn't see them much at all..." No, they were there last Aug. |
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lindylair |
I can confidently say though, on average, bugs are much more tolerable the later in summer (or fall) you go. August, although busy, offers generally comfortable and relatively stable weather and relatively less bug impact. If there is a down side it is that it is not known to be a great time for fishing, but we have always been able to find enough to keep us interested. |
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sns |
Last year I was most impressed by how well my dog did - catching (out of midair) and eating deer & horse flies while in the canoe. I declined to try any. |