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3/26/2018 9:23 am  #1


Bug Season

I'm contemplating a spring trip this year for the first time ever.

I understand there is generally a window after ice out and before the bugs hatch (black flies usually precede mosquitoes?) and then once the bugs start they're intense for most of June.

So when do the bugs usually start? Is Victoria Day weekend usually safe??? 

 

3/26/2018 9:37 am  #2


Re: Bug Season

It varies but usually, black flies are biting by mid-May (out earlier but they don't seem to bite the first few days) with mozzies 1-2 weeks after that. You would almost certainly not have a bug-free Victoria Day.

 

3/26/2018 10:50 am  #3


Re: Bug Season

We do a trip nearly every year on Victoria Day weekend and we've experienced nearly every type of weather. 
Temp can swing wildly, bug quantity can swing wildly and precipitation can be a total crapshoot. 

But, I have loved nearly every single one of these trips - even when I am cold, wet and being eaten alive (the worst combination). 

We do a few things to manage:
1. Only go with people who you know can cut it - I won't bring first-timers or more "delicate" people on this wknd. I can endure a lot but enduring crappy weather while listening to someone else complain about said crappy weather is not for me.
2. We usually bring a bug tent - We borrow my sister's dining tent that she got on sale at Cdn Tire. It is heavy and awkward but we are usually doing a short trip so it's worth slugging it over the portages. Having a dry, relatively bug free place to retreat to in this season helps everyone's sanity.
3. Bring a big tarp and all our best rain gear - rain pants and jacket. 
4. Bring a bathing suit (which is almost ALWAYS aspirational) AND a toque and gloves.
5. Bring both an ax and a saw - another luxury we can handle on our shorter trips. If it's wet, you're going to be splitting wood to get to the dry stuff on the inside.
6. Last year we treated our clothing with a permethrin spray. You can get this at most outdoors stores, I think. It's what they infuse bug nets with and it's designed for fabric. It lasts a few washes on your clothes and made a noticeable difference compared to our friends who didn't have treated clothing. We sprayed our pants, shirts and socks. 

Another thing to note: the weather and the bugs have almost ALWAYS been better than I expect. Maybe I'm just a sandbagger but I always go into that wknd expecting the worst and being determined to love it. And I'm almost always surprised by delightful conditions. 



*Don't know why I'm upside down in this photo. I assure you I was NOT upside down when it was taken. 

Last edited by CanoeClaire (3/26/2018 10:50 am)

 

3/26/2018 11:09 am  #4


Re: Bug Season

Just a quick note about Permethrin.   Permethrin treated clothing and permethrin based products for treating clothing are not approved for sale in Canada by Health Canada.   However, you can legally bring these products, in a quantity suitable for personal usage, into Canada.  I picked up some permithrin spray in the US a couple of months ago and look forward to using it.  I am more concerned about tick protection in areas south of Algonquin Park because getting Lyme disease would really suck!

 

3/26/2018 1:46 pm  #5


Re: Bug Season

check out the" eureka no bug zone tent",, great little  screen shelter from da bugs.
  i not not believe in bug repellant, some stuff on the market melts plastic jig heads and foam handles on a fish`n pole, also will take the varnish off a paddle,, and trippers put this stuff on exposed skin,, hard on kidneys and liver,,, no thanks,
  i ware gloves and a black fly hat , tuck your pant cuffs inside your socks. white is the colour of choice, black flies prefer dark clothing. stay away from scened products, bounce dryer sheets, after shave, perfume soap and last but not least deodorant.  sandy areas hold flies.
      i hope this helps
  

 

3/26/2018 2:53 pm  #6


Re: Bug Season

These days I use deet-spray on my hat rim, long-sleeve shirt cuffs and any tight-single-layer clothing area (socks and shirt shoulders). I know some of it could soak through. But I'm apprehensive like "Swedish" about using it direct on my skin. Years ago the darned stuff took the white paint icons off the little buttons on the  back of my digital camera!

 

3/26/2018 4:02 pm  #7


Re: Bug Season

I don't like the feel of deet on my skin which is why I really like the permethrin on clothing option (I had no idea it wasn't available in Canada.  I do think you can get clothing already permeated with it in Canada though). For me, it's more of a texture issue than a concern about the chemical but that doesn't make me feel awesome either. I know the permethrin on my clothing does come into contact with my skin but it's much more pleasant for me than applying directly. 

If the bugs are really bad, I'll spray a buff with deet and wear that.

I know there are some non-deet repellant solutions but I'm not so keen. A friend of mine is an entomologist and sacrificed his arm to science and was bitten hundreds of time testing different repellants; he reports that deet was the only effective solution. Having seen pics of his arm, I'm inclined to believe him. Although, I know lots of people that swear by them so I fall on the "you do you" spectrum of this particular debate. 

 

3/26/2018 5:27 pm  #8


Re: Bug Season

Picaridin is the way to go for those of us who don't like DEET, which is not the only solution. Much softer on skin, same on bugs.

 

3/26/2018 7:06 pm  #9


Re: Bug Season

i will stay away from the pircaridin,, food for thought ,,asbestos and formaldehyde  were once legal in canada .
 just say`n

 

3/26/2018 7:12 pm  #10


Re: Bug Season

I've been pretty lucky with May long weekend trips, but for most of those trips there definitely seemed to be a point on the last day where all the bugs came out. Usually it only made a difference for the last section of paddling and loading up the car.

Expect and plan for the worst, but there's a good chance you'll be pleasantly surprised.
 

 

3/27/2018 2:06 am  #11


Re: Bug Season

If the weather is cold then you won't have any worries.  If it's warm, pick a site that will provide some exposure to the expected wind direction.  It can make all the difference. 

I did a trip a few years ago in May and was camped on the south end of the lake, We had a north wind blowing in to our site for a couple of days.  We never even took the bug jackets or deet out of our packs.  When we paddled to the portage at the north end of the lake we encountered two separate groups (camped on the north end of the lake) that were both leaving a day earlier than planned because they couldn't take the bugs anymore.  Once on the portage, the bugs were indeed pretty bad.

 

3/27/2018 6:20 am  #12


Re: Bug Season

It's all about site selection during bug season. On big lakes, away from low marshy land and breezy/exposed. Often smaller islands are good too.

 

3/27/2018 9:32 am  #13


Re: Bug Season

Last year we canoed May 14-19 leaving out of Cedar Lake. We had some black flies on the portages, but didn't get slammed until the last night when we camped on Bug Lake... go figure. 

 

3/27/2018 12:46 pm  #14


Re: Bug Season

@swedish pimple: any factual basis for comparing picaridin to asbestos? I investigated the question at length and found none.

 

3/29/2018 4:15 pm  #15


Re: Bug Season

It's that time of year for the old saying......   "The first of May... no bugs.  The end of May... lots of bugs."

 

 

4/03/2018 10:11 am  #16


Re: Bug Season

I recall a trip in the first week od June and we hit peak blackfly season and almost as bad mosquitoes ... if I had to guess this year based on the weather so far in April the blackflies will be out during the usual dates .. possibly even a little late. 

But all that means diddly because the blackflies turn on so quickly with a few days of really warm weather as long as the snow is gone ...

.

 

Board footera

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