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After returning from a week on and around the Galipos, I can say the bugs are abundant & biting but they're not as bad as I've seen in the past, or as described above in other areas of Algonquin - but that can often be the case - tons of bugs here, not so many there, and so on. We did need deet and head nets on portages, but never had to use bug jackets or setup the bug shelter - not bad for June.
However what was a bit of a shock was having all 4 biters around at once - I've never had the privilege of dodging mosquitoes, black flies, deer flies and horse flies all at once. That part kinda sucked - but overall it was a typical June trip as far as biting insects are concerned.
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Any mid-July updates?
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Just returned from a weekend around achray. Bugs were not awful. deer flies and mosquitos. The low lying areas were bad but for the most part it was predictable for the time of year.
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I just came back from camping in the area east of Rain Lake. The deer flies were around here and there but not too bad. At night we experienced a bad frenzy of mosquitos. Others I talked to after the trip either had some bad nights of mosquitos or nights where mosquitos weren't too bad. So I guess it just depends where you are. Either way, it's still a lot better than June
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Mosquitos were insane on opeongo last weekend, deer flies very annoying saturday but not biting much, and mosquitos were insane especially after dark, literally just swarms of buzzing couldn't hear yourself think..... brutal.
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Just got back from NTL... Mosquitos were unusually bad for this time of the year. With no campfire, that made it even worse.
Hoping the fire ban is done today with all that rain. If not, I'm bringing mosquito coils for the trip with Saturday.
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Last week on Pen, the mosquitos were bad in the evening/night, but pretty much non-existant in areas with good exposure. Deer/horse flies around during the day, but not biting that badly. Generally, pretty good so long as you don't have to be outside once the sun sets!
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Mosquito coils are a point of open combustion .. much like a smoldering cigarette butt. With everything being tinder dry, they could be a recipe for disaster!
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Hmmm... Interesting point Barry. So mosquito coils are prohibited? What about smoking? Saw cigarette butts in 2 fire pits, presumably because they couldn't be burned...
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Bugs on Sunday Lake this past weekend weren't bad. Once the sun set the mosquitoes definitely came out, but they were almost non existent during the day. There was quite a few horse flies out all day long, but nothing too bad. Overall it was significantly better than I has anticipated.
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Mosquito coils, candles and cigarettes (and other tobacco products) are not specifically called out in the detailed regulations under the Forest Fires Prevention Act. This link is a good starting point and includes links to both the Forest Fires Prevention Act and the Ontario Regulation 207/96 (Outdoor Fires) which are established under the Act.
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That leaves you in a bit of a gray area when it comes to using any of those. Personally I would choose not to.
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Candles are called out in the fireban notice produced by Algonquin park, but not in the provincial rules. Would suggest as some one stated above mosquito coils probably a would be a grey area. I see the province expanded the restricted fire zone , but moved Algonquin to blue. Low risk. Pray for more rain. Was having beers with some one friday night planning either a spring french river trip or spring Frontenac trip. Looks like the fire went right through the area I was thinking about going on the french.
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From the Act FYI:
Smoking prohibited
28 No person shall smoke while walking or working in a forest area during the fire season. R.S.O. 1990, c. F.24, s. 28; 2009, c. 33, Sched. 22, s. 3 (9).
Smoking material, etc.
29 No person shall throw or drop, in or within 300 metres of a forest area,(a) a lighted match, cigarette, cigar or other smoking material;(b) live coals; or(c) hot ashes. R.S.O. 1990, c. F.24, s. 29; 2009, c. 33, Sched. 22, s. 3 (10).
Last edited by FredForest (7/25/2018 6:30 pm)
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Thanks for finding that section Fred. I had missed it, possibly because most of the detailed restrictions are in the regulations rather than the Act itself.
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You are welcome. A very poorly drafted piece of legislation, unfortunately. You can smoke as long as you are not walking or working meaning it would seem you can smoke if you are sitting around a camp fire during leisure time. You can also smoke as long as you don't throw a lit cigarette/cigar/match into the bush. The mosquito coils may produce 'hot ashes' but who knows what is intended by 'hot'? Likely, hot enough to create combustion in what the ash lands on but it's hard to know. Didn't mean to highjack this thread about bugs but I guess the mosquito coils, cigarettes, cigars and fires as bug deterrents may not be too far off.
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Any updates on the bugs? Heading in in the next week or so.
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Was in the northwest last two weeks. Bugs got better by last weekend. Much better. Mosquitos very pesty at dusk and moderately bad on portages.
Moderate overall, worse than usual for this time of the year but certainly very tolerable.
