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Just returned from a trip in North-ish Algonquin. Flies hatched may 10-11 and have been growing in numbers but not biting. Mainly swarming during the day and at dusk. Mosquitos are very minimal- but i suspect that is due to the incredibly dry conditions. My prediction is for them to take off as well with the rain forecasted. Plan accordingly…
Cheers
Austin
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Came out on May 12 from the Booth-Dickson-McKaskill loop. Black flies were out at various times but weren't biting till the 11th and even then only rarely. I didn't need a bug shirt when I came out on the 12th. A local cottager I spoke to at the Shall Lake parking lot thought the black flies had been limited by the very high temps (it was 28C when I left Shall Lake). Unfortunately I'm sure the near term forecast for cooler temps and rain will bring out the biting hordes.
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They're here!!!!
Was on Macintosh this weekend and the blackflies were beginning to bite. I'm sure they'll be at full density this weekend.
A few mosquitoes around but portages were pretty safe.
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keg wrote:
They're here!!!!
Was on Macintosh this weekend and the blackflies were beginning to bite. I'm sure they'll be at full density this weekend.
A few mosquitoes around but portages were pretty safe.
I just returned from a hike on the Western Uplands Trail (May 14-16) and the biting has definitely begun. Late afternoon and early evening at camp were especially brutal. Despite spray, I still got chewed up pretty good. Agreed that they'll be at full intensity in the next few days. On the plus side, almost no mosquitoes yet, but I could hear the crazy loud drone of them hatching out on Panther Lake on Sunday.
Last edited by hiker72 (5/17/2022 8:27 am)
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@hiker72 - I believe the humming sound comes from Midges and not mosquitos. It's a common thought that you hear a cloud of mosquitos but it's a smaller harmless fly that makes the humming sound we sometimes hear in spring and summer.
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@hiker72 - I believe the humming sound comes from Midges and not mosquitos. It's a common thought that you hear a cloud of mosquitos but it's a smaller harmless fly that makes the humming sound we sometimes hear in spring and summer.
Ah, never too old to learn something new - thanks for the information!
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It's time for the perennial comment on this type of thread......
Beginning of May, no bugs! End of May, lots of bugs!!!
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A quick 2 nights on St. Andrews arriving the 25th. Should be stellar - I'll be tipping a flask in the Eureka No Bug Zone.
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Going in tomorrow morning, I will take the opposite opinion and lean on past experience.. bugs are rarely THAT bad on our May long weekend trips. Bug dope, big fires, and strong whiskey and you don't even feel them!
Cheers all!
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Agreed- they are far worse in June. Preparing for the worst but I'm optimistic they won't be too bad based on the cool weather forecast for the weekend.
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Going in tomorrow morning, I will take the opposite opinion and lean on past experience.. bugs are rarely THAT bad on our May long weekend trips. Bug dope, big fires, and strong whiskey and you don't even feel them!
Cheers all!
Agreed they are normally not too bad on May long but, I was up over this past weekend and they were pretty thick. The high temps definitely brought them out a bit earlier than normal and they were hungry. Hopefully the cooler weather and rain keeps them at bay for you.
And yes, June is always peak but I was still surprised with how thick they were getting last weekend.
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Found it quite strange this weekend. The portages were like early September, on the water had plenty of black flies when the wind was down but few biting but one site I was on was just mobbed by mosquito and black flies.
Hammock inside the bug shelter worked well though.
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I was in Killarney this past weekend. Hardly any bugs 🤷🏻♀️
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Just returned from an 11 day APP trip. Was shirtless a few days, t-shirt and shorts other days, last two days used a bug shirt in a couple portages only. No bug dope necessary.
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David, rosemary, Tim River, little trout from may 23rd through today. Bugs very much in evidence. The apocalypse is on.
Almost no black flies but the mosquitoes have awakened and have only one thing on their mind. On the portage David creek to rosemary, where the creek crosses the portage it was absurd.
