[fourteen410]

[Chief Joseph]

I used a floorless tent in the winds and the mozzies still got in even though I clipped my ground cloth to the tent and tucked it in as best I could. No more floorless tent for me. My friendly Swede bug shelter worked great though, best 5 ounces of gear ever and about 20 bucks.

[Mountainpines]

Peppermint?

[RatherBOutdoors]

It turns out that Permethrin is not an insect repellant, but an insecticide. When the bugs land on Permethrin treated fabric, it poisons their nervous system which gets them disoriented and, sometimes, kills them off. I don't know how quickly it works, however, so it seems they may be able to bite/sting before it takes effect.

[Mountainpines]

They won’t land on the mint. I tried that at home. And it works. Lavender works too but not with bees! I usually buy shampoo with peppermint if I want bugs away from my face. There are natural peppermint oils as well. In my garden I grow peppermint too and some other herbs.

[BigBrunyon]

Sometimes you see these guys carryin hides up there. Only makes it worse!! Bugs swarmin all around the hides!!

[gb]

[Sky Hiker]

Tough to enjoy a good trip when the mosquitos ruin it

[Mountainpines]

Not for us. We are in the midwest and are used to mosquitos. We know how to keep them away. The shampoo I am using is the teatree shampoo. I haven’t noticed but it has peppermint AND lavender in a mix. No wonder it works. It comes in a huge bottle for $20-$30. I started using it in Alaska when we rented a private house. The host put it in a bathroom.

[Navy salad]

[Navy salad]

[Chief Joseph]

I have had horse flies follow for miles. When I first stated hiking in the 80’s, the first summer they were horrible, once hiking to lake 22 they followed us all the way to the lake. After 3 straight trips of that and once they required trail passes, I stopped hiking for over 20 years. I rode trail on my motorcycle, no issues with bugs while riding.

[neek]

[fourteen410]

[Bramble_Scramble]

I vividly remember my worst horsefly experience on the way to Vesper. I climbed non stop 6-800 ft from Lake Elan on the way to the summit before it finally left me alone. Good motivation to keep moving even when you're tired I guess? I saw an article that mentioned horseflies tend to circle/attack the highest part of a moving object and to hike with someone who is taller than you so they become the target. I'm 6'3" and taller than my friends so if true, then I'm the target. I'm also taller than a lot of other hikers so I get quite a few spider webs to the face that shorter people missed.