On Insects

[Riley Smith]

Ah yes, insects. They're doing their insect thing since Spring is here, and one of those things includes biting humans. A lot of insects find us delectable; mosquitos, horse flies, gnats, and my worst enemy, deer flies. Think rib-eye for you steak lovers. The gnats have had a go at it already when I was on the beach.

Now, deer flies find oak trees near an open area very attractive. You know, near grass and brush that deer might take an interest in and they tend to use them as bases to launch attacks. Sort of like Diego Garcia.It just so happens that humans in the South, for the most part, ALSO like oak trees like that for the shade they provide.Me included.

And of course it means war

Which means that I was intensely interested in that insect that did a high speed pass through my aura yesterday evening. The angle wasn't right for me to get a definite confirmation, but flight pattern and sound led me to believe the blood suckers were appearing. And two red,intensely itchy, spots near my ankle pretty much proved it to me.

Yes, it fits. Dry and hasn't rained in some time. Warm and sunny. Human flesh in shorts and a tee. On the ankles. The dry part is particularly important for one reason. The dragonflies that feed on deer flies ( and every OTHER insect) need rain to propagate. I can see they are, as yet, very rare. I love dragonflies. An enemy to my enemy makes them friends. And besides, they're fun to photograph.

I don't like DEET. I have used Beauty Berry soaked in alcohol and put in a spray bottle instead. I've also read Dog Fennel is a good anti-bite agent. The BB works good for mosquitos but I want something for those deer and horse flies. I'll keep you informed.

[Wolverine]

Flys arent bad where I live in Eastern North Carolina, neither are the mosquitoes. (compared to northern IL where I'm originally from) The ticks? Living next to woods, I have to spray myself with "YAYA" tick ban before going near them.

Except for back around 2008 when I missed 4 months of work due to a case of West Nile, mosquitoes leave me alone. I guess like Charlie the tuna, I neither have good taste or taste good to them anymore.

[Chris Muthig]

I live in Ocala National Forest, the mosquitoes are required to have FAA landing lights.  The ticks are horrible.  I've pulled 32 of them off of me in a month.  I've had 2 this month so far.  We feed corn in our yard at least weekly to keep the turkeys coming around, we had 31 turkeys in our yard on Christmas day.  The possums are married to the lady across the street from us who feeds ALL of the animals, including 4-5 bears at any given time.  Yeah, mosquitoes suck (pun intended)

[Riley Smith]

The Beauty Berry works pretty good for mosquitoes. I took the leaves and just crushed them up and soaked it in alcohol for a while before straining and bottling. Doesn't smell bad but is a little sticky. I guess you can't have everything. Right now the mosquitoes have the same problem as the dragonflies. No rain. And I don't know about ticks since we hardly ever see one. Not like at my brother's deer camp. I was sitting in a lawn chair and one FELL FROM THE TREE on me!

[Chris Muthig]

I have tons of beauty berry in my yard, probably close to 20-30 bushes.  My wife collects it up and makes jelly out of the berries, and she's made dye out of it as well.  Wasn't a huge fan of the jelly, but it was her first attempt and it wasn't bad.  I have been working on the boat and getting swarmed by C-130's aka mosquitoes, and remembered about crushing up the leaves and putting them in your pockets, that worked pretty well.  Just remember to take the leaves out of your pockets before putting your clothes in the laundry.  Don't ask me how I know.

[rfrance0718]

Our staging marina in Dania Beach Florida was right next to a good sized Mangrove swamp. The Mosquitos and  Nosiams were awful. We used a couple of Thernocells in the boat and that helped, but setting the boat up morning or evening was hell. Two nights later, at West End I didn't notice getting bit, but sometime around 2 AM my arms and legs were on fire. This was deep under the skin pin points of absolute horror. Scratching didn't cause any damage, it just didn't help. Mark had some Hydraquortizone in his first aid kit, and that helped. I bought some Deet the next day. Luckily it was windy for mist of the trip, but those two nights were really awful.

[Riley Smith]

You will be miserable in some locations at certain times, especially if there isn't a breeze. I've been in the Grand Bay National Estuarine area (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Bay_National_Estuarine_Research_Reserve) and the no-see-ums were absolutely AWFUL. I was constantly swatting and had no spray. I couldn't hang, either. Had to leave before I needed a transfusion. Literally. There are reports from times past that cattle suffocated from so many bugs. They're not called that along the coast though, it's gnats to us. And they are bad to the bone. After doing a search there are many choices but the ones here are banded dark and light gray and very small. The whole trouble with them and mosquitoes is that what works for one usually doesn't work for the other. So if you get a mix you have to choose your poison    At the Labrot House, a trip down close to the water may bring them back up on the porch with you. And end the sitting. They're much worse on a hot, still evening/night but generally don't bother you on the elevated porch unless you've brought them up with you.

[Brian N.]

Unfortunately, we have all the nasty biting insects. Last year while out on a hike and just 300 yards in we abandoned the hike as we were covered with ticks. While out on a friends power boat we had to keep up the speed to outrun the airborne attack of biting flies. Oddly, the biting horse flies are much more prevalent on the south shore of long Island (microclimate differences, perhaps). My Brother-in-Law, who had his boat on the south shore, would hand out fly swatters as you would board his boat.

Last year we "opened up" our back yard by removing some tree cover, filling in some low areas with soil, and removing under growth. This greatly increased airflow and reduced the mosquitos. I've built a bat box and will install it very soon. Can't hurt. My wife found a product made of natural oils and extracts. I think it is called "Bug Potion #9" and it works very well

[Doug SC]

Coastal marshes here in SC can be horrible for mosquitoes and very small no-see-ums. Called sand gnats in south FL when I was growing up. A trick that works is baby oil on the skin and hair. This keeps them from wanting to land on the oil. Before AC in south FL the wire screens couldn't keep them out, so my grandfather painted the screens with used motor oil to keep them out of the house so the windows could stay open to the breezes. I should add baby oil only works on no-see-ums not m0squitoes.

In the woods and coastal areas long pants and long sleeves help. A no-see-um mesh make head net is always with me. A no-see-um mesh jacket is also good protection. Make sure it is no-see-um mesh and not just mosquito netting which they can go through. Deet on the hat also helps. if staying in one spot those green bug coils, citronella candles and Thermacells also work. However, they work best if the is no to little wind.

For ticks I spray my cloths with "Swayer's premium insect repellent" for clothing, gear, and tents it will kil them. It also kills other insect pests if they come in contact with it. Its active ingredient is Permethrin.

For ankle biter flies at the beach socks and shoes stop them.

An onshore wind is a blessing at the coast!

Yes, I don't like to feed the insects!!

[Wayne Howard]

I got a call from a friend of mine one time. (Yeah, I got friends.) He said he was at the Sea Center Texas where the workers were going to show him how to tie flies and catch redfish and speckled trout. Down near the coast at Lake Jackson. He said they were going to let the class fish the hatchery with their new flies. Big reds and specks.

Anyway, he tells me that three mosquitos had picked up his 3/4 ton pickup and were shaking it to see if they could get him out of his truck. I remember telling him they were young skeeters cause it usually only takes two to lift a truck.

I've been in the Louisiana swamps and Florida no see ums but I will admit that saltwater mosquitos are a breed apart. When they bite, they HURT!!

[Riley Smith]

I remember taking a ride to the beach with my grandma when I was very young. We'd always take her there and let her look over the water because she was from the dirt hills of Attala Co. and had never seen the ocean until we moved south and she visited. Anyway, it wasn't long after a hurricane (couple of days?) and we go bopping there and jump out of the car and were immediately attacked by those HUGE salt-water mosquitoes. The ones about the size of your thumbnail or even bigger. Not just one...HUNDREDS. Worst attack of mosquitoes I've ever seen. I guess the storm blew them in. We retreated immediately and headed home where there were only random bugs. And I'm sure our area got a bad report to those OTHER red clay dwelling relatives.

[pgandw]

Everything is bigger in Alaska - bears, moose, and mosquitoes. The latter are the official state bird. The one advantage in the skeeters so big is that they are slow enough that you can actually grab them and kill them. Makes a bloody mess, but so do most kills in Alaska. Inland Alaska is a lot of swamp land and some lakes between the mountains. Being twice the size of Texas, you know that that is a lot of swamp land. It's just that it freezes hard in the winter. So the skeeters only have a few weeks to use up all their energy feeding and reproducing for the next year.

Making our move back to the lower US after 6 years in Alaska with a 7,000 mile drive/ferry from Kodiak to San Francisco, it was highly recommended we stop at Laird Hot Springs in Canada's Yukon Territory - an area which is very much like a lot of Alaska. During our trip through Alaska, we had already had to don full face mosquito netting over our heads while camping at Triangle Lakes. Even then still got bit. But old dummy didn't put 2 and 2 together about hot springs.

Just didn't think about the hot springs never freezing and killing off the skeeters with the winter cold.

We pulled in in the afternoon, pitched the tent and went to swim and dip in the hot springs. The springs were actually too hot for human skin so they were diverted to a cold lake for mixing to make good swimming and soaking. The afternoon wind kept the springs and campground bug free. Hit the tent and got a good night's sleep. I got up early to make breakfast for the family, and was instantly attacked by swarms. I yelled at the family to stay in the tent, and I rolled the tent with them in it over to the car. They popped out of tent and into the car, and only let in a couple hundred skeeters with them. Threw the tent in the boat, and ran for the car myself. We spent the next hour killing skeeters, and made a bloody mess on the liner of our Ford Exploder. Couldn't really tell if the blood on the head liner was skeeter blood, or the blood the skeeters had taken out of us with their bites. Didn't matter, an hour later all the skeeters were dead, blood stains everywhere, and we were happy to be on our way.

Now in the swamps of NE North Carolina, we have every kind of bee, wasp, hornet, spider, and snake you can imagine. Keeping the spider webs at bay both inside and outside the house is a never ending task. And the hornets/wasps (I don't know the difference) love to build their hives in the boat house and on any canvas/sunbrella surface. When I go down to the boats in the Spring I go armed with a can of spray in each hand. By June, the hornets/wasps are mostly gone, and just the spiders are left. On land, I have learned the deer flies hurt when they bite. Mosquitoes seem tame in comparison.

Fred W
Stuart (ODay) Mariner  Sweet P