Mosquito tips

[Coastal Aggie]

Im getting ready for my 3rd trip up to Alaska in about a month. this will be my second trip up with an oliver and first time in the summer and not during the shoulder seasons. As such mosquitos are on my mind. I thought i was used to them from going to college in Galveston and living in texas my whole life but even last spring when i was in alaska leaving just when they were starting to hatch it was a whole different ballgame. I would like to get one of those magnetic screen doors for the Ollie and was wondering if any of yall have recommendations on them. Also while my original thermacell has worked amazingly for most outings ive done the refills can be a bit of a pain when you need to use it for extended periods of time so if someone has experience with either one of the other thermacell products or some sort of alternative thats just as effective or better id appreciate the insight.

[Ronbrink]

We’re in Clear Lake near Galveston, I ‘m a mosquito magnet! We carry Thermacells, one handheld and three latern style. The handheld is kept near me and the laterns are positioned around the immediate camp. I have a dropper bottle containing Pyrethrin to recharge the scent pads, very cost efficient and very effective! I really don’t like to spray down with harsh insect repellant, but find the Repel Lemon Eucalyptus (Deet-Free) product pleasent for skin and clothing applications and effective. Inside the Oliver I hang a couple of bug zappers for the occasional pesty invaders. If anywhere for a length of time, the screened Clam is deployed. Although I don’t like using, sometimes there’s a need to sweep camp with Cutter Backyard Bug Control. 

[William SJT]

The 115 mile stretch of the Alaska Highway from Destruction Bay to the Alaska border is pretty rough. Slow way down when you come to the gravel patches.

 

[topgun2]

Each year prior to heading out to the Rockies to fish for a couple of months, I treat several changes of cloths with THIS STUFF.

It lasts through washings and helps keep the bugs off for about 6 weeks.

Have a great trip!

Bill

[marsharini]

Another mosquito magnet here.  The campground at Watson Lake, Yukon Territory was the worse for mosquitoes.  This was my setup.  The older, dark green Thermacell I set on the right side of the steps going into the Oliver and never had a mosquito get inside.  The Repel spray works great if you have to leave the Thermacell shield of protection to go for a walk or otherwise leave the campsite.  The severity of the mosquitoes depends on the weather.  When we went to Alaska in 2016 they weren’t that bad except in wet, rainy heavily wooded campgrounds, but it pays to be prepared.

[topgun2]

Is it just me or is there something extremely satisfying about that sound of yet another mosquito being fried when hit with the "tennis racquet"?

 

[Coastal Aggie]

6 hours ago, William SJT said:

Slow way down when you come to the gravel patches.

Don't I know it. Roads were still pretty icy this last time I drove up. And there were a couple of times i started sliding but always regained control. That was not a drive for the faint of heart. Most of the campgrounds were still closed for the winter too. I think aside from Liard in BC I spent the nights in the roadside pullouts because there was nowhere else to camp. Even once I was up in alaska we took a trip down to the kenai and while the campground we went to was technically fully open they hadn't gotten around to plowing the actual campsites yet. Another lesson learned when I decided to brave it and found the snow in the cul-de-sac at the end of the row of campsites to be too deep to turn around. Thankfully I've got a 12k lb winch which made easy but time consuming work to pull my truck and Ollie in a circle to get back out of the campground. 

[Coastal Aggie]

10 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

Is it just me or is there something extremely satisfying about that sound of yet another mosquito being fried when hit with the "tennis racquet"?

Probably one of my favorite toys I picked up during my time In galveston. It was the year that there was a huge population explosion of the giant quarter sized mosquitos that have a pretty painful bite. I think 2017 or 18. Many of the hallways at the school were spotted with blood spots from students smacking mosquitos against the walls. They had to put up signs asking folks to avoid doing that.

Edited June 30, 2024 by Coastal Aggie

[Ray Kimsey]

When the mosquito meter is in the 5-6 range, you can resort to a: Mosquito head net

[Coastal Aggie]

So none of yall actually use a mosquito net on the door of your trailers to keep them outside? My friends that live in Fairbanks use one on the door to their house and it works great.

[Galileo]

On 6/30/2024 at 5:42 PM, Ray Kimsey said:

When the mosquito meter is in the 5-6 range, you can resort to a: Mosquito head net

We spent three days at Flamingo National Park in the Everglades. Their cut little “meter” showed 3 out of 5. I forget the captions, but they implied it was only “moderate”. 

IMHO, they mosquitoes were intolerable. You COULD NOT do anything outside many hours of the day without becoming a blood donor.

It’s a very neat ecosystem - manatees, osprey, gators AND American Crocodiles. But, I won’t ever go back. I don’t like being a part of the Everglades food chain.

[Galileo]

We’ve snagged a Campground Host gig at Glacial Lake SP in Starbucks, Minnesota for the last part of July and all of August. (Go North young man - in summer!)

Im thinking now about mosquitoes now, as they find me particularly appetizing apparently. The park management says mosquitoes “aren’t that bad” that time of year (but flies are) so I’m just kinda worried.

I loathe smearing myself with repellants, and have yet to find a really effective trap or repeller. I had two of the Thermacell “lanterns” that @Ronbrink seems to like. I didn’t find them very effective. They’re also a little expensive to feed since you need repellant pads, butane cartridges, as well as batteries to make the light go. There is a newer Thermacell unit, but it also needs refills every 8 hours.

I’ve used a “Dynatrap” with some success - and they still get pretty good reviews from Popular Mechanics (I think).

Since we’re going to be there for ~6 weeks, I don’t mind making an investment. Prolly gonna get a stand-alone screen room, but was hoping for an option that wouldn’t restrict us to an 8’ by 8’ safe zone. 
 

Suggestions that don’t require I bathe in DEET, pyrethrum, or any other noxious elixir? I don’t want to nuke the local ecosystem - but if it’s them or me…..

[Patriot]

We use a couple of these “therma cells”.  I can say they do work, and have served us well.

Typically just turn it on set it next to our camp chair and no mosquitos. Strong reviews too!

https://www.amazon.com/Thermacell-Cartridge-Repellent-Protection-Mosquito-Free/dp/B07JCQ8GQJ/ref=sr_1_2?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.

 

Edited March 2 by Patriot

[John Dorrer]

Therma-Cells for the win. Used them for the past 15 years. We have 3. Keep the Mosquitos at bay.

[Ollie-Haus]

We like Wondercide products. This is a Shark Tank start up that's proven to be very successful because the products actually work. No harsh chemicals, just essential oils. Works for all flying and creeping pests. Safe for direct skin contact and won't stain cloths. Pleasant fragrances. Very effective against ticks. Safe for all pets as well. 

Wondercide

Edited March 2 by Ollie-Haus

[Galileo]

42 minutes ago, Patriot said:

We use a couple of these “therma cells”.  I can say they do work, and have served us well.

Typically just turn it on set it next to our camp chair and no mosquitos. Strong reviews too!

https://www.amazon.com/Thermacell-Cartridge-Repellent-Protection-Mosquito-Free/dp/B07JCQ8GQJ/ref=sr_1_2?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.

 

I’m familiar with the Thermacell “technology” in that a certain former female acquaintance of mine had several of the cordless butane curling irons. The used the same cartridges. They’re quite rudimentary in that there’s no real pressure regulator - just a tiny, TINY orifice that controls the amount of gas that is allowed to make it to the “burner”. Two or three uses into my using the Thermacell “lanterns” one quit working (heating) entirely - even with a new, full cartridge. Sure enough, the faint hissing sound you’d normally hear when turning the device on was missing. My guess is that the tiny orifice became clogged. Interesting, in that between the time the unit was new, with a new cartridge, and the time it quit working - there was no way -I- could have introduced anything into it that would have clogged it. The cordless curling irons suffered the same fate - multiple times.

That, and I didn’t find them to be that effective even when working.

I also thought it was kinda dumb to power a light with batteries, while butane supplies heat. (Guess nobody told the Thermacell folks that a butane powered light would also generate heat…) I was even using rechargeable batteries to attempt to minimize cost and waste.

Yes, there are mostly good reviews, but I see MY one-star review has a fair amount of company.

YMMV I guess. 

Edited March 2 by Galileo
Fat fingers, autocorrect, sunspots.

[Galileo]

10 minutes ago, Ollie-Haus said:

We like Wondercide products. This is a Shark Tank start up that's proven to be very successful because the products actually work. No harsh chemicals, just essential oils. Works for all flying and creeping pests. Safe for direct skin contact and won't stain cloths. Pleasant fragrances. Very effective against ticks. Safe for all pets as well. 

Wondercide

I’m familiar with Wondercide products and have used them on occasion for flea control. That said, I still don’t like to douse myself with any kind of repellants. I just feel “dirty” when wearing them and I’d have to shower before going to bed.

[Galileo]

(And yes - I’m demanding! Otherwise I would have opted for the $12,000.00 “Coleman” trailer instead of the $70,000.00 Oliver!) 😋

[Ronbrink]

5 hours ago, Galileo said:

They’re also a little expensive to feed since you need repellant pads, butane cartridges, as well as batteries to make the light go.

The butane cartridges last a long time, so not a problem with me. I only use my lanterns as a light source, as needed, and not when combating biting pests; my headlights serve me better. As a cost saving measure I reuse the pads, they last a long time by recharging with a few drops of Pyrethrin Garden Insect Spray Concentrate; refresh as needed. I find a Thermacell effective within the 10’ radius they claim to protect, that area is extended with multiple, strategically placed units. Positioning them upwind increases their effectiveness. If dead calm, I set up a fan to help distribute the scent. 

 

5 hours ago, Galileo said:

they find me particularly appetizing apparently

I too am a ‘mosquito magnet’, has something to do with my O+ blood type! I spent most of my professional life out-of-doors in very harsh environments, including marshes, wetlands, bottomland hardwood forests, inland and coastal waters, and rainforests of Brazil for extensive periods of time both days and nights with a Thermacell strapped to my waist or backpack, they work! 

Edited March 2 by Ronbrink

[Galileo]

$30.99 for 72 hours worth of refills. I forget is we had 2 or 4 of the lanterns, so apply the appropriate math. 

I’m aware of the wind factor and don’t think we had much adverse wind happening. 

For me, it just didn’t seem that the juice was worth the squeeze. 4 lanterns running four hours an evening and that $30.99 is gone in 4 or 5 uses. 

That said, I’m glad that people have found workable and effective ways to avoid being eaten alive and spilling your beer/wine/Manhattan when trying to swat a mosquito. I’m still looking for the solution that works for me!

[SeaDawg]

My best advice is long pants, long sleeves, light colors,a hat,  and a high powered fan. I too hate wearing repellant, but I don't often spray my skin, I spray my clothes. So, they stink, not me. A fly_mosquito net can be necessary sometimes.

At the Arctic circle some years back (def not a recommended road for fiberglass trailers, its a really, really crummy road), we took rapid fire photos trying to get one of us smiling. Not even the dog could smile, with all the mosquitos. We had intended to camp at the freezer campground, but opted to return to fairbanks.

 

[Galileo]

15 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:

My best advice is long pants, long sleeves, light colors,a hat,  and a high powered fan. I too hate wearing repellant, but I don't often spray my skin, I spray my clothes. So, they stink, not me. A fly_mosquito net can be necessary sometimes.

At the Arctic circle some years back (def not a recommended road for fiberglass trailers, its a really, really crummy road), we took rapid fire photos trying to get one of us smiling. Not even the dog could smile, with all the mosquitos. We had intended to camp at the freezer campground, but opted to return to fairbanks.

 

Yeah, that knucklehead wearing a sweatshirt when it’s 80F is me…. Long pants always.

As for the road you mention - I got one of this stone guard “mudflaps” looking thing that slides over the hitch ball carrier. Haven’t used it yet…..

Edited March 2 by Galileo
I really hate autocorrect!

[topgun2]

THIS is the stuff use on my cloths every year when going to the western mountains to fly fish.

Once dry it doesn't stink or even smell at all, does a good job with ticks, black flies and mosquitos.

Bill

[jd1923]

3 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

My best advice is long pants, long sleeves, light colors, a hat,  and a high powered fan.

We only get mosquitos a few weeks a year, once monsoon rains get the area wet enough (August +/-). No flies either though we ran through a lot of them to and from the Oct Texas Rally. Brought a couple home in the hull to the fate of death in the Arizona dry! 🤣

However years in the Midwest (stewardess on board?) and in Texas (those little nasty B-words) brings back bad memories. I always do yardwork in Jeans and long sleeves, hats and gloves even in the heat of the day. Always have two fans in my garage. One blowing at ankle height and the other chest height.

As far as travel, we prefer not travel in those areas or seasons. Might have to miss that trip to Alaska. It's too far anyway! How are the bugs at the big rally on the Lake in northern Alabama?! Also, too far, maybe someday.

[Galileo]

1 minute ago, jd1923 said:

As far as travel, we prefer not travel in those areas or seasons.

Which is why you’re unlikely to find me in the Everglades again. Bern there, done that, sprinted from the trailer to the truck and back - and decided NOT to cook outside or try to even get a campfire going. (Really!)