Hello! We currently have a reservation at Hunting Island State park for a 2 week vacation trip in August. What I'm hearing is that the Mosquitos are bad at that time of year and I'm just wondering if we should book somewhere else instead???With that being said, are there any other options on the ocean between these two cities that do not have this bug issue? Part of the enjoyment of camping is being outside and I just can't see ourselves staying inside of the camper while we are at the campsite all the time!Thanks!!

They make some very good repellants that will protect you, just make sure you use it. Also, bring a large fan to move some air which is good for keeping you cool(er) but also helps to ward off the pesky things. We keep one in the MH for just that reason. It is true that summer is the best time to grow bugs, but it is true all along the coast. The coast is low country and thus provides a perfect habitat for all creatures.

I answered you on your other thread, but.......there is a reason that it is so hard to get a reservation at Hunting Island. Bugs are just a part of it and anywhere you go in the Low Country of SC, you will have bugs. It's just the nature of the area.Go to HI and enjoy yourself. Just make sure you take some repellant and USE IT!

A couple of cheap box fans are easy to carry and really help. You don't need the smaller high-velocity ones, just enough to move the air somewhat. Repellant spray is also a must. Seems like some of use are especially sensitive to and attractive to mosquitos. Spraying some flying insect spray around occassionally seems to help, But not when there are park Rangers around.

I live very close to Hunting Island, a little more inshore and do not have that much of a problem with them. Do as wildtoad says and bring a box fan to keep under the awning, we take two. As far as August, unless we have had a lot of rain they are not that bad, we have about two weeks in early spring and two weeks in late fall when the bugs are the worst, the rest of the time the heat takes care of them.Cutter Bug-Free backyard can be bought on a hose end sprayer at big box stores and is very effective if you spray a lot, it does not really kill the bugs but makes them go elsewhere and really does not leave a smell. When we go to Hunting Island I take two of them with me and spray down the site including under the trailer and all into the grass and bushes-trees all around. Unless it rains it lasts the whole week. I have never had the park rangers say anything about it, but maybe that is because they never saw me do it, never thought about it being a problem.Hopefully you got one of the low number sites up near the beach, if so the breezes from the ocean will keep them at bay, if not the fans will.People are moving into Charleston and Beaufort counties in record numbers, obviously the bugs are not bad enough to run them off.You will be arriving when the shrimp are getting to the perfect size and the blue crabs will be plentiful. Gay Seafood just outside the park is a good source for fresh shrimp.Have fun and do not worry too much about the bugs.

The closer to the beach you are the less the bugs are a problem. As noted moving air is the best defense against bugs. Put those fans on high and let them rip. HISP is a great area to explore.

Between Charleston SC and Savannah GA | Good Sam Community

jgolden
Explorer
Feb 26, 2016
Ask any Marine if they remember the mosquitoes at Parris Island (not far from Hunting island), and they will tell you that they hardly remember them. Just get someone to wake you up real early and keep you "busy" all day. Perhaps they can verbally motivate you all day also.For a small additional fee.

Do the mosquitos still eat the sand fleas? :)
bakerkids
Explorer
Feb 26, 2016
rjsurfer wrote:
Enjoy those beach front sites while you can in another few years they will be gone. Many have fallen victim to rising sea levels already, some even flood on a high tide!

Ron W.

So sad, but true. Actually the site numbers at HI do not make sense because some sites are no longer there due to changes in coastline. The whole ocean-front row is now gone, and the second row has become the first.
rjsurfer
Explorer
Feb 26, 2016
Enjoy those beach front sites while you can in another few years they will be gone. Many have fallen victim to rising sea levels already, some even flood on a high tide!

Ron W.
StreamNTyme
Explorer
Feb 26, 2016
Loving God's Country! wrote:
Hello! We currently have a reservation at Hunting Island State park for a 2 week vacation trip in August. What I'm hearing is that the Mosquitos are bad at that time of year and I'm just wondering if we should book somewhere else instead???

With that being said, are there any other options on the ocean between these two cities that do not have this bug issue? Part of the enjoyment of camping is being outside and I just can't see ourselves staying inside of the camper while we are at the campsite all the time!

Thanks!!

Hunting Island is beautiful..as is Beaufort, Bluffton, Sav and all the towns along the SE coast. The bugs are the same everywhere at that time of the year. if you have a site near the beach you won't have any bugs, the further you get from the beach the more bugs..it is in deep woods! I think there are more bugs in Ohio... we live near and never have a problem w mosquito..do have no see 'ums in early spring but they are gone by summer and they are only out early am and dusk. Like someone said, a box fan works great, as does repellent. So much to see and enjoy..this area is so very pretty you won't have time to think about the bugs. Make sure you go to the top of the lighthouse, eat lots of local fresh seafood, go kayaking, hiking and walking on the beach. See the historic homes and museums located throughout the Low Country. Enjoy your time here.
bakerkids
Explorer
Feb 25, 2016
Hunting Island is hands down my all-time favorite campground. I've been there when there's no bugs, and I've been there when they're bad. However, when they're bad it's not continuous. It's kind of odd, but they'll be thick and then minutes later gone. It may repeat throughout the day. Some have said the bugs won't be close to the water where there's a breeze, but at Hunting Island that's not the case. There are times when you can be wading in the waves and fighting the bugs at the same time. It's worth it to me, since it's not continuous.

Can't get much better than this....
Site and road covered with sand from storm - Copy by C. Baker, on Flickr[/img]
rocmoc
Explorer
Feb 22, 2016
ken56 wrote:
Its not just the mosquitos, its the "no-see-ums", aka sand gnats. they will eat you up and leave you itching for weeks. The box fans idea is the best, moving air helps a lot BUT.... keep your door and windows closed at all times. They are small enough to go through the screen. It is the nature of the sandy soil and wet conditions so its a coastal area wide condition.

If they are no-see-ums there is control. Just came back from a heavy no-see-um area in Mexico and we used a new product Coleman SkinSmart. Also used no-see-um suits, replaced the screens on the motorhome with no-see-um screen material purchased at Lowes and extra fans for outside use. The SkinSmart & suits were purchased at Walmart.

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico
the_happiestcam
Explorer
Feb 22, 2016
Chuck_thehammer
Explorer
Feb 20, 2016
AikenRacer wrote:
If you wanna give up your site, let me know. That is our favorite place if you are on the ocean side of the park. Use the fans and repellent and you should be good.

site #40 on the ocean ... February 01 to 28...

NO bugs this month. a little cool. windy.. but nice.

IMG_0830 (1152 x 864) by , on Flickr

Sunrise this morning from my trailer door.
AikenRacer
Explorer
Feb 20, 2016
If you wanna give up your site, let me know. That is our favorite place if you are on the ocean side of the park. Use the fans and repellent and you should be good.
wbwood
Explorer
Feb 20, 2016
Bugs on the SC/GA coast are bad no matter what time of the year. Work on the repellent thing and enjoy yourself.