The state bird of Alaska and northern Canada sure gets lots of good news coverage, must have good press agents. LOL There are numerous species, of biting bugs to be found in the north country and most of it is controlled by the location.
Most like it wet and shady, which is why most people don't camp in the trees, etc.There are numerous places in Alaska where the bugs don't tend to be a problem, such as around the Banana Belt region of the Anchorage Bowl or much of the Kenai. Anywhere you have thawed ground is better for no bugs, they love the swampy conditions created by permafrost as it doesn't allow the rain and snow melt to drain down and dry out the surface. But get up into the interior of the state, or between Palmer and Glennallen or out the Nabesna Road, up the Richardson Hwy toward Paxson, and they will be thick. They are a main food source for the migratory birds that come to the north each summer to lay eggs and hatch out their young. I have to keep telling myself, that is a good thing and the reason for them being created. Not sure that sometimes when being eaten alive, do I believe my rational though. LOL
I have tried a pair of Thermacell devices on a couple of trips to Alaska and don't find they work too well in the places we like to spend time. Plus they are expensive to run, about 50 cents an hour so the two of ours can run a dollar an hour to use. For us, they only worked when there was no breeze and we were sitting still. With us walking or with a bit of breeze they were not very useful to us. Keep in mind that all the devices, be it a Thermacell or an Off Clip on, are just a different method to put a deterrent chemical into the air around you. So it is just a more regulated way to get this goal accomplished than the spray can Francesca mentioned. Probably the same chemical or close. Most all of the products tell the user not to use them in an enclosed space, such as tents, vehicles, etc. Still not convinced all those chemicals are good for a person to breath.
Most of the products that work on mosquitoes, will work on the other bugs. But my main goal is to keep the biting gnats, the white socks, the no see ums, yellow flys and their cousins away from me. I have a terrible reaction to the bites of yellow flies and gnats. As most of you know, the gnats aren't blood suckers, but actually lay their eggs under your skin so that you can incubate them. Nice thought isn't it. I have ended up at the doctor's office a few times from gnat bites when I am around salmon, such as fishing the Kenai or when I was running my fish wheel on the Yukon River the catch fish for my dog team.
I do think the place I have been caught the most unprepared for mosquitoes has been in western Kansas, out around Dodge City and the Wakeeney/Hayes areas. Not very big but swarms and vicious little buggers. LOL Just wasn't expecting them but have run into them on two different trips.
We live about 3 blocks the ocean here in Stuart, Florida and this part of the coast is mangroves, not nice sandy ones. So we have the bugs moving out of the mangroves at times and make it miserable to be outside. Our local big box stores, such as Home Depot and Lowes, sell a special sized screen for keeping the bugs out, especially the no see ums as they can pass through regular fiberglass screening. The bug screen is a tighter weave but does cut out more of the light as well.
When a visitor is in the north country, just experiment to see what works. When ever possible I prefer to using clothing to keep them at bay. Long pants and long sleeve shirts with duct tape on the cuffs and pants legs where they meet the socks. Failing that or not wanting to take the time, I go for the DEET. For many of the 25+ years I lived in rural Alaska, I must have used gallons of the DEET products. We used to buy the jungle juice, as it was called, from the military surplus stores by the case. It was developed for the troops in the Viet Nam war. 100% DEET is some oily type base that will destroy plastics, the finish on firearms, sunglasses, etc. I still have a model 70 Winchester 375 H&H that I grabbed one day after squiring jungle juice in my hand to rub on my arms and face. To this day I can still see the four finger prints of my right hand where they molded into the finish of the rifle stock. One way to mark it as being mine, LOL, but not recommended.
