Michigan - best time to avoid biting flies

[welove2drive]

I've been researching the UP of Michigan and along the West side of Michigan. I know summer is a short season and August is probably really busy. How is it after Labor Day? We don't mind it being cooler. I like to have fall/spring temps at least 60 High and 40 or warmer for the low. Just wondering what the best month would be to avoid those pesky flies. Are the black flies bad all year?
Marcia

[wbwood]

dverstra wrote:

wbwood wrote:
Told wife about possible mosquitos and biting flies there. Unfortunately, the time we will be able to go will mbe late June, July and early August, due to school for our child. will have to contimplate on whether or not this would be the right trip..

We have been traveling in the UP and northern lower peninsula for 20 years and never plan a trip around the "fly season" whenever that is! It's futile to try that. We simply go where we want and then decide to move if there is an issue. Seldom have we moved for that reason. If the flies are bad, move to another site or CG. That's why we have an RV. The notion that we can't camp in June or July at a certain CG because of the flies doesn't faze us. go have fun. Move if they are an issue.
PS if the flies are bad, the fishing is good

Sounds reasonable to me.

[dverstra]

wbwood wrote:
Told wife about possible mosquitos and biting flies there. Unfortunately, the time we will be able to go will mbe late June, July and early August, due to school for our child. will have to contimplate on whether or not this would be the right trip..

We have been traveling in the UP and northern lower peninsula for 20 years and never plan a trip around the "fly season" whenever that is! It's futile to try that. We simply go where we want and then decide to move if there is an issue. Seldom have we moved for that reason. If the flies are bad, move to another site or CG. That's why we have an RV. The notion that we can't camp in June or July at a certain CG because of the flies doesn't faze us. go have fun. Move if they are an issue.
PS if the flies are bad, the fishing is good

[wbwood]

travelnutz wrote:
wbwood,

Later in July and in August, September, and October are almost bug free in the U.P. Some to many years even May, June, and early July are virtually bug free also. So much depends of the weather patterns as a wet spring will breed a large mosquito hatching. However, mosquitos have a short life span and people use repellents and killers which prevents the hatched skeeters from getting the blood they need for hatching a new crop of skeeters etc. So even a bad outbreak is very short lived. Same goes for any biting flies as repellents, killers, and long sleeves affects future hatchings. In our 51 years of visiting the U.P. we have only had biting flies be bothersome once so it can happen but in reality it's so overblown and is quite easy to avoid or protect from a problem.


You live in North Carolina a little south of Statesville near Lake Norman flooding and are no strangers to bugs. My wife's brother lived first in South Carolina's Murrells Inlet area, then for 24 years in North Carolina having a custom home design and construction business in the High Point/Greensboro/Reidsville area. Not far from you and we'd visited him and his family many times and had much worse bugs than ever in the U.P. Also so many times in the Smokies and the rest of the S.E.

If bugs were the determining factor for a place to visit or see, NO ONE would ever go to Northern Canada, Alaska, the Tropics, or even the Smokies!

Be aware that the summer tourist and/or vacation season does't start in the U.P. until about the 1st of July. Winters are very cold in the U.P. and it take a long spring to warm up again but the falls are also long and warm as the Great Lakes are now warm. They take all summer to reach their high annual temps and all winter to cool down again. They only get surface ice mainly near the shores and don't freeze over or deep. The shipping season doesn't end until the end of January and reopens in April.

We live on the Lake Michigan shoreline about a hundred miles north of the Indiana border and our seasons are shifted 2-4 later in the calendar year compared to the Midwest areas away from the huge Great Lakes. Lake Michigan alone is 100 miles wide, 340 miles long, and 923' deep and it's the cooled off waters of the lake that keeps us from needing or wanting A/C in summer near the huge lake and it's much warmer in the winter than the rest of the Midwest in winter as the huge lake is warm and it takes many months to cool down. The constant rising heated air is blown over us in winter by the prevailing constant west to east breezes. Natural A/C from the lake all summer as the daytime high is 80F and the low at night averages 60F. The U.P. is about 5 degrees F cooler in the summer but 10-15 degrees colder in winter. Frost here is usually at Halloween or later. Tremendous amount of fruit is grown in Michigan and fruit can't handle early frosts in fall or late frosts in the spring. 70% of the nations red cherries are grown here, Vast blueberry farms with luscious sweet berries the size of cherries, apples, peaches, fantastic grapes for superb wines, etc. That's why places like Gerber Baby foods are located here along with Kelloggs breakfast etc foods and the huge Gordon Foods distributors and so many other national brands packaged or frozen foods and canneries.

The great weather and temps here where we live is why over 6 million visitors come here annually to our small local area every year and they come back again year after year and have been doing so for over a hundred years and still counting. Just a fantastic place to live and to raise a family and also have vast recreation for all right out your door without spending any money. One of the reasons the area just keeps on growing in population!

Michigan enjoys the effects of the Great Lakes so much more than the other states around them. With over 3,200 miles of Great Lakes shoreline (only Alaska has more) and there's over 11,000 natural inland lakes too.

You'll really like the U.P. as it's gorgeous and far from buggy nearly always.

I am less than a mile from Lake Norman, yet we do not have mosquitos, it's been years since we had any where we live and that was due to an issue of a landowner behind us with stuff collecting water. And it has been a very wet season down here as well. I do remember when living in Massachusetts that the mosquitos were a problem up there during the summer.

[Parrothead_Mike]

travelnutz wrote:
Parrothead Mike,

If the wind should come from the east (which seldom happens) the flies will almost always gather at the waterfront beach areas eastern shores and even up to a mile or so inland away from the water. Our winds are almost always from the SW to NW quadrants. According to the biologists etc report and a few TV programs, the flies connect an east wind as there being a strong weather front coming as it's an east wind that feeds a coming front and they will feed quickly and then seek shelter in the deep woods under leaves and other things etc when it rains. They demonstrated what a single drop of rain hitting a fly does to it. It almost always kills them and they know it. Even us humans have learned to eat when we know it will be a long time before we can eat again and most of us like a little etc nap after stuffing our guts too! It appears the flies aren't stupid either!

Thanks Travelnutz. I knew that a eastern breeze can signal rain, but I hadn't considered what a rain drop does to a fly. I know they have their place in the ecosystem, but they are a pest, especially around food and bare skin.

[travelnutz]

Parrothead Mike,

If the wind should come from the east (which seldom happens) the flies will almost always gather at the waterfront beach areas eastern shores and even up to a mile or so inland away from the water. Our winds are almost always from the SW to NW quadrants. According to the biologists etc report and a few TV programs, the flies connect an east wind as there being a strong weather front coming as it's an east wind that feeds a coming front and they will feed quickly and then seek shelter in the deep woods under leaves and other things etc when it rains. They demonstrated what a single drop of rain hitting a fly does to it. It almost always kills them and they know it. Even us humans have learned to eat when we know it will be a long time before we can eat again and most of us like a little etc nap after stuffing our guts too! It appears the flies aren't stupid either!

[travelnutz]

wbwood,

Later in July and in August, September, and October are almost bug free in the U.P. Some to many years even May, June, and early July are virtually bug free also. So much depends of the weather patterns as a wet spring will breed a large mosquito hatching. However, mosquitos have a short life span and people use repellents and killers which prevents the hatched skeeters from getting the blood they need for hatching a new crop of skeeters etc. So even a bad outbreak is very short lived. Same goes for any biting flies as repellents, killers, and long sleeves affects future hatchings. In our 51 years of visiting the U.P. we have only had biting flies be bothersome once so it can happen but in reality it's so overblown and is quite easy to avoid or protect from a problem.

You live in North Carolina a little south of Statesville near Lake Norman flooding and are no strangers to bugs. My wife's brother lived first in South Carolina's Murrells Inlet area, then for 24 years in North Carolina having a custom home design and construction business in the High Point/Greensboro/Reidsville area. Not far from you and we'd visited him and his family many times and had much worse bugs than ever in the U.P. Also so many times in the Smokies and the rest of the S.E.

If bugs were the determining factor for a place to visit or see, NO ONE would ever go to Northern Canada, Alaska, the Tropics, or even the Smokies!

Be aware that the summer tourist and/or vacation season does't start in the U.P. until about the 1st of July. Winters are very cold in the U.P. and it take a long spring to warm up again but the falls are also long and warm as the Great Lakes are now warm. They take all summer to reach their high annual temps and all winter to cool down again. They only get surface ice mainly near the shores and don't freeze over or deep. The shipping season doesn't end until the end of January and reopens in April.

We live on the Lake Michigan shoreline about a hundred miles north of the Indiana border and our seasons are shifted 2-4 later in the calendar year compared to the Midwest areas away from the huge Great Lakes. Lake Michigan alone is 100 miles wide, 340 miles long, and 923' deep and it's the cooled off waters of the lake that keeps us from needing or wanting A/C in summer near the huge lake and it's much warmer in the winter than the rest of the Midwest in winter as the huge lake is warm and it takes many months to cool down. The constant rising heated air is blown over us in winter by the prevailing constant west to east breezes. Natural A/C from the lake all summer as the daytime high is 80F and the low at night averages 60F. The U.P. is about 5 degrees F cooler in the summer but 10-15 degrees colder in winter. Frost here is usually at Halloween or later. Tremendous amount of fruit is grown in Michigan and fruit can't handle early frosts in fall or late frosts in the spring. 70% of the nations red cherries are grown here, Vast blueberry farms with luscious sweet berries the size of cherries, apples, peaches, fantastic grapes for superb wines, etc. That's why places like Gerber Baby foods are located here along with Kelloggs breakfast etc foods and the huge Gordon Foods distributors and so many other national brands packaged or frozen foods and canneries.

The great weather and temps here where we live is why over 6 million visitors come here annually to our small local area every year and they come back again year after year and have been doing so for over a hundred years and still counting. Just a fantastic place to live and to raise a family and also have vast recreation for all right out your door without spending any money. One of the reasons the area just keeps on growing in population!

Michigan enjoys the effects of the Great Lakes so much more than the other states around them. With over 3,200 miles of Great Lakes shoreline (only Alaska has more) and there's over 11,000 natural inland lakes too.

You'll really like the U.P. as it's gorgeous and far from buggy nearly always.

[Parrothead_Mike]

wbwood wrote:
Told wife about possible mosquitos and biting flies there. Unfortunately, the time we will be able to go will mbe late June, July and early August, due to school for our child. will have to contimplate on whether or not this would be the right trip..

Realistically you're likely to have mosquitos any warm weather months of the year throughout Michigan as well as most other states in the eastern U.S. In the past couple of years we've camped along Lake Michigan and several areas of the U.P. in July & August. In 2012 while in the U.P. in mid-July we had flies in abundance in Copper Harbor. Nothing that a good fly swatter couldn't handle though. And then in Ontonagon we had hardly any a few days later. And then a couple days after that we didn't have any problems with them in Brimley in the eastern Lake Superior area.

We just came back from the state park in South Haven in SW lower Michigan and while there was a sign at the ranger station about biting flies we found no problems at the campsite nor at the beach. My experience is that while at the beach a lake breeze will reduce the flies while a breeze from the land will increase flies, but there is no guarantee either way.

It really depends upon weather conditions. If it's unusually wet and warm you'll get a crop of mosquitos shortly thereafter. If it's dry you may not see any mosquitos. I have no idea why there are flies one year and not the next. I wouldn't let the "possibility" of insects deter you from making plans for a camping trip wherever that may be. You will always hear horror stories from someone that ran into a particularly bad time period whether they were camping in Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina, or Maine. Obviously the campgrounds all around the country stay busy during the usual camping seasons regardless of any insect situations. Go ahead and plan your trip and enjoy it when you do.

[wbwood]

Told wife about possible mosquitos and biting flies there. Unfortunately, the time we will be able to go will mbe late June, July and early August, due to school for our child. will have to contimplate on whether or not this would be the right trip..

[travelnutz]

welove2drive,

Most U.P. SP etc CG's are open until mid to very late October or until the leaves drop or it freezes hard and there's danger of broken water lines in the bathouses. Varies from year to year. The Overlook CG at Tahquamenon Falls SP is open all winter and the electric is on but the bathouse is closed. It's plowed as are the sites and there's pit toilets to use. We've used a large model porta potti in the winter with windshield washer fluid in the rinse tank for over 30 years now and it's good to -25 to -30 F so freezing is not a problem. Sponge baths work or if your tanks are enclosed and heated, you can use them.

Actually, several Michigan State Parks CG are open all winter and plowed. So is the Platte River CG at Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore Park and the bathouses/showers are open and heated. Loop 1 and sometimes loop 2 also. 3 & 4 are always closed in winter! Been there many times in the dead of winter, it's gorgeous! In the years we didn't go to Florida you would find us in one of our RV's with a snowmobile trailer behind with 2 snowmobiles on it or on the ground off the trailer in one of the open state parks etc. Stayed in our TC's in -10 to -20 degrees F many times and it was very comfortable and nothing froze up. I will add that you need a better quality well insulated TC for below zero F and storm windows are almost a must.

[travelnutz]

dverstra,

There's so many good to excellent CG's in the U.P. to choose from. Straits SP Lower CG is good too. I can again post a long list of most of the CG's in the U.P. that are on the Great Lakes Shoreline alone as I've posted it several times already. There's many times as many inland CG'saway from the shoreline in the U.P. Below are some of our U.P. CG favorites.

We just got back home to our West Michigan Lakeshore home last night from Burt Lake SP CG with our boat behind for a little over a week (a little south of the Big Mac Bridge) had a great time as usual. We'll be going back to the U.P. about the 3rd week of Sept for 2-3 weeks for leaf peeping etc. Have done it every year since we married 52 years ago and not goung to stop now. We have to baby sit 2 of our grandkids first as school will be started and their parents are going to their time share in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for a week and then we'll be heading north again. Always stay several days or a week at Tahquamenon Falls SP River Bend CG, go to Muskallonge SP and Grand Marais, H-58 to Pictured Rocks area and Munising etc, Fort Wilkins SP (Copper Harbor), the Porkies (Union Bay), sometimes on to Ironwood area, and then back to Indian Lake SP and/or Fayette SP and work our way back home. Depending on what and where the color is best as we tend to follow the peak color as it occurs. Long retired, no schedule and no reservations and we are very flexible and truely totally self contained. Lots of summer trips also and a few times to Alaska, lots to Canada, and the western states or the east coast.

After the "U.P." leaf peeping, we go back home for about a week to catch things up there. Pack up fresh supplies etc and head back up to the Mackinac Straits area and work our way back down south to home over a week to three weeks following the leaves etc. Again, no schedule!

At least that's the way we do it when we take the 11'4" Lance Camper. If we take our Carrilite 5th wheel etc, we may just may stay up north for a month or so. Depends on what's going on at home and if we need to be there occasionally for something. Heck, it's only 275 miles from home up to the Straits (Mackinaw City) and another 360 miles from the Straits to Copper Harbor and another 180 miles from Copper Harbor to Ironwood thru the Porkies. That's just us as we love to travel and how we get so many miles on our trucks and they're only used for RV'ing.

Then after the leaf etc trips, we get everything ready for the holidays and our annual Florida trip after New Years for 2 to 2-1/2 months. April and May are our stay at home time and get ready for another busy summer etc.

Dang'ed if we're going to just sit home and wait to die like some do! We're only 71-1/2 and got another 50 years+ of RVing to do!

[welove2drive]

I hope we can make the trip this fall. We will have to travel before the campgrounds close. I really haven't paid attention to those dates. I doubt that we would make reservations. Do you think that would be a problem during fall color weeks? We have a generator so we could do without electric hookup.

[dverstra]

travelnutz wrote:
dverstra,

That was a few nights ago after a cold front went thru and should be about 90 F today and the mid 60's to nearly 70 at night for a low! Will be back to the norm of 80 daytime high and 60 at night for a low this week and as far as they give the forcast into next week.

In mid to late Sept, your sweatshirt will come in handy some nights if the fire is small. More so in October with some crisp late evenings. However, you won't even feel the chill as your eyes won't leave the wonder of the gorgeous brilliant colors of the leaves all around you. Somethings are just more important than others!

LOL travelnutz! You should have seen the lightning that accompanied the front last night. I felt sorry for those in a tent camper.?? I love those "Hoodie" nights around the campfire. We will be headed thru the UP again on the 14th of Sept. we hope to stay in St. Ignace the first night. Any campground suggestions?

[travelnutz]

dverstra,

That was a few nights ago after a cold front went thru and should be about 90 F today and the mid 60's to nearly 70 at night for a low! Will be back to the norm of 80 daytime high and 60 at night for a low this week and as far as they give the forcast into next week.

In mid to late Sept, your sweatshirt will come in handy some nights if the fire is small. More so in October with some crisp late evenings. However, you won't even feel the chill as your eyes won't leave the wonder of the gorgeous brilliant colors of the leaves all around you. Somethings are just more important than others!

[dverstra]

welove2drive wrote:
Thanks dverstra, It will probably be pretty chilly around the lakes. I'll have to look up that campground.

I'm in the UP right now at Sault Ste Marie. 2 nights ago I wore my hoodie at the campfire. It will definitely be chilly then. Have a blast. The UP is a beautiful place to visit.