What can ruin a camping trip faster than the sun sets in Hawaii? insects! Camping, in my opinion, is easily the best recreational hobby you can share. It can be tasteful, like climbing a mountain, or it can be a leisurely stroll down a path through a winding meadow. Absolutely everyone can go camping. But there is nothing less than a hurricane that can ruin a camping trip faster than bugs. To begin with, let me openly admit that my experience with insects is in northern North America.
My travels have been as a tourist, so I have never set foot in the jungles of Central America, although I have encountered some very small biting insects in Mexico, such as my black fly, and only for a couple of hours after sunset . I’ve been to Europe, even Northern Europe and had no problems. Southern Europe and the Balkans nothing. Well, that’s not entirely true. On a Greek island I found a cockroach in my bathroom. It was the click of her feet on the tiled floor that woke me up. I eventually got it, but it was so big it wouldn’t flush.
In Canada I have experience. I have been to some of the worst infested areas and I could go on and on about survivability. Let’s deal with the bite type one at a time.
MOSQUITO: They are everywhere, in varying amounts. In larger towns and cities there are very few, while in the countryside and small communities they can be a real problem. They are evening and night bugs and can spoil a good night’s sleep. The mosquito net is good. Historically, bug dope has been a horrible thing and not something you wouldn’t want to put on before bed. If you are in an area where they are really bad, modern bug sprays are good and not greasy. The ingredient that does the trick is DEET.
It’s really effective, but with all that kind of stuff, I don’t think you want to overuse it or get it in your mouth, nose, or eyes. Traditionally the Indigenous Peoples used smoke and created mental power. I remember seeing an old man sitting on a bench on a high bank of the Mackenzie River. It was spring and the mosquitoes were terrible. I was just a kid and they were driving me crazy. He, however, didn’t seem to be upset at all. I studied him and from time to time I would slowly raise my hand and pick a mosquito from his neck. I concluded that he would only respond to the bite and not the buzz. Uh huh. I’m still working on it.
BLACK FLY: In Canada a song has been written about the black fly. They are notorious and it is a well deserved reputation. The black fly is a diurnal insect. They like the heat and your blood. Unlike the mosquito, they do not like to be inside. So you can get relief when you enter. It can be a house, a tent or a car. It’s weird, you can be sitting in a car with the window down and the black fly won’t go past where the window was.
DEET mosquito drug is also effective on black flies. If you don’t have the drug, cover up as much as possible and make sure all openings in your clothing, pants, and shirt cuffs and collars are tight. A smaller cousin of the black fly is also a real nuisance. They are so small that they are called no-see-ums. Treat them as you would a black fly. There are a few other bites you should be aware of and I’ll cover them in a later blog.
Mosquitoes and black flies are the main culprits that can spoil a perfectly wonderful camping trip. There are a few other biting or stinging insects that you should be aware of as they can cause you great discomfort. If you have allergies, they can be very dangerous. Even without allergies, if you find yourself in a bad situation where you get stung a lot, it can still be dangerous.
To begin with, let me state clearly that I am not an entomologist. I don’t know the proper name of an insect, so the names I’ll use will be the popular local names of the territory I’m from, the north.
The Doge: This bug is a biting fly. It doesn’t itch, but it literally rips a piece of meat out of you. It’s not a very large piece, but it feels like I’ve had a full ounce of meat. The Bulldog is most aggressive when wet. If you are on the beach and you dive deep, when you come to the surface they will be waiting for you. They will pester you all the way to shore. When you go out, they will surround you.
He wants to dry off as quickly as possible and maybe put on a t-shirt. That won’t stop them completely, but they will become bearable. These flies have two wings, a dark head, eyes, and a black and yellow-orange abdomen. Up front is the dangerous part. It looks like a big nose, but it’s actually two tweezers that they use to pluck out meat. Fortunately they are not bad when you are not wet. In fact, you will barely notice them.
The fly with no name: There’s a flying insect up north that I don’t have a name for. Fortunately they are not common because they are horrendous. For lack of a name, I have called them black hornets. I’ve only been bitten once by this bug. That was about forty years ago, and the memory is still fresh. I haven’t studied it very well because whenever I see one in the distance, I start running for cover.
They look totally black, about 3/4 inch long, and have a stinger sticking out of the back that looks like a bold needle. I’m trying not to exaggerate. I think they only have two wings, unlike a dragonfly which has four. I can not tell you more about this insect, but if by my weak description you can help me, I would surely appreciate it.
The Deer: Again, I’m not sure this is the correct name. It looks a bit like a housefly, but a bit smaller and it’s not black. On its two dull wings it has a round patch of color about 1/8 inch wide. It’s kind of a greenish yellow. They are not stingers, they are biters, taking small pieces of meat. They are not abundant.
The hair eater: This is a flying beetle. It is completely black and has two long antennae. I know next to nothing about this error. I don’t recall ever being bitten by one, but my wife assures me she has. She says they have a horrible bite. Whether they bite for food, aggression, or just for fun, I don’t know. Why are they called hair eaters? Again, I don’t know, maybe it’s because when they land on a woman’s hair, she goes completely crazy and they seem to do it quite often. I don’t have a lot of hair, so it’s not a problem for me. My wife says they bite and I believe her.
those are the main ones to keep your eyes open. I’m sure there are many others, but they are not significant. I should add that there is the usual streak of bees and wasps, but for the most part they only respond when disturbed; though the wasps will come and eat the food off your plate.
Bug spray with DEET is best. Be careful around your eyes or any open wounds. I was very careful about applying it to babies, and I did so without the support of any scientific evidence. I would cover them with a net.
Yes, there are bugs out there, and yes, some of them will bite or sting you. But with proper precautions, there is no reason not to enjoy the many wonders of creation. To remember, my motto is “You don’t have fun unless you’re comfortable!”
