Bug Bites and Bitter Memories
Let's just get this out in the open. On our Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) thru-paddle, there were more bugs that wanted to drink our blood than you could shake a stick at, which may have been done in a fit of anger by one of our group, but it was a sentiment that we all felt at one point or another. So with more biting bugs around us during this adventure than we have both likely seen in our lives, this article will let you know what we were up against, how we tried to reduce our chances of being bitten, what we did once we’d been bitten, and all the other tips and tricks we found to live with them.
This has ended up being a bit of a monster article, so see below quick links to sections:
The Four Types Of Biting Bugs We Came Across The Most
There were three main types of flying biting insects that we encountered; Black Fly, Mosquitoes, and Dear Fly. We also had to watch out for Ticks. Due to the specifics of each species they were in greater or lesser amounts along the way. Thankfully they were not all out in force at the same time, otherwise that would have been quite the experience!
Black Fly
We started the trip with an abundance of black flies (Simuliidae), these are small blood sucking flies that happen to be black in colour. The larvae are found attached to underwater objects in fast flowing water. You may think that you are well away from any fast flowing water but these pesky little critters have been known to fly as far as 15 miles from where they were in their larval form. When they bite you can feel it, and the saliva injected can cause various amounts of swelling and soreness. Depending on the person these bites may only be annoying for a matter of hours (as Katrina found) or hang around for days (Robert was not impressed by this). We found these to be a particular nuisance in the Adirondacks. These little bugs can be quite persistent and voracious. One evening Robert got a small ember hole in his trousers, and because he was busy cooking and eating, it took a while to notice he had a lower leg that looked like a pin cushion, some 30 to 50 bites! However, one of the benefits of the heatwave that we experienced was that when the temperature gets over a certain point all the black flies die off. This seemed to happen overnight for us, with the water on the approach to Saranac Lake being a carpet of dead bugs. After this point we had very few issues with black fly for the rest of the trip.
Mosquitoes
We’d just about got rid of the black fly, only to then be overcome by mosquitoes. Great. From what we experienced there were a few different species that tried (and at times succeeded) to drink our blood. Mosquitoes are generally more sneaky. When they bite it can be painless and it is only when your body reacts to the saliva do you realise that you have been bitten. These were the bites that gave us some of the worst reactions. One of our group even got blisters from these bites which required lancing! An interesting little fact about mosquitoes is that they have been known to search for blood up to some 20 miles from where they spawned! Some of our worst experiences with these bugs was on swampy portages on hot humid days where it had rained the day before. There was a memorable morning where we were camped on the shore of Mooselookmeguntic Lake. There were so many mosquitoes trying to eat us in the morning it sounded like rain hitting the tent. We got out of there as quickly as we could that morning, as we had realised that on the large open lakes there were often far less mosquitoes than on the shore. That morning the lake was like a sheet of glass with almost no wind at all. So we packed down our camp and had breakfast in the boats on the water. The lack of bugs was a welcome relief.
Ticks
Throughout the trail there were ticks of various sizes and species. In our group there were many instances where ticks had to be removed from a variety of warm, moist places, some in unfortunately intimate locations. Whenever a tick was discovered it was removed and added to a labelled resealable bag in the person's personal first aid kit. This can be helpful if there are any issues later on, as the tick can be given to medical staff for analysis. Despite doing daily full body tick checks we were incredibly lucky not getting a single tick bite!
Deer Fly
A biting insect that we encountered rarely, but when we did they were the most painful, was the deer fly. These are surprisingly large flies that have blade-like mouthparts that bite into you. Once the blood is flowing from the wound then they will suck it up. These flies have quite the bite too, managing to go clean through the paddling gloves that we had; much to our initial surprise. Rob found that the deer flies would land on his uppermost hand on the paddle, and sit there a moment before they would sink their fangs in. At least due to their size it was easy enough to wave them off. We are thankful we did not meet too many of these along the way.
Kit We Used To Protect Us From The Biting Bugs
We have found a few bits of kit that really helped us living outside for extended periods when there are a load of biting bugs flying around. One thing to remember with all these bits of kit though is that if you are putting a barrier between your body and the outside world, make sure you don’t get bugs inside when you are putting it on.
Head nets
These are readily available from most outdoor shops in areas where you are likely to find a lot of bugs. When considering purchasing a head net we would suggest considering the following things:
Get a dark colour mesh as in bright sunlight they are easier to see through than the lighter colour ones - We think this is due to not getting as much reflected light from them, or your brain being able to filter it out easier.
If the mesh is against your skin then some bugs such as mosquitoes can still bite you as their mouthparts are longer than the mesh is thick. Due to this, we pair head nets with hats. We are both fond of a wide brimmed hat (usually our trusty Tilley's), so we recommend make sure that your head net will go over your hat, but still seal around your neck and give you enough room.
Having a shirt with a collar so that you can get a good seal between your head net and your top half covering is also a great idea.
When putting on your head net we have found the following works well to keep the bugs our and net off your face:
Put on hat
Pop the collar of your shirt
Pull net over head and pull down to where your neck reaches your shoulders
Pull the drawstring tight
And finally, fold your collar down
Bug Shirts
These are garments that have been designed for one thing in mind, and that is to keep the bugs off you from the waist up. We have tried a couple of different makes and models of these over the years but the Original Bug Shirt made by the Bug Shirt Company is our favourite. These garments are made from bug resistant material and mesh. They have elasticated or drawstring cuffs and waistband, along with an inbuilt head net. When at camp we lived in these garments, and even wore them while canoeing when the bugs were really bad. As with most head nets these shirts also often benefit from the addition of a hat. Most of the bugshirts we've tried do not play nice with wide brimmed hats and as such a baseball cap works much better.
Soft Leather Working Gloves
On expedition bug bites on your hands can take ages to heal as you inevitably end up knocking, bumping, and rubbing the bite on all manner of things. When off the water we have found that soft working gloves are great, as they allow for a modicum of dexterity, insulation, and stop the bugs. This means at camp almost all of the camp tasks other than those where hygiene could be an issue (e.g touching food, going to the toilet or similar) can still be done while not exposing your hands. This can take a little getting used to, but is something that Robert committed to, and by the end of the NFCT he could even put up the tarp (including tying and untying knots in paracord) with his gloves on!
Robert would highly recommend soft elk skin gloves, he picked a pair up years ago in Sweden from Naturkompaniet and has been using them in the woods ever since.
Longer Socks
This is something that is used as a somewhat of a derogatory stereotype in the UK. Outdoor people tucking their trousers into their socks is generally portrayed as uncool, however, if there are loads of bugs around we would highly recommend it! By wearing socks that have tight enough weave and are thick enough, bugs will not be able to bite through them. By tucking your trousers in there is no gaping hole at the bottom of your trousers for bugs to get in and ravish your legs. So you just make sure your socks are long enough to be able to come out the top of your boots far enough to tuck your trousers into if you want to get this benefit.
Suzie Bags
These are something we made ourselves from instructions in the book “Canoeing Wild Rivers”. These are really large bug nets, like, big enough for you to stand up with your arms outstretched and they will go down all the way to the floor. “What ever could you need such a big net?” We hear you say. There are three main instances where we found these invaluable:
Eating dinner; you have to take a head net off or open the hood of a bug shirt to get food in your mouth. With the Suzie bag all you need to do is find a nice place to sit, get in the bag with your dinner, seal it around your waist with the drawstring (or even just keep the bottom on the ground), take off your head net or undo the hood of your bugshirt, and begin enjoying your food without bugs trying to eat you whilst you are also eating.
Going to the toilet in the backcountry; Getting bitten on any bit of skin which you have to expose to go to the toilet is unpleasant (at best!). We found the most effective way of performing your ablutions with a Susie bag was to;
Find suitable location
Dig your hole and stand over it
Get in bag and let it fall to the ground, making sure no bugs in the bag with you
Drop trow and get on getting whatever you need out of you out of you and in the hole.
Once satisfied, fill in the hole (this reduces the chances of getting what you put in the hole on your suzie bag when you move away)
Get your trousers, and shirt all sorted back in the right palace, get out of the bag and get on with your day.
These bags allow you to squat over a hole or even use a long drop toilet without the concern of your nethers being eviscerated while you have your morning constitutional. This however did lead to a memorable quote early one buggy morning “I think that was the most logistically fraught dumps of my life so far, but I didn’t get my nards eviscerated so that made all the faff worth it!”
Having a strip wash; Washing your pits and bits can be most refreshing after hot sweaty days, however when there are bugs around it can be uncomfortable at best. Not with the Suzie bag. Simply get into the bag with your wash kit, a pan of water, and feel free to get naked and wash your pits and bits without worry (well not from the bugs anyway, but that is a story probably fit for the internet….).
Thermacell
We were dubious about these until we came across a couple of lovely outdoor types who swore by them. Thermacell are a company that make mosquito repellent devices, either fuel or battery powered, that heat up a mat impregnated with repellent to then have an area that is protected. From research it looks like their effectiveness is largely down to the amount of air movement and the species of the bugs in question. We purchased one in Errol from L.L. Cote and regretted not getting one sooner. Now in saying that, there are some drawbacks: it is not 100% effective so still expect the odd bug; the air it is operated in needs to be relatively still; it is on fire (and needs to be treated as such); and it feels relatively bulky. We found that if we put up the tarp and hung the Thermacell up inside it would get rid of the bugs under the tarp within a few minutes. This meant we could cook, eat, and unwind at the end of the day in relative peace, which was glorious.
Bug Repellent
No bug repellent is 100% effective. There are many “All natural” bug repellents but we have yet to find one that works as well as the DEET-based ones. It is worth mentioning DEET emits an odour that many find unpleasant (or at least strange), leaves skin greasy, dissolves many common plastics (including many synthetic fabrics), and interacts negatively with sunscreen. There is also the unfortunate issue of potential long term health effects of exposure to DEET. To minimise this we try to avoid spraying it on our skit but rather spray it on clothing or equipment. There are many horror stories of DEET leaking and melting holes in nice outdoor kit. Just think of all the stuff you have on an expedition which is plastic; clothing, tents, glasses, bags, canoes, paddles, compasses, maps, knife scales, the list is almost endless, as we really are living in an age of plastic. We came close to this when we first noticed a sort of plastic burning smell. A short frantic search later and it turned out a small bottle of DEET leaked into our main 120L sealine bag (which it should never have been in but got missed in the excitement of getting to the start). The best part of an hour was then lost trying to stop the chemical reaction and save the bag with copious amounts of soap and water. We managed to dilute the DEET and get it off the bag before too much damage was done. The bag is definitely thinner on the bottom than it was, but it stood up well for the next two months of daily use!
We did pick up some Bye Bye Black Fly in Old Forge on the recommendation of John from Mountainman Outdoor, which did reduce the number of black flies and smells amazing. However, it was not so great with the mosquitoes later on in the trip. In the last month Robert also rewaxed his Tilley hat with it, which not only kept the water off but also some of the bugs away.
Wash-in or Spray-on Gear Treatments
If we are going somewhere we know there are going to be a large number of biting insects we treat our other clothing, sleeping bag, and shoes with either “No Tick Wash In”, and or a permethrin based spray such as EX4 Anti-Mosquito Spray. For us the sleeping bag is a big one as we find even the thought of bugs being in there and feeding on us makes sleep difficult. We have found that these treatments make a big difference to the amount of bugs we get on us.
What We Did When We Got Bitten
With the sheer number of biting insects that we encountered, it didn’t matter how careful we were, there were always going to be some that found their way through the layers of protection to feast on our blood.
BIG DISCLAIMER TIME: We are not medical professionals so please use your own judgement and seek medical assistance where appropriate.
When we were inevitably bitten, here’s what we did, and the methods we found most useful:
Topical Bite Creams
Once we located a bite we tried to get some topical bite and sting cream on it as soon as possible. This is due to the local numbing effect, which stops the itching, and if you can get it early then the creams tend to work better; as the problem they are dealing with is smaller. We started off on the NFCT using Anthisan Bite and Sting Cream which we purchased in the UK and took with us as part of our first aid kits. In the first couple of weeks we burnt through almost all of the stuff we took with us. We asked the locals and they suggested StingEze and this is a very different “cream” ; it is more of a liquid with a foam applicator. The numbing quality of this stuff is incredible though, and we’re glad we got some. One of the active ingredients is benzocaine, an analgesic, which we were grateful for having on us the rest of the expedition. This did lead to a funny incident happening at the Eastern terminus of the trail though. While we were sitting in Fort Kent park, contemplating what we had just achieved together, Robert started eating. This isn’t unusual in itself, he was generally eating at every opportunity by this point, but then he suddenly had trouble speaking. It turned out that a tube of the StingEze had leaked over his food and he had not noticed, but it had numbed his tongue and bottom lip, much to the amusement of the rest of the group!
Itch Relief Devices
There is a technology that we have used in the past that can also be beneficial and that is electric shocks. Now this sounds way worse than it is. The device we’ve used is a piezoelectric device to deliver a measured electric shock. These devices are available at most pharmacies in the UK. Robert gets on quite well with them, however Katrina hates them. The shocks are far from painful, but it is a strange sensation. We have found that they only work for bites that you are not having a significant reaction to, as they only numb the sensation. They don't actually reduce the histamine response (the source of the itching).
Oral Antihistamines
There comes a point where you can have so many bites that your body goes into overdrive and just produces far too much histamine, the bites become unbearable, and they do not go down on their own, or with the topical creams. In these situations we crack out the oral antihistamines. Depending on the severity we either use Loratadine or Fexofenadine (in various strengths) both of which are available over the counter in both the UK and USA. These can bring down the itching and swelling on bites in a matter of hours. While on the NFCT it is worth noting that in the smaller country stores you can pay for one single dose what you could pay for a month's worth in the city! If you are going to carry these for an NFCT thru-paddle then we suggest getting a pack or so from a city before starting.
Tips & Tricks For Living With The Bugs
No matter how much fancy gear you carry, the ways in which you think and behave are going to have a much larger impact on whether you are thriving, or just surviving your trip. Here’s our advice for how to do so, based on things we have found worked for us when we were living around loads of bugs.
Come to terms with being wrapped up
It can be a mental challenge to spend almost all of your waking hours continuously wrapped up, with every square inch of your body in fabric (or net of some sort). Some people can even find this quite claustrophobic; this can become even more apparent when you are working hard physically and sweat is pouring out of your every pore. It is not something we’d experienced before, but this has given us massive respect for those whose religion dictates total coverage while outside!
Robert found his way of coping with this was by thinking that he was a sci-fi space explorer visiting a new world and the clothing (bug shirt, gloves, head net etc) was actually part of a cool space suit and providing life support and comfort from the harsh environment. This started as a bit of a joke, but honestly at times provided real comfort.
Make the tent a safe space
Having a space where there are no bugs for a few hours a day can provide real mental relief. To do this with your tent requires a bit of thinking and diligence. We managed this by:
Keeping the inner doors shut as much as possible.
Untying boots or shoes before getting in the tent to reduce the time the door would need to be open for.
If there are two of you in a tent then try to time when you are getting in and out to be at the same time.
If it is dark, turn off your headlight before getting in the tent as some of the bugs seem attracted to the light.
Once you are insided and the door is closed, before taking off bug clothing (shirts, nets etc), hunt around the tent for bugs and make sure that any that made their way in while the door was open have been smushed before undressing. If dark, use your head torch to attract the bugs to a known location.
When undressing just take off your head net and gloves and wait for a bit and see if any more bugs start flying around before getting fully undressed.
Make the most of the bug free environment, we will use this space to do admin or fixing where you need the most dexterity.
Once you are in the tent you are in the tent. Try and reduce the number of times you are getting in and out of the tent.
Before leaving the tent make sure you have all your bug resistant clothing on and sealed. Running through a check to make sure you are all covered helps, we did this by focusing on the interfaces between clothing starting at the feet so; ankles, waist, wrists, neck, and head were checked before opening a door.
At some of the buggiest sites it was incredible the number of bugs that would be trying to get into the tent with us. There was one site in the Adirondacks where there were so many black flies that the white tent inner was almost completely obscured by flies crawling over it. Just the time when Robert realised he needed to go for a pee in the middle of night. Typical. That was a hard decision to make, he can tell you!
Figure out how to pee with as little exposed as possible
This is one for those who stand to pee. Figure out how you can open your fly, cover and seal all but the very most essential part, relieve yourself, get rid of the drips, and seal it all back up again without giving the biters a chance to get you. Robert would recommend doing this before you find yourself in the situation where you need it (say in the middle of night when the air is alive), or just go get your Suzie Bag, get in it and get good at pointing somewhere within the area covered by the net, but where your feet are not.
Take the DEET to the long drop
When using a long drop toilet we found that there were often bugs down the hole, as it were. To reduce the number of bugs that would then try to swarm up and into our most sensitive areas a quick spray of DEET was enough to clear the air for the short time it took to do our business. It made all the difference, so we would heartily recommend spraying some on the corners of the long drop (not the seat!). There is a sense of irony here, as when you go to dig your own hole and use a Suzie bag, you can get away without the need for additional deterrents.
Keep a head net in your pocket
We often found that there were more bugs on the banks and less on the water. This meant that for much of the day we could get away without too much hassle from bugs. Then we would get off the water and suddenly be swarmed with biting insects. It was helpful to be able to reach into a pocket and easily don a head net without having to spend time getting bitten digging through bags. So pack a head net in your pocket in the morning (or when you take it off once on the water) so you can quickly pop it on when you need to.
Tarp and Thermacell
When you get to your campsite, after you get your tent up and sorted, it should be time for some arts and crafts to get a group tarp up. Once the tarp is up and secured, crack out the Thermacell and get it clearing out the bugs. You can then go about sorting other camp tasks before starting cooking. By the time the tarp is clear of bugs you are probably in a position to start cooking and eating your evening meal.
Assuming you have the tarp up overnight, then whoever is up first in the morning can turn on the thermacell and clear out the bugs before people start cooking breakfast. We found that when we finished eating breakfast we could turn off the thermacell and click it to a barrel handle to cool down. It would be cold by the time we were ready to leave the site, and could be the last thing put in the barrel before loading the canoes.
Shirts were worn by Explorers for a reason
Now don't get me wrong there is a certain aesthetic of the westerner wearing a khaki shirt that may have negative connotations in some parts of the world. However, they are actually rather functional and well suited for this environment. The shirts we chose and modified for our thru-paddle were made from a material that protected us from the sun, were bug resistant, were long enough to tuck into trousers (even when sitting in the canoe), and were quick drying. We then modified the shirts to have velcro cuffs, which enabled us to seal them to gloves to stop the bugs from getting up the sleeves. We mentioned above (the headnets one) that the collar can help you form an effective seal with a head net, but in conjunction with a wide brim hat it also keeps the sun off the back of your neck.
And finally…
Accept your fate
No matter how much you put in place you are still going to get bitten. All you can do is reduce the chances. When it happens try and see it as part of the experience, a not so nice part of the journey you are on, but a part nonetheless. Just think, when it is 02:00, you are peeing in the woods half asleep, and are having to deal with the moral quandary of the thought “Do I try and swat the bug that has just landed on a part of my anatomy that I REALLY don't want to be swatting? But I also REALLY don't want a bug bite on it!”, you do now have an amusing anecdote you can crack out when you get home!