How to stop no-see-ums
Bears
Going on my first Alaskan bear hunt in less than a month. Have successfully hunted caribou and dealt with mosquitos but never had no-see-ums. What do you use to keep them at bay? I have 3 noseeum headsets already. Any and all tactics will be helpful.
if you'resitting or standing, get a Thermacell.
It is a coastal hunt and we'll be in boats cruising shoreline but I like the suggestion. I even have a thermacell unit still in the box.
I take my thermacell to Michigan every time I go. It was the best $25 I ever spent.
Has anyone used permethrin on their headnets or the screening on their tents specifically for no see ums? I used it on my screens at home in my 3 season room last spring and it stopped all my problems that I had had in the previous years and one spraying lasted all season.
We use a Bounty dryer sheet, smells nice but seems to work very well! I put a new one in my shirt pocket and another new one under my hat! Give it a try it does work okay also repels mosquitoes. Make sure you are downwind or you won't see much wildlife.
No-see-ums usually come out in the evening when it's calm. I can't see them being much of a problem in a moving boat... and they're not out every day.
Mosquitoes and ESPECIALLY black flies (which can vary in size) are much more of a problem in the north.
Myself and a few others were talking about ticks, chiggers and skeeters at P&Y last month and how bad they were going to be this year. Discussing the factors that lead to more bugs than usual and that whole issue. Now... The majority of us at the table were from the South or Midwest. There was also two guys from KUIU there at the table and I assume they were from out West. Keep in mind, this is after hours and adult beverages had been consumed, heavily.
One of the KUIU guys starts talking about "no see-ums". I was puzzled, because I thought they were joking at me and another fella from Arkansas, who was sitting beside me. The night went on for a few more hours and me and the Arkansas guy would look at each other and say... "no see-ums"! Then we'd bust out laughing! All the while we thought they were pulling our chain about No see-ums. Until this thread, I was still unsure if they were real or not. :)
Guess these transparent bugs are a lot more than a joke, eh? :)
Old Woodsman soaked into your hat used to keep everything away, including the wife! Never saw any bears when that hat was on. We used to use it in Canada when fishing...never drove the fish away. No-see-ums are the worst of all!
Got to thinking about my 65 years in NNY along with many Qc. bear hunts....Google the word 'punkie'. We used to find that they were nastier than the black flies as they could penetrate the bug nets/suits. TCells seemed to work well.
Hi Rick, it was really nice getting to meet you and your wife at the convention.
Yup, they're for real. No-see-ums often fit right through most regular size mesh/screen - our homes and cabins are equipped with the finer mesh. Anyhow, to me their bite is not bad... mostly just annoying - a slight burning sensation. In French they are called "Bruleau" - loosely translated as "Burner". It's amazing though that we feel them at all since they're so small. In fact it's almost funny when you find the source of the burning on your forearm is coming from an almost microscopic fly. Over here they usually show up in the warmer days of June through August... sometimes September.
Now black flies... where I am they're in a whole other league. We live in the James Bay lowlands - rivers and creeks everywhere (perfect breeding grounds for black flies). They get so bad in the bush that sometimes you have a hard time just to breathe. People say they don't seem to bother me as much as they do them... well, my problem is I have a big rib cage and I inhale the little !@#$%&*, LOL!
In my experience No-See-Ums don’t just bite, they take out chunks which can and will get infected. They will attack from the Yukon flats to the Brooks Range any time it’s above 40 degrees. Bad dudes!
Ken, good meeting you as well, enjoyed laughing it up with you and Mark. :)
They don't sound fun! Guess I need to get out more, or not, I don't know. Leave them biting dudes up there!
Just view them at a pin head sized flying bug, with a huge biting mouth full of anticoagulant. They never come alone and are ALWAYS hungry for blood.
No see-ums aka, Flying Teeth!! Nasty little buggers. We always taped our wrist cuffs while fishing in Alaska to keep them from crawling inside. They love those little hidey places to crawl in and BITE!!
Im not sure you can fly with a thermacell. You might want to look into that, I could be wrong tho.
Rick Embry, that was one of the best conversations ever. Glad to be a part of it !! lol. Enjoyed visiting as well
Hah! Robbie, now every bite I get I'll think it was a "no see-um". We should make shirts that say "No see-ums suck". Lol
Lets do it man for next convention Lol And for what its worth, I did get just a few Arkansas no see ums the last part of our turkey season, they love those hot humid days.
They get pretty bad on South La while fishing. Most of the stuff that you can spray is a vanilla based product. I have tried spraying vanilla on my and it works pretty good. Others use that buff fishing sleeves and gloves as week as the neck gaiter to protect themselves.
You can fly with the themacell unit and pads...NOT the butane.. I ship the butane or buy it once I get close to destination.
Either in Northern MB or swampy lands where the bugs are crazy I say screw it and I use DEET. 50% or better. So you make sure you are downwind, just like normal bowhunting. Gotta love having a few layers tucked into each other and then somehow a black fly makes it's way inside and is biting you repeatedly and you're standing there wailing on yourself cause there's a bug in you like it's straight out of a men in black episode or something. Yuck!, gives me shivers just thinking about those times.
Butane cartridges are not allowed on planes in checked baggage.
Anyone use essential oils as a spray? Deet? Permithian?
the obvious answer is : " with a blind"
Take duct tape and tape your pant legs at your ankles and shirt cuffs at your wrists. Guaranteed to keep bugs crawling up your legs or up your sleeve.
No-See-Ums, Whitesocks, and Mosquitoes can be terrible at times up here. It all depends on your location though. In one place Whitesocks might destroy you but you go 30 miles down river and the mosquitoes try to lift you off the ground. Deet works great with mosquitoes but not so good with No-See-Ums and Whitesocks.
Bring a headnet and light gloves and hope for a little breeze to keep them away. What part of the state are you hunting?
We are hunting with Treasure Hunter Lodge out of POW. Thx for all the suggestions and keep them coming!
Fun. POW Island has an amazing population of blackies. I have never had a problem with bugs while on the salt water but when you go ashore the mosquitoes can get something fierce down there. You should be good with deet as you can usually play the wind a little easier using the boats to get in position for the stalk. Good luck and have fun.
I've hunted POW several times. The reason I like spring hunts there is due to the lack of bugs. The white socks, or noseeums have never been an issue the 3 times I've hunted there in the spring. Mosquitos too, have never been bad but this was in may. I've hunted there in late summer early fall, and they were bad.
I'd bring a headnet just in case, but I don't think the bugs will be bad at all until June or later even less if your out on the water.
