Bugs in Tent: How to keep them out, kill, or tolerate them?

[Glenn MacGrady]

Bugs get into tents a variety of ways. I'm mainly talking about mosquitoes and black flies. What techniques or products to you use to:

(1) keep them out,
(2) kill them if they get in, and
(3) tolerate them if you can't kill them all?

As to (3), I can't sleep in warm weather all bundled up with a head net, and I don't like to be slathered all over with DEET or pIcaridin.

 

[eckilson]

Keep the tent closed up as much as possible. They still get in, but it has never been that bad. I'm more of a spring/fall camper, so I am in a sleeping bag. Swat the ones you can, hide from the ones you can't.

 

[lowangle al]

Gil Gilpatrick used to bring a can of bug spray (not repellent) in case someone left their tent open and bugs got in. It was never a problem so big for me that I couldn't spend a few minutes killing them. Just be careful not to squash them on the tent wall unless you don't mind the bloody mess it sometimes leaves.

 

[stevet]

Small flyswatter works better than my hands.

 

[memaquay]

I don't know if you have Pic in the States, but it is coiled bug killer, usually green, you light it with a lighter and it smoulders. When you are in the tent for good, light a small piece, 1/2 inch is usually enough, let it smoulder for about 5 minutes, all bugs will be dead. It is standard practice in Northern Ontario by those in the know. Don't worry about getting dementia or lung disease, Pic is good for ya.

 

[Rusty Ole' Bucket]

I don't know if you have Pic in the States, but it is coiled bug killer, usually green, you light it with a lighter and it smoulders. When you are in the tent for good, light a small piece, 1/2 inch is usually enough, let it smoulder for about 5 minutes, all bugs will be dead. It is standard practice in Northern Ontario by those in the know. Don't worry about getting dementia or lung disease, Pic is good for ya.

Yep, we have them here, they're my favorite mosquito coil. I think they work better than the other brands. We usually have one going most nights on the front porch and there's always one on a stump or log when we're camping. Never thought about putting a little bit in the tent, but we're normally in hammocks so that could get a little dicey. I guess we could "smudge" inside the bug nets then close them up.

Speaking of smudging, we've also found burning white sage to be pretty effective at running the mosquitos away. My wife is a desert girl, she loves to burn sage, we discovered it totally by accident.

 

[Keeled Over]

For many years, regardless of being in a tent or under the cap of my truck, I would smoke the final cigarette of the day with the doors open. That always chased them out.

 

[Bob B.]

I spray Permethrin on the screen door of my CCS Lean one plus. Not a perfect solution, but helps to keep them off the screen, thus keeps more out when dogs and I enter/exit the shelter.

 

[yknpdlr]

Noseeums (Punkies) when present always seem to find their way in the tent with you. The prime way they do that is to attach to your clothing and enter with you. Once in, they happily feed on you all night. Best is to treat your clothing with permethrin at home before you leave. Second best is to be sure to brush your clothes or change them before you enter if you have been in a highly infested area.

By the way, the concentrated (10% concentration) permethrin you find in the horse treatment area of Tractor Supply is the same stuff as in the very expensive spray can or bottle (0.5% concentration) sold to unknowning hikers. But to get the same concentration as the commercial can of stuff you have to dilute it 19 to 1 with water. Just put the diluted chemical in a spray bottle and spray your clothing, then allow it to dry before wearing. At TSC a 10 ounce 10% bottle will cost approximately the same as a diluted can with far less in it. It should last you for years of treatments.

 

[Gamma1214]

I'll second the Pic mosquito coil although I've been known to burn more that 1/2 an inch at a time. I've never managed to keep it in coil form so I've never hung it but it works well on a camp trowel (I do recommend elevating it to prevent damage to the test floor)

...to get the same concentration as the commercial can of stuff you have to dilute it 19 to 1 with water...

I'm curious if anyone here can say definitively that it should be diluted? I mean, I tend to be a little rough around the edges but I've always used the livestock spray straight, gotten the clothing slightly damp & let it dry. Hasn't killed me yet but, I suppose, I'm getting closer every day.

(Correlation doesn't always imply causation)

 

[yknpdlr]

I'm curious if anyone here can say definitively that it should be diluted?

I'd say it is personal choice, depending on how strongly chemical adverse you are. In my case it is doubtful that I actually dilute all the way down to the recommended 0.5%, but I make sure my clothing is completely dry before wearing.

 

[wjmc]

I second the Memaquay approach, although in the NWT on bad days a little more than 1/2 inch may be required. The coils also have the advantage of slowing their reflexes, making it easy (and very satisfying) to squash them.

Black flies in the tent are not nearly as annoying as mosquitos - they just fly up to the peak of the tent and sit there. But mosquitos bite indoors - even one live mosquito in a tent is too many to permit a restful night.

 

[jdeerfoot]

I make sport of killing invaders - however, you need to accept bug stains on the walls of tent interior.

I also second the use of mosquito coils. On one trip we had to camp on the portage trail. Under the tarp on a softly raining night we played cards and the burning coil drove off the no-see-ums. I suppose the coils would work in a tent but since I am asthmatic I don’t want to chance needing an ER visit.

 

[Erica]

There are many bug stains on the interior of my tents. Most disturbing is when they are bloody. They already got me but at least they aren’t free to breed more.

If weight is not a problem, I bring thermacels. Set one up about a half hour before bedtime, just outside the door. No bugs will be there to enter when I do.

 

[recped]

Black flies in the tent are not nearly as annoying as mosquitos - they just fly up to the peak of the tent and sit there. But mosquitos bite indoors - even one live mosquito in a tent is too many to permit a restful night.

I was waiting for someone to bring this up, there a significant differences in how to deal with one type of bug vs another type.

Since I frequently am using a floorless shelter vs a sealed tent I pretty much always have some bug issues. Black flies are easy to deal with, I set up my shelter then go on a bug kill with just a finger tip, they collect in whatever part of the shelter has the most sunlight so it's pretty easy. even if there are some remaining they are more interested in getting out than bothering the occupant. When it's dark they just sit where they are and wait for you to turn on a headlamp or other light source that's when they may start to pester you. I usually write notes late at night, the light reflecting off my notebook attracts them so many of my notebooks contain quite a few squished BF's. Once the lights sources are out they just find a quite corner to hang out until sunrise.

Mosquitoes on the other hand are just totally annoying, in my experience pic coils, which are a nerve agent only disable them, it takes sustained exposure to actually kill them so if you burn a small piece of coil it may seem you have done the job but when the coil is no longer burning they will revive and attack during the night.

Inside my shelter I now carry a standard type of hanging bed net designed hang over your sleeping area (normally used to prevent contracting Malaria, West Nile etc. When using a "normal" tent it's all about reducing the amount of entry/exits, getting to be an expert with the zippers and never forgetting to have your pee bottle with you so there is no need to do an in/out during the night.

When I'm using a standard tent, I set it up, accumulate everything I will need, open the zip as little as possible, toss everything inside and then when it's sleepy time making one quick entry and never leaving until the morning. If you do need to to go in/out DO NOT turn on your headlamp, having it on will no doubt bring in a new swarm of bugs.

In the shelter I have in the past used those cheapo electrified fly swatters, they are reasonably effective and provide hours of entertainment. Some of the newer electronic bug killers also work well from what I hear.


Bugs on the George River 2010

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

If weight is not a problem, I bring thermacels. Set one up about a half hour before bedtime, just outside the door. No bugs will be there to enter when I do.

I've been wondering if anyone used thermacells, which I'd never heard of until camping with some folks this summer. Since I now only base or car camp, gear weight is not a big issue for me.

@Erica, do you use the rechargeable battery-powered or the butane-powered model of thermacell, and why choose one over the other? Is there a weight or performance difference?

Thermacell Zone Mosquito Repellents: Mosquito Control Solutions &…

No scent, no sprays, no chemicals on your skin. Push button to start, then stop worrying about mosquitos.

www.thermacell.com

 

[Odyssey]

I don't know if you have Pic in the States, but it is coiled bug killer, usually green, you light it with a lighter and it smoulders. When you are in the tent for good, light a small piece, 1/2 inch is usually enough, let it smoulder for about 5 minutes, all bugs will be dead. It is standard practice in Northern Ontario by those in the know. Don't worry about getting dementia or lung disease, Pic is good for ya.

Warning to all those Pic users out there. One pack leads to two, leads to five, leads to...when I was still lighting up I was up to 8 packs a day.
I'm on the Pic patch now. The Pic chewing gum doesn't do it for me but I keep some handy just in case.

 

[Rusty Ole' Bucket]

Warning to all those Pic users out there. One pack leads to two, leads to five, leads to...when I was still lighting up I was up to 8 packs a day.
I'm on the Pic patch now. The Pic chewing gum doesn't do it for me but I keep some handy just in case.

Hi, my name is Lee and I'm a PIC user.

You made me spit my afternoon coffee, good one Odyssey.