Mosquitos

[freddiebud]

So I hear Alaska has lots of little buggers. And I want to come prepared. Is this only an issue at Denali - or will I need protection whenever I am on shore? I seem to attract the little mites and then the bites grow into super large welts, so I would like to avoid the experience if I can. :)

 

Thanks.

[fti]

It depends where you are going and when but generally the mosquitos are only bad especially near Wonder Lake at Denali until mid August. If you only go as far as Fish Creek or Eielson when at Denali, you shouldn't have a problem.

 

I have never had a big problem anywhere else.

 

John

[lucyddr]

Since my husband and I are apparently made of sugar and get bitten everywhere we travel, we have a few suggestions that have worked well for our Carribean "vampires." If you want easy, go to Walmart and buy the "Bug and Sun" Coppertone sunscreen (for sunny days) and the Deep Woods Off wipes (camping section). Both of these are lifesavers for us, and the wipes are easy to carry in a pocket. (Let's just say that we usually "loan" most of our bottle of the suncreen on each cruise...:) ) My favorite stuff is a little harder to get, but can usually be found online. It's called Cactus Juice. It is a repellant and sunscreen that works wonderfully (even waterproof) and smells like citrus. If you have plenty of time and cost isn't an issue, I think the Cactus juice is better. I'd rather travel with these things and not need them than to itch the whole cruise. Just my 2 cents....

[LisaH]

We were at Denali and McKinley Lodges in July and never saw one mosquito...we were pleasantly surprised. We had OFF with us just in case.

[Saintpat]

I'm a hiker, and the best mosquito repellent for me and others who are hikers, bikers, etc., is also the cheapest. It's a sheet of Bounce (or really, any dryer sheet). I don't like putting bug repellent on my skin or clothes, and since I hike so much, I'd probably overdose on it if I used it! I loop the Bounce through my belt loops or on some layer of my clothes, or pin it to my hat, and the bugs certainly do stay away. Also, these past two years, I've used a handy gadget from the Ace Hardware Store; probably garden stores have them too -- they're coiled up mosquito-repellent bracelets; look like a coiled phone cord. I keep mine in a sealed plastic sandwich bag in my backpack, just in case I forget the Bounce. If I'm barelegged, I put one on my ankle too. I used to be bit all the time; no more.

[Swabbie]

I'm a hiker, and the best mosquito repellent for me and others who are hikers, bikers, etc., is also the cheapest. It's a sheet of Bounce (or really, any dryer sheet). I don't like putting bug repellent on my skin or clothes, and since I hike so much, I'd probably overdose on it if I used it! I loop the Bounce through my belt loops or on some layer of my clothes, or pin it to my hat, and the bugs certainly do stay away. Also, these past two years, I've used a handy gadget from the Ace Hardware Store; probably garden stores have them too -- they're coiled up mosquito-repellent bracelets; look like a coiled phone cord. I keep mine in a sealed plastic sandwich bag in my backpack, just in case I forget the Bounce. If I'm barelegged, I put one on my ankle too. I used to be bit all the time; no more.

 

Keeps you from wrinkling as well.:rolleyes:

[Barek]

So I hear Alaska has lots of little buggers. And I want to come prepared. Is this only an issue at Denali - or will I need protection whenever I am on shore? I seem to attract the little mites and then the bites grow into super large welts, so I would like to avoid the experience if I can. :)

Reminds me of an old joke: "There's not a single mosquito on the Alaskan highway ... they're all married and have very large families"

 

I've only been to Alaska twice, and both times were off-season - first in the spring, didn't see any in Kenai ... then after the first freeze in the fall, didn't see any on the Alaskan highway. From what I hear, they're all over the state, especially near inland lakes or other relatively stagnant bodies of water (not salt water) - but I don't have any first-hand experience during peak mini-vampire seasons.:)

[kGCAL]

I'm a hiker, and the best mosquito repellent for me and others who are hikers, bikers, etc., is also the cheapest. It's a sheet of Bounce (or really, any dryer sheet). I don't like putting bug repellent on my skin or clothes, and since I hike so much, I'd probably overdose on it if I used it! I loop the Bounce through my belt loops or on some layer of my clothes, or pin it to my hat, and the bugs certainly do stay away. Also, these past two years, I've used a handy gadget from the Ace Hardware Store; probably garden stores have them too -- they're coiled up mosquito-repellent bracelets; look like a coiled phone cord. I keep mine in a sealed plastic sandwich bag in my backpack, just in case I forget the Bounce. If I'm barelegged, I put one on my ankle too. I used to be bit all the time; no more.

 

Does it really work? I hope you are not kidding. :o

[Barek]

Does it really work? I hope you are not kidding. :o

That depends on who you ask. Snopes (popular site for looking up validity of urban legends) says that it doesn't work ... or at least not as effectively as DEET: http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/skeeters.asp (so, the way they word it, it may have a slight benefit, but better methods exist ... or it may not work at all, they don't specify).

 

I was curious, so I did a Google search and I got mixed results. Some sites say it works, others say it doesn't make a difference. Then I checked the official Bounce website. They list several uses for the product, but mosquito repellent isn't one of them.

[Saintpat]

Yes, yes! I am outside in Missouri and Florida summers, by creeks and bogs, at night and at dawn, and the Bounce dryer sheets do the job!! I wouldn't joke about mosquito bites, which can make you miserable outside. And around here ticks, chiggers, and biting bugs of all kinds. My friend, a biologist, told me that in Alaska the top few layers of ground melt in summer and become a bog; perfect for breeding mosquito larvae in billions. Imagine a bog as big as a state, and you'll see why you might need good protection in summer. Give it a try in your hometown, a few nights when the mosquitos are thick in the summer of 2008. As to why it works, I imagine it's the same as Avon Skin So Soft, about which there is no dispute; a "nice" smell ingredient that repels mosquitos. Smell like a flower, and you have no blood, so you're not a good bet to bite....or so the mosquito thinks, I guess.

[Barek]

...it's the same as Avon Skin So Soft, about which there is no dispute; ...

Actually, that has been proven false ... so I dispute the claim that it's not disputed. Avon knew full well that people were using the original product as a bug repellant, despite scientific proof that it didn't work. So they tweaked the formula and added picaridin to it and came out with a new product that was somewhat effective but carried a similar name to the original (Skin so Soft Bug Guard Plus). But, tests have shown that while picaridin works great on ticks and Culex mosquitoes (culex is a genus which is common in the southern and mid-west parts of the US), it has been shown to not be effective against Aedes mosquitoes which is a more aggressive genus found in most parts of the US, including Alaska.

[qiangf2]

Actually, that has been proven false ... so I dispute the claim that it's not disputed. Avon knew full well that people were using the original product as a bug repellant, despite scientific proof that it didn't work. So they tweaked the formula and added picaridin to it and came out with a new product that was somewhat effective but carried a similar name to the original (Skin so Soft Bug Guard Plus). But, tests have shown that while picaridin works great on ticks and Culex mosquitoes (culex is a genus which is common in the southern and mid-west parts of the US), it has been shown to not be effective against Aedes mosquitoes which is a more aggressive genus found in most parts of the US, including Alaska.

 

This is some cool information! Thank you.