how bad are the bugs going to be at convention this year?

[Herman Miller]

so im trying to convince my wife that there will not be a small flying army waiting to attack us at convention. Anyone from the local area know how bad the bugs really are?

[Grandpa Caver]

so im trying to convince my wife that there will not be a small flying army waiting to attack us at convention. Anyone from the local area know how bad the bugs really are?

Not to worry about air raids from winged critters. They shouldnt be too bad...it's the sneak attacks from the crawlers ya gotta watch out for! Ticks are usually out in force that time of year but not to worry. Just bring plenty of DEET, use a little common sense and you'll be ok.

[Herman Miller]

thank you for the quick reply, i have access to a higher content DEET then most people so i will definately have plenty of that

[Scott McCrea]

How bad are the bugs? Worse than you want them to be.

[Herman Miller]

lol that is not the answer I was looking for scott

[CaverScott]

Not to worry about air raids from winged critters. They shouldnt be too bad...it's the sneak attacks from the crawlers ya gotta watch out for! Ticks are usually out in force that time of year but not to worry. Just bring plenty of DEET, use a little common sense and you'll be ok.

Brian pretty much summed it up.

I do remember a caving event where bugs SHUT DOWN vendors row! I never thought it could happen either as I have seen them sell during HUGE thunderstorms, tornado warnings, lightning strikes, etc. Amazing what a few hundred thousand mayflies can do in two hours though.

[Herman Miller]

yeah, i've just been told to watch for the "baseball" sized mosquitos and giant ants lol, but hey if everyone else can deal with it im sure i can as well...oh I guess theres an imfamous little guy called a chigger that ill be getting to know as well

[Teresa]

Indiana will be nothing like Maine or Michigan (both with black flies).

The others forgot to mention that one of the fun things about ticks and chiggers are the bare skin tick and chigger checks. This is a tradeoff for the arthropod annoyance. You can tell your wife about that.

Probably a few more skeeters than Las Vegas, but generally only at sunrise/sunset. Midwest skeeters aren't that big, and usually are very slow. A canopy and tent with screening are good. Citronella doesn't really work but it smells good. A smoky campfire works better, or some sort of bright area camp light. You really don't want to walk around with a headlamp--just draws the night critters to your face.

A nylon shell windbreaker works against mosquitoes, but Deet impregnated jeans are good. If we're going out in the woods, we do the permanone on the clothes bit, and that cuts bites more than deet, actually.

[bigalpha]

thank you for the quick reply, i have access to a higher content DEET then most people so i will definately have plenty of that

Send me some!

[cob]

How bad are the bugs gonna be? That all depends upon how often the cavers bathe.

[Grandpa Caver]

How bad are the bugs gonna be? That all depends upon how often the cavers bathe.

Oh yea...Hoosier ticks & chiggars just love nice clean fresh skin! Just wash up with some sweet smelling soap and shampoo, followed by some wonderfully scented deoderant and throw on some good old "ode de cologne for good measure. You'll have enough crawly, burrowing, blood sucking friends to last a lifetime!

[graveleye]

ahh no big deal..

[Teresa]

How bad are the bugs gonna be? That all depends upon how often the cavers bathe.

"the swamp's full of skeeters, they're jumbo in size/but they won't get near me because of the flies." --from the song, "You Smell Like Turtles".

[Herman Miller]

LOL, I think well all have a great time running around in our own lil swarms

[wendy]

Indiana will be nothing like Maine or Michigan (both with black flies).

The others forgot to mention that one of the fun things about ticks and chiggers are the bare skin tick and chigger checks. This is a tradeoff for the arthropod annoyance. You can tell your wife about that.

Probably a few more skeeters than Las Vegas, but generally only at sunrise/sunset. Midwest skeeters aren't that big, and usually are very slow. A canopy and tent with screening are good. Citronella doesn't really work but it smells good. A smoky campfire works better, or some sort of bright area camp light. You really don't want to walk around with a headlamp--just draws the night critters to your face.

A nylon shell windbreaker works against mosquitoes, but Deet impregnated jeans are good. If we're going out in the woods, we do the permanone on the clothes bit, and that cuts bites more than deet, actually.

aren't skeeters attracted to dark colors too?

as far as chiggers, don't walk around bare foot in the woods, don't roll around in pine straw, and bring some clear nail polish in case they get you