Author Topic: Where in the US has the least biting insects?  (Read 43453 times)

sheepstache

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Re: Where in the US has the least biting insects?
« Reply #50 on: July 24, 2015, 01:29:49 PM »
Since a lot of people are mentioning standing water, my understanding is that's closely associated with mosquitoes because the species most responsible for malaria and west nile need standing water to breed. But different species can breed in creeks and streams (which probably have smaller pockets of standing water).
All mosquitoes tend to lay eggs in standing, rather than flowing water (although some streams may have pockets of standing water like you say).

The preferred type of water is genus-dependent. Aedes mosquitoes (transmit dengue) usually breed in small containers or and are more 'urban'. Some Aedes vexans mosquitoes (a great name!) lay eggs on moist soil, and the larvae hatch after it rains and the area floods or forms puddles.  Anopheles mosquitoes (malaria vector), prefer stagnant water pools with vegetation. None of them like running water. I think Culex is the most common west nile vector. They prefer dirty stagnant water.

The black flies that transmit African river blindness like fast flowing rivers, but I don't think there are any mosquitoes that like flowing water.

Ha ha genus, not species, thank you.

zoltani

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Re: Where in the US has the least biting insects?
« Reply #51 on: July 24, 2015, 03:10:31 PM »
I have no idea what you all are talking about, the mosquitoes have been terrible this year in the PNW.
Where do you live? Seriously way fewer mosquitoes along the WA oast than when I lived in the midwest, New England, and various parts of Asia. I swear I get maybe 5 bites a summer in Bellingham at most. You get that many bites per minute during a summer evening in Iowa.

Do a google search for 'why so few mosquitoes in seattle'. You will see most people would agree. Further inland is a totally different story.

Yes of course, fewer than midwest or south. I was referring to the poster that said there were no mosquitoes at the mountain lakes, that's a joke.

MicroRN

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Re: Where in the US has the least biting insects?
« Reply #52 on: July 24, 2015, 03:56:29 PM »
I have no idea what you all are talking about, the mosquitoes have been terrible this year in the PNW.
Where do you live? Seriously way fewer mosquitoes along the WA oast than when I lived in the midwest, New England, and various parts of Asia. I swear I get maybe 5 bites a summer in Bellingham at most. You get that many bites per minute during a summer evening in Iowa.

Do a google search for 'why so few mosquitoes in seattle'. You will see most people would agree. Further inland is a totally different story.

Yes of course, fewer than midwest or south. I was referring to the poster that said there were no mosquitoes at the mountain lakes, that's a joke.

I moved to WA from Norfolk, VA...which is a swamp.  You would get swarmed and bitten multiple times just walking from the house to the car.  There was no enjoying a nice evening outside, because no bug repellent would keep away those wretched monster sized  mosquitos.  Now I can spend all day outside and occasionally get 1-2 bites.   

zoltani

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Re: Where in the US has the least biting insects?
« Reply #53 on: July 24, 2015, 04:39:52 PM »
Again, it really depends, they have been HORRIBLE in the mountains this year.

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1140661

"But, it was the mosquito apocalypse. We kept thinking that if we got higher, above treeline, the mosquitoes wouldn't be there. But they only got worse and worse. The very air was thick with them. They were in my eyes, in my nose, in my mouth. At any given moment, there was at least 50 of them biting me. Looking over at Allie, she constantly had a cloud of at least 100 around her.

Despite the blistering heat, we put on our hardshells to at least partially protect us from the bugs. Between my pants and my shell and bugspray on my face (we didn't have enough to totally cover our whole bodies in it), most of my body was covered... except my hands and ankles. Allie was not as lucky, the bugs could bite right through her pants. Bleeding and itching from thousands of bug bites, we ran away from the base of the Paisano route and headed up to Burgundy col, thinking the breeze there might clear them away. They were slightly better, but we were still getting hundreds of bites per minute."

Uh yeah, so just stay in safe, bug-free seattle.
« Last Edit: July 24, 2015, 04:41:51 PM by zoltani »

Trifle

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Re: Where in the US has the least biting insects?
« Reply #54 on: July 24, 2015, 04:44:35 PM »

Bleeding and itching from thousands of bug bites, we ran away from the base of the Paisano route and headed up to Burgundy col, thinking the breeze there might clear them away. They were slightly better, but we were still getting hundreds of bites per minute."


Sounds like northern Minnesota

zoltani

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Re: Where in the US has the least biting insects?
« Reply #55 on: July 24, 2015, 04:53:30 PM »

Bleeding and itching from thousands of bug bites, we ran away from the base of the Paisano route and headed up to Burgundy col, thinking the breeze there might clear them away. They were slightly better, but we were still getting hundreds of bites per minute."


Sounds like northern Minnesota

But it's all just lies cause everybody knows there ain't no mosquitoes in WA!

fkampere

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Re: Where in the US has the least biting insects?
« Reply #56 on: July 26, 2015, 12:00:38 AM »
Arizona has rattle snakes think I rather get bit by a mosquito then a rattlesnake

forummm

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Re: Where in the US has the least biting insects?
« Reply #57 on: July 26, 2015, 07:00:30 AM »
Arizona has rattle snakes think I rather get bit by a mosquito then a rattlesnake

You'd only find rattlesnakes in the outskirts of suburbs (where there's a lot of empty land around) or if you're out in the desert. And they let you know when they feel threatened (i.e. the rattle).

PMG

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Re: Where in the US has the least biting insects?
« Reply #58 on: July 26, 2015, 07:54:16 AM »
I've been told that mosquitoes don't breed above 2200'.  I lived at 2500' in the Appalachians in Kentucky. I spent large amounts of time outside. Those were wonderful bug bite free years.

A brief Google search did not verify the altitude preference. We did have stagnant pond just down the hill.  Perfect place for mosquitoes, but, as I said, no mosquito problem.

scrubbyfish

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Re: Where in the US has the least biting insects?
« Reply #59 on: July 26, 2015, 10:21:37 AM »
At the risk of hijacking the thread, if anyone has the more specific experience of avoiding mosquitoes in Canada, I'd be super interested.

Because I think this will apply generally to the OP, too...  I don't remember mosquitoes in Vancouver, but my son got stung by wasps again and again and again, just going about his days. On BC's Sunshine Coast, I had no experience of biting insects...until we reached the top of a hill, and I was swarmed by giant biting flies like I've been nowhere else. Horrible! In the Thompson-Okanagan (semi-arid), I was in one place as a child that was just thick with horrible mosquitoes, yet nearby experienced none. (I know in some towns they dropped chemicals by plane to slow/halt the mosquito-breeding, with seeming good results.) I've seen nothing where we are now, but did have evidence of what seems to have been a spider bite a couple of months ago.

It seems to depend on so many variables: the year's climate, bug-abatement programs, micro-climates within a region, etc.

Silverwood

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Re: Where in the US has the least biting insects?
« Reply #60 on: July 26, 2015, 09:07:19 PM »
Mosquitoes are as usual, huge and plenty here.  But this year Ive found that there are TONS of spiders.  I hate spiders!  The yard is covered with them. Even though Im cutting the grass every couple of days.  I have the dehumidifier on all the time.  Ive heard that if its under 20% in your house youll have less of a chance of getting them in the house.

Also thanks to the person up thread.  A family friend was bit recently and is now getting daily shots at the hospital. My guess was spider but now Id go with the brown recluse spider. Hes also a trucker and thought something came off the trucks.  I didnt see the bite but I heard it was gross. 

Sailor Sam

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Re: Where in the US has the least biting insects?
« Reply #61 on: July 26, 2015, 09:49:04 PM »
The ocean. For serious. It has no bugs, and very little pollen. It's a haven for people with allergies and people who don't like bugs. Plus, when you come back in for re-supply you can smell land, and the ground rocks for a little while. Both are neat-o.