Adventure filmmaker Frank Wolf has battled more than his fair share of mosquito and blackfly swarms. Beating the bugs is all about location, he says. “Find a breezy point and avoid the still, dead calm spots when setting up a campsite.”
While Wolf has even tried caking himself in mud to keep the swarm at bay, nothing has proved as effective as DEET. “But if you’re working hard and sweating, you’re going to keep sweating it out,” he warns.
Wolf’s secret weapon on buggy portages? Squeezing his face into the armhole of an old t-shirt. “It keeps them out of your ears and off your neck too.” While Wolf opts for a bug shirt at camp, they’re too hot and limit your vision on portages, he advises, and stray branches easily rip the mesh. “Mentally, you can’t let the bugs bother you,” he adds. “Accept their existence and you’ll be much happier.
For more expert tips, check out Canoeroots & Family Camping, Summer/Fall 2013 issue. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.
