Bug protection in Scandinavia

[foxyrider]

So (this is still hypothetical) I've got a route through Finland / Sweden, I've got bike and tent sorted, campsites picked out, etc. etc.

It has been mentioned that one thing that could make the trip a bit miserable are the various midges, mozzies etc that populate such nice damp, warm, forested areas.

So my question is this, what have people used / found effective to combat this plague? A quick look at Ultralight Outdoor's site (my go to place for camping gear and latest technologies) offers a host of stuff but what works and what doesn't?

so is it something like this https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk ... ated-p6149 ,
this https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk ... dnet-p1794 or this https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk ... 60ml-p1973 or maybe a combination of stuff?

I await your esteemed knowledge!

[khain]

You definitely want a headnet though that one seems a bit expensive.

Isn't there mesh on your tent? If so you shouldn't need a net.

40% deet is a bit low. I would go for 50% at least. They sell stuff over there that doesn't use deet but works quite well. I can't remember what it's called. I think deet is banned in Norway, not sure about Sweden and Finland. It is pretty nasty stuff.

Wear light, loose clothing as mosquitoes can bite through surprisingly thick layers.

[foxyrider]

Yes there's mesh on the inner but it won't be much use when cooking in the vestibule! Ideas?

[pjclinch]

Yes there's mesh on the inner but it won't be much use when cooking in the vestibule! Ideas?

One occasion on Knoydart I felt that my otherwise excellent Hille Tarra could be improved with "fume cupboard gloves", letting me reach out in to the porch for cooking. As it was, having the mesh zipped over but with a slot unzipped along the base allowed a slightly awkward but workable solution. Kerons and Nammatjs have zip-out mesh protection over the porch vents, but that's a bit of an investment just to keep some bugs out on one trip! On our big family tent we tape some netting in place around the base of the fly when heading in to midge territory, and that seems to work.

Physical barriers very well worth having. Long sleeves and legs as well as head-nets. I'm used to dealing with midges, who are too wee to bite through
clothing, but IIRC at least some mozzies will go through a thin loose weave (like a typical base-layer top) without too much trouble.

Pete.

[khain]

Yes there's mesh on the inner but it won't be much use when cooking in the vestibule! Ideas?

Is your plan to cover the entire tent in mesh? That probably will work if you have enough mesh.

You could just cook outside with the headset on then bring the food in to eat.

I would recommend going somewhere with fewer mosquitoes. Norway is much nicer than Finland or Sweden.

[syklist]

Yes there's mesh on the inner but it won't be much use when cooking in the vestibule! Ideas?

Cook in the inner tent? We've done that a couple of times before now. We had a very mosquito rich night on the west coast of Sweden a few years back. They bit me through my trousers, socks and gloves whilst I was cooking dinner. A head mesh would have helped but not much. In retrospect we should have just retired to the tent and had bread and cheese for tea. Which is probably a good strategy to use in such situations.

You could just cook outside with the headset on then bring the food in to eat.

See above

I would recommend going somewhere with fewer mosquitoes. Norway is much nicer than Finland or Sweden.

Whilst you can get mosquitos in Norway (the campsite at Haukeli in 2008 and a night in 2015 on the Jotunheimsvegen spring vividly to mind) generally it is not so bad. The other advantage of Norway is, unless you are cycling round the coast, the scenery changes quite dramatically from day to day. Not like those days worth of beautiful forest and lakes in Southern Sweden or Finland.

[Vorpal]

I would buy mosquito spray locally. The stuff available, at least in Norway and Sweden (I haven't been to Finland) is effective against the mozzies, but not so toxic as DEET. Mygga and Autan seem to work the best.

Cycling clothes aren't ideal, especially close fitting ones, as the mozzies can bite through them. It's worth haveing an extra layer of looser fitting clothes with long sleeves and trousers.

You may get lucky and not be the sort of person who is especially bothered by them

[Bonefishblues]

As much of a physical barrier as you can put up v-a-v netting, either worn or draped. Also impregnate clothing with repellant (easily found on Amazon et al) and use whatever the locals are using as a repellant.

Or go somewhere else In all serious, the mossies in that area have a fearsome reputation with fishermen, who probably get the worst of it, given what they do.

[syklist]

Or go there outside the mosquito season...

[Bonefishblues]

Or go there outside the mosquito season...

I thought they wore tiny little puffa jackets in the Winter?

[foxyrider]

Or go there outside the mosquito season...

Which is when?

[Vorpal]

Or go there outside the mosquito season...

Which is when?

October - April. There may be other times; if you can be flexible, wait until there has been a couple of weeks of mostly dry weather, which sometimes happens in August and September, and go then.

Also, if you go around the summer solstice, there is much more daylight, so you can cycle, camp, cook, etc. all under birght light, and be in the tent at dusk when mozzies are most active. The disadvantage of that time is that is never really gets dark (you get a few hours of twilight, depending how far north you go, and some people have a hard time sleeping in that.

[syklist]

Or go there outside the mosquito season...

Which is when?

October - April. There may be other times; if you can be flexible, wait until there has been a couple of weeks of mostly dry weather, which sometimes happens in August and September, and go then.

The total numbers of mozzies up on Golsfjellet seem to ramp up to "more than enough" by June. If you have had a very wet spring/early summer then there is a type of mosquito that will come out in force.

Also, if you go around the summer solstice, there is much more daylight, so you can cycle, camp, cook, etc. all under birght light, and be in the tent at dusk when mozzies are most active. The disadvantage of that time is that is never really gets dark (you get a few hours of twilight, depending how far north you go, and some people have a hard time sleeping in that.

Dusk can also occur when the sun disappears from view if you are down in a valley. In the middle of summer at Haukeli campsite this turned out to be around 8pm at which point the mozzies came out in force. Whilst cooking our dinner we were amused and puzzled as we watched the season pitch campers on the campsite putting their stuff back in their caravans from about 730pm. Suffice it to say, we have not made that mistake again.

[Graham O]

I'm also looking to take the bike to Sweden and asked friends over there what the mosquitos were like. Just wear repellent and face net seems to be the advice. With regards time of year, by August they are decreasing rapidly and gone by September. This is around Hemavan to Storuman which is inland from Umea.

[Vorpal]

I'm also looking to take the bike to Sweden and asked friends over there what the mosquitos were like. Just wear repellent and face net seems to be the advice. With regards time of year, by August they are decreasing rapidly and gone by September.

That depends a lot on the weather. In the south of Norway, we had warm weather well into October this year, and some wet weather in early September ensured that there were mozzies around a bit later than usual.