The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has gotten a bad rap for its bugs. I personally don't think the bugs are bad in the BWCA. I think there are plenty of mosquitoes, gnats and other nasty insects in abundance elsewhere but people just don't notice them because they don't spend any time outside. Our bugs in the Boundary Waters don't normally carry diseases, lethal bites or deadly stings, they just have a tendency to "bug" people who are outside 24-7 on a canoe camping trip.
If you're looking to avoid bugs in the Boundary Waters altogether then I like to suggest visiting us from November to April. These six months you'll rarely see a bug. Of course you won't be able to paddle the canoe country during these months either.
The next best time to avoid bugs in the canoe country is as soon as the ice goes off of the lakes. The ice usually leaves the lakes of the Boundary Waters during the last week of April or first week of May depending upon the size of the lake and the thickness of its ice. This isn't a guaranteed bug free time in the BWCA but there should be a an open window for bug free paddling especially if you're trying to avoid mosquitoes.
There are over 50 species of mosquitoes in Minnesota and just a little over half of them bite. Not all of them bite humans and each have their own unique life cycle. Some species need specific conditions such as length of daylight or water temperature and these conditions usually can't be met immediately after ice out.
The first mosquitoes to arrive in the BWCA are usually the big, slow ones that don't bite. It usually isn't until the end of May when the biting mosquitoes arrive in numbers. Mosquitoes continue to hatch throughout the summer until we get a good frost but the numbers dwindle quickly and considerably by the end of June. Each month after there are fewer and fewer mosquitoes in the BWCA to contend with and with a little common sense and preparation you'll barely be bugged by them.
Although mosquitoes fly about during the day they most actively feed at dusk. If you can be in your tent before that then you can listen in comfort to their buzz as they descend to the forest floor. If you do happen to be outside then you'll want to protect yourself with clothing, a headnet and some type of mosquito repellent. If you are outside then they will find you because they detect their meal of blood by the carbon dioxide we exhale and the heat we give off. Unless you are better than I am at not breathing and altering my body temperature they are going to find you in a hurry.
Compared to the mosquito the other bugs of the BWCA don't receive much attention. Some folks are worried about the biting flies and I'm never even sure what they mean because I am rarely bitten by a fly. The first biting flies on the scene are what I usually call gnats because they are so small. They sometimes arrive earlier than the mosquitoes because they lay their eggs in moving water that thaws before calm water ice. They peak in the early part of June and since they only produce one generation a year they are almost obsolete after that. A sheet of bounce in a cap, wearing light colored clothing and only going outside at night will keep you safe from these daytime swarming insects.
There are so few biting flies in the BWCA that are out for such a short time most people don't even know about them in spite of their existence. Size and speed at which they fly help distinguish a Horse Fly from a Deer Fly. I can always tell when a Horse fly is attacking my paddling partner in the Boundary Waters. Since they like water, legs and wet skin I'll feel the canoe shift abruptly from movement before I hear the sound of a hand slapping skin. Horse flies fly faster than Deer flies and normally escape the palm of my partner's hand.
Deer flies are more annoying than anything as they buzz around and around your head until you grab them from the air. I can usually pluck them out of the sky, throw them to the ground and stomp on them before they have time to react. Both the Horse and Deer flies appear around July, only produce one generation and are only out during the daytime.
The stable fly is a biter that produces more than one generation and both the male and female bite so they are more abundant than the other types of flies. They too are more of an annoyance(just ask Rugby) and we refer to these flies as ankle biters because that's where they tend to get you when you're trying to set up your tent. As with all bugs they tend to prefer some people over others and luckily for me they don't like me as much as the rest of my family.
The last Boundary Waters bug of any concern is what we call "Jaws." The real name is the No See Um and when I first saw this in print on a product that had "no see um netting" I thought it was a joke but they really do exist. If you've ever been bitten by one then you won't deny their existence because for such a little insect it packs a good sized hurt. It maybe isn't so much of a hurt as it is a shock that you are feeling pain yet you can't see anything. They are so tiny they are difficult to see and the slightest breeze will carry them away so most people don't get to experience them. They are usually around for parts of June and July and only come out on calm nights.
There you have it, the best time for bugs in the Boundary Waters. By the end of July the bugs are barely an issue in the BWCA and in August and September you probably won't know there are any at all. So if you're wondering when a good time to visit the Boundary Waters is when there aren't any bugs now you know. But if you ask me when the fishing is good then that's a different story altogether.
If you're looking to avoid bugs in the Boundary Waters altogether then I like to suggest visiting us from November to April. These six months you'll rarely see a bug. Of course you won't be able to paddle the canoe country during these months either.
The next best time to avoid bugs in the canoe country is as soon as the ice goes off of the lakes. The ice usually leaves the lakes of the Boundary Waters during the last week of April or first week of May depending upon the size of the lake and the thickness of its ice. This isn't a guaranteed bug free time in the BWCA but there should be a an open window for bug free paddling especially if you're trying to avoid mosquitoes.
There are over 50 species of mosquitoes in Minnesota and just a little over half of them bite. Not all of them bite humans and each have their own unique life cycle. Some species need specific conditions such as length of daylight or water temperature and these conditions usually can't be met immediately after ice out.
The first mosquitoes to arrive in the BWCA are usually the big, slow ones that don't bite. It usually isn't until the end of May when the biting mosquitoes arrive in numbers. Mosquitoes continue to hatch throughout the summer until we get a good frost but the numbers dwindle quickly and considerably by the end of June. Each month after there are fewer and fewer mosquitoes in the BWCA to contend with and with a little common sense and preparation you'll barely be bugged by them.
Although mosquitoes fly about during the day they most actively feed at dusk. If you can be in your tent before that then you can listen in comfort to their buzz as they descend to the forest floor. If you do happen to be outside then you'll want to protect yourself with clothing, a headnet and some type of mosquito repellent. If you are outside then they will find you because they detect their meal of blood by the carbon dioxide we exhale and the heat we give off. Unless you are better than I am at not breathing and altering my body temperature they are going to find you in a hurry.
Compared to the mosquito the other bugs of the BWCA don't receive much attention. Some folks are worried about the biting flies and I'm never even sure what they mean because I am rarely bitten by a fly. The first biting flies on the scene are what I usually call gnats because they are so small. They sometimes arrive earlier than the mosquitoes because they lay their eggs in moving water that thaws before calm water ice. They peak in the early part of June and since they only produce one generation a year they are almost obsolete after that. A sheet of bounce in a cap, wearing light colored clothing and only going outside at night will keep you safe from these daytime swarming insects.
There are so few biting flies in the BWCA that are out for such a short time most people don't even know about them in spite of their existence. Size and speed at which they fly help distinguish a Horse Fly from a Deer Fly. I can always tell when a Horse fly is attacking my paddling partner in the Boundary Waters. Since they like water, legs and wet skin I'll feel the canoe shift abruptly from movement before I hear the sound of a hand slapping skin. Horse flies fly faster than Deer flies and normally escape the palm of my partner's hand.
Deer flies are more annoying than anything as they buzz around and around your head until you grab them from the air. I can usually pluck them out of the sky, throw them to the ground and stomp on them before they have time to react. Both the Horse and Deer flies appear around July, only produce one generation and are only out during the daytime.
The stable fly is a biter that produces more than one generation and both the male and female bite so they are more abundant than the other types of flies. They too are more of an annoyance(just ask Rugby) and we refer to these flies as ankle biters because that's where they tend to get you when you're trying to set up your tent. As with all bugs they tend to prefer some people over others and luckily for me they don't like me as much as the rest of my family.
The last Boundary Waters bug of any concern is what we call "Jaws." The real name is the No See Um and when I first saw this in print on a product that had "no see um netting" I thought it was a joke but they really do exist. If you've ever been bitten by one then you won't deny their existence because for such a little insect it packs a good sized hurt. It maybe isn't so much of a hurt as it is a shock that you are feeling pain yet you can't see anything. They are so tiny they are difficult to see and the slightest breeze will carry them away so most people don't get to experience them. They are usually around for parts of June and July and only come out on calm nights.
There you have it, the best time for bugs in the Boundary Waters. By the end of July the bugs are barely an issue in the BWCA and in August and September you probably won't know there are any at all. So if you're wondering when a good time to visit the Boundary Waters is when there aren't any bugs now you know. But if you ask me when the fishing is good then that's a different story altogether.
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