Hi all, was just wondering about mossies in July/August. We are travelling to Vancouver end July for a recce and are RVing across Fraser Valley and to Okanagan and returning from Calgary. I know areas of Canada suffer with the dreaded mossies, but how bad is it in these areas. Thanks in advance.

Mel

sorry posted in wrong bit.... sorry I dunno how to move it.

It depends on where you go. There are mozzies about in BC at that time but nowhere near as bad as some other parts of Canada. They tend to come out as the day cools off, around 6.00pm and are about while it is dark. They are more common near fresh water or by the edges of woodland where the shade creates a micro-climate they seem to like.

If you sit out for an evening without any protection you will often get a few bites. Citronella (sp?) candles are reasonably effective at keeping them away and we always have a can of Deep Woods Off if we are going to be hiking at dusk.

Hi Mel,

we were in the okanagan in July and it's mozzi free, however when you get further east especially Revelstoke the critters are on steroids we were camping are got ate to death,

Nick

Fraser Valley was really bad in parts last year. For some areas depends on how high the spring freshet is, a higher river flow allows more of the critters to hatch out. Ministry don't do anything like as much control spraying and treatments any more.

I have never seen any mozzies here in Kamloops, however drive 1hr North to Clearwater and it's a different story. All depends on where you are.

I'm from Victoria, BC... and mosquitos are a complete non-issue. If it wasn't for this forum and various road/camping trips out of the city, I would have forgotten that they exist. I assume it's the same for Vancouver... ? Same with black flies, deer flies and pretty much anything else irritating... except for slugs. We have slugs the size of small cars.

I completely agree with HWP. We live on Shawnigan Lake and I had expected mosquitos to be a big issue I think I only had about 10 bites all summer (Haven't seen any slugs here though)

The big ones (banana slugs) look like this:

OMG

They're completely harmless! But stepping on one in your bare feet, during a pee-run, in the middle of the night, while camping, is not something you want to experience.

They're only an issue where there's stagnant fresh water. Vancouver? Not a problem. I maybe get one or two bites per year. The Fraser Valley? Only an issue out in the farmland or in swampy areas in the evening, but again, never a real problem. The Okanagan? There's a lot of fresh water, but in all the summers I've spent there, I've never noticed mosquitos being an issue. The parts of Canada where mosquitos are massive problems are generally outside of BC.

One of my son's has ended up in hospital twice due to a bad reaction to multiple mosquito bites up here in the Valley. The little buggers can be a problem up here, 2007 was terrible. Some people are more susceptible than others to the bites, some years worse than others. I am nowhere near a body of stagnant water, go figure.

Not only stagnant water, any standing water and when the spring freshet is high the dormant larvae hatch out along the Fraser. As there is no spray program in place now, the mossies are going to be more of an issue. Anywhere where there is a breeze, such as along the coast has less of a problem, as do hot dry regions.

Then we'll have West Nile to contend with!

Wish I could say the same all those nasty skeeters must head north coz I suffer all summer