Were you bothered with insects while hiking?
 

What is the insect population like in the Banff/Jasper/Lake Louise area in July? Have you taken insectacide along with you and did you need it? Should we bother to pack it or do you find it unnecessary in the mountain areas. I have been fishing in Canada in June many years ago and we were bothered by biting flies. It was horrible. Do you ever run into this problem in the hiking areas of Alberta?

There are always mosquitos, more so in wet years but this has been very dry. Pack some deep woods off and you will have no problem.

Thanks. I will pack the bug spray. So you've had a dry spring. That's because all the rain is in OHIO! We are so sick of rain, rain, rain. All May it was rainy with the exception of a couple of days. And June has been terrible so far. Very cool and it has rained almost every day. Usually we are swimming by the end of May. <BR>

We have been praying for rain and it finally happened. We had fire bans already in May because it was so dry. But the last couple of days it has rained quite a bit and that will green things up and lessen the fire hazard. We could use a bit more yet, though. <BR> <BR>Hope you have a wonderful trip. Just as a note, I go to the hunting/outdoor shops for my insect repellent, especially if you are hiking. You can purchase small packets of treated clothes that you can use and they take up little room. <BR> <BR>Have fun!

We were there in August of 93, and didn't notice any bugs. We were fine in the Rockies without any bugspray - I had always thought that lakelands/swamps (ie: regions like where you went fishing before) were breeding grounds for biting flies and mosquitos, whereas in mountainous regions like the Rockies, it's less so (of course, unless you decide to hang around stagnant water) ;)

Certainly by water, the mosquitos are much worse but they are here - rest assured. Not nearly as bad as some people say. The odd time we get a horsefly or deer fly which may be the biting flies and Sheri refers to. These are relatively scarce but when they bit they really hurt. <BR> <BR>A little repellent goes a long way so it is a good idea to pack it just in case. You may not need it but better safe than sorry!

Hi Ladies: Thanks for your response. Denise, I never heard of "treated clothes". You said they take up little space. I will check into that. I know that it all depends upon the cycles of the insects in different regions. We just hit it at the wrong time on that lake for fishing. Another week and they wouldn't have been there. So, I've decided to pack the deet just in case. Does anyone have any suggestions as to brand names working better than others?

The cloths I was referring to Sheri, can only be purchased at outdoors places. They come in packets, just like wet cloths and take up little space. They are really smelly as they contain a lot of deet but they really work well and as I said, take up very little space. I believe they come in a foil pouch with about 10 individual packets inside. If you have a chance, visit an outdoors store and try to find them. We used them in NZ for the sand flies and they worked better than anything.