Our Top 7 Things To Do About Mosquitoes and Other Bugs While Camping:

​What about the bugs, especially the mosquitoes?  That is the most asked question I get from non-campers who want to camp.  What do you do about the bugs?  That is a great question and there is not always an easy answer.  I know that bugs can make or break a trip.

​We have been there, in the most beautiful places trying to enjoy our vacation camping and yet the bugs take over and we have to check our attitudes and remind ourselves why we are there.

​Do you ask yourselves why even go camping???  Why risk dealing with the bugs???  I agree it sounds pretty intimidating.  We share some of our crazy bug stories at the end of this post, yet for those few stories, there are a hundred more where there were few to no bugs.  

So in my opinion it is worth the risk and the joy of the time together with your family making memories and seeing beautiful places.

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​1.  Go camping when there are no or very few bugs.  There are fewer bugs, especially mosquitoes in the spring or fall (or winter if you live where it is warm most of the year).  Living in the Upper Midwest, when we have camped in May or later September we rarely have dealt with bugs.  If you live in Tennessee, maybe April or October would be good months to camp.  You have to take into consideration the area that you are in.  Some areas start getting snow in Sept. and some are still 90 degrees.  If bugs are what is stopping you, maybe plan a camping vacation to the desert or to a fairly dry area.  There won’t be as many bugs when it is a drier climate.

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​2.  Use No Bites, the only natural essential oil bug spray that I have found that has worked for us.  I DO NOT like any bug touching my babies, and I also like to do things naturally and do not like the regular bug spray, especially Deet on my children.  However, I have not found many other natural solutions that really work.  I have made some and tried a few others and those have not worked well, But… I have found one!  I LOVE No Bites from Hopewell Oils and you can see that others do too when you read the raving reviews.  I trust the purity and 100% therapeutic grade of their oils, and this blend really works.  I also love that the ingredients are fairly safe for pregnancy and children.  It says that it works for biting gnats, biting flies, mosquitoes and chiggers.  You can buy No Bites ready to use or without the carrier oil.  If you would like to use this for ticks as well, add 2mL Geranium to 1oz No Bites.  When my children are babies and younger, I spray it on my hands and then gently pat it on their clothing. (I am getting nothing from this company for highlighting them, I really trust and like their products.)  

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​3.  Use Bounce Original Outdoor Fresh Dryer Sheets    Many years ago we saw these dryer sheets hanging up in the doorway and in the bathroom at a campground we were staying at.   We noticed that there were NO BUGS in the bathroom.  We asked the camp host and they told us that they hang those in the bathrooms and the bugs stay away.  I do not use dryer sheets in our dryer, but we do take them camping.  If there are many bugs, we hang these near the opening of our tent and the opening of the rain-fly vestibule.  The mosquitoes do not like the smell and are repelled away from getting into our tent.  We will put them on the table while we eat and hang them behind the baby’s high chair.  I wonder if it would work to dry your clothes with these right before a trip and see if the smell on them repels the mosquitoes as well.  You can also try and put the dryer sheets in the pockets of your clothes as well(jean pockets, shirt pocket, etc.).

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4.  Wear loose clothing and rain gear.  Mosquitoes cannot generally bite through loose clothing.  If you are camping where it is really hot, then it may not be possible to put on more clothing, but many places it gets cooler in the mornings and evenings when mosquitoes generally come out.  If it is cooler, rain gear works really well to repel them because it is harder or impossible for them to bite through the fabric.  Many times you will have a break from them during the day, but as soon as the sun starts to go down they will come out in full force.

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​5.  Have a campfire.  Mosquitoes do not like the smoke from the fire and they stay away.  So built a nice campfire and hope that the smoke bothers them so much that they leave you alone to enjoy your evening and campfire.

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​6.  If you are bitten use essential oils to help it heal without the itchiness.  Apply a drop of lavender on the bite if the child is young.  For older children you can apply Purify (Hopewell Oils) or Purification (Young Living) or even Peppermint (Hopewell Oils).   My children will stop itching within a few minutes of applying this and forget about their bug bite.

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​7.  If possible, choose a campsite away from wetlands, standing water or tall grass.  Standing water is where mosquitoes like to live.  If we have a choice of a campsite, we make sure that there is no stagnant pond, or marsh near us.

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Here are a few of our bug stories.  I am sure each of you have some to add to this:

​1.  I remember camping in Banff National Park in Canada when I was in jr. high school.  It was one of the most beautiful places I had ever been!  It was great when we were around the National Park during the day, but the moment we got back to our campsite we were swarmed with mosquitoes.  It was miserable!  I remember sitting in the car to read a book.  I don’t remember what we did about meals.  All I remember is running from the car to the tent because I had never been in so many mosquitoes before.

2.  There was the time that I was leading a backpacking trip in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  We were camping on the beautiful lakeshore of Lake Superior and the biting black flies were awful.  We had to stay all covered up with pants and jackets on and then if we wanted to really get away, roll up our pants and walk a little ways out and stand in the water. 

3.  One time when my family was taking a trip camping across the United States, my Dad and I were out for a run in a campground and there were bugs after us.  I am not sure what they were but in my mind looking back I remember them as huge bugs chasing us.

4.  Even camping on the beach on St. John at Virgin Islands National Park, the mosquitoes and no-see-ums were out in full force.

​5.  Once many years ago we were camping in the Boundary Waters in Minnesota on a beautiful island, only the two of us and our canoe with no one else around… but the moment the sun started going down the mosquitoes came out and reminded us that they were there as well, we were not alone and we needed to run for the cover of our tent, so much for the quiet romantic peacefulness of the evening…

6.  I will never forget the time that we were camping on the beautiful Prince Edward Island.  We had spent the day touring the island and really enjoyed ourselves.  Then we got to our campsite on the southern part of the Island and apparently the side where there is no wind.  We stepped out of our minivan and the mosquitoes attacked!  We decided that I would take our children ages 3 yrs. & 12 months to the beach to see if the bugs were better there, while my amazing husband fought the mosquitoes and sacrificed his hands (only thing he didn’t cover) for us setting up the tent.  There was a tiny breeze on the beach that helped, but I had to cover our children with a thin hooded jacket and keep them moving.   It was miserable!   There was no campfire or dinner outside that night.  We fought our way back to our campsite and ate a picnic dinner in the car.  We grabbed everything that we needed for our night sleep and then rushed with our boys to the tent.  If we were to camp there again, we would camp on the northern side of the island where it was beautiful and a lot of wind.  Wind can be bothersome at times as well, but I would rather have the wind than all the mosquitoes.