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Blackflies, mosquitoes and ticks

The small animals that ruin more trips than bears do, and how to keep them off you.

What you need

How

  1. Know when they are out. Blackflies are worst from late May into July, in daylight and near running water. Mosquitoes are worst at dawn, dusk and in still, damp places.
  2. Camp where there is a breeze: a point, a knoll, an open shore. Bugs hate wind.
  3. Wear long, light coloured clothes with pants tucked into socks and cuffs done up.
  4. Put repellent on skin that shows, and on the edges of your clothes. Follow the label.
  5. Put the head net on before they drive you mad, not after.
  6. Keep the tent door zipped every time you go in or out.
  7. At the end of each day, check yourself for ticks: the hairline, behind the ears, armpits, waist, groin and behind the knees.
  8. If a tick is attached, grab it with fine tweezers as close to the skin as you can and pull straight out, slow and steady.

Do and don't

Do
  • Put sunscreen on first and repellent on top.
  • Wash repellent off at the end of the day.
  • Save a tick you pull off in a sealed bag, and note the date.
Don't
  • Do not use more than 30 percent DEET on adults, or stronger than the label allows on children.
  • Do not squeeze, burn or smother a tick with anything. Just pull it straight out.
  • Do not scratch bites open. They get infected in camp.

Watch for

Danger
  • Hundreds of blackfly bites can make you feverish and sick. Cover up.
  • Ticks that carry Lyme disease are rare on the Island but are found. A spreading red rash, fever or aches in the weeks after a bite mean seeing a doctor.
  • Swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing after a sting, is an emergency. Call 911.

Notes

Old timers swore by a smoky fire, and it works: a smudge of green boughs or damp moss on the upwind side of camp keeps the flies off.

By mid July on the Island the blackflies ease off and the evenings get good again.

bugsfly doperepellentticks

Updated 2026-09-22

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