Lol … I was born and raised in northern Ontario. I’m indigenous and I’ve spent a lot of time in the northern wilderness which has lots and lots of swamp land and in the summer hosts billions of biting insects.
My parents were born in the bush so life out there was normal for us.
I remember spending summers out camping in July with clouds of black flies, mosquitoes, deer flies, midges and sand flies… when we drank a cup of tea by the fire, you first had to skim off the drowning insects before taking a sip.
Which is why when you meet many old timer Indigenous person in northern Ontario, they’re dressed in long pants and long sleeved clothing in the summer. The only time I wear tshirts or shorts is if there is a strong wind or I’m planning on jumping in the water some time soon. In the evening and especially at night, I’ll cover up every inch of exposed skin.
It always amazes me when I have my southern friends visit me, sit around a fire at dusk in tank tops and shorts and complain about the bugs … then slather on tons of insect repellent and complain about the chemicals they put on.
… all while I skim off the bugs from my drink and take a sip.
Lots of things work … including dryer sheets … but the problem is that you have to apply whatever product or diy trick or whatever you are using on every bit of your skin … every piece of skin. If you have one spot the size of a penny of untreated skin anywhere on your body, the insects will find it and sting you there. The best way to do all this is to find a vat of insect repellent, swim in it for 10 seconds and come out. And even then, it only works for about half an hour or hour because your skin is constantly changing … all that has to happen is you sweat a little bit, the repellent washes off and now you have an untreated section that the bugs will find.
It’s a never ending battle and the bugs always win. Part of surviving in these conditions is to accept that you will get bitten … you just minimize the bites and you learn to live with getting bitten.
There is research I’ve read that more and more people are becoming so accustomed to never wanting to be bitten that they spend their lives in a bubble away from biting insects that it becomes a severe problem when they do get bitten … even to the point where they develop allergic reactions because they do such a good job avoiding it all.
I grew up in these conditions and I remember being a dumb kid running around the bush and being covered in welts all summer long and never thinking it was unusual.
As a teen, I remember a few summers with my friends where the mosquitos grew so thick and noisy at dusk that you could literally choke on them as they filled your nose and mouth.
Now as an adult, I minimize the number of bites but when I do get bitten (which is still fairly high) I don’t really mind it all that much. You build a tolerance to them over time. Like anything uncomfortable and unavoidable in the world you learn to live with them.
Lots of solutions work … temporarily and for certain circumstances and for people of certain biologies.
There is research that says that some people just naturally attract more mosquitoes than others. I remember reading a few places a long time ago that said that it ranged about one in seven people attract more than others. I think I am one of those seven because I remember being frustrated as a teen with my friends. We all came from the same background, did the same things, tolerated the same things but for whatever reason, more mosquitoes bothered me than any of them. I changed my diet, changed my shampoo, didn’t shower for a week or more, changed clothing, changed detergent … nothing worked so I just accepted it. Years later, read about how some people attract more mosquitoes than others and it made sense.
So if you do go out there and do your best to avoid the insects … don’t be discouraged that you turn out to be the one that attracts more than others … sometimes it just works out that way.
Lol … I was born and raised in northern Ontario. I’m indigenous and I’ve spent a lot of time in the northern wilderness which has lots and lots of swamp land and in the summer hosts billions of biting insects.
My parents were born in the bush so life out there was normal for us.
I remember spending summers out camping in July with clouds of black flies, mosquitoes, deer flies, midges and sand flies… when we drank a cup of tea by the fire, you first had to skim off the drowning insects before taking a sip.
I think one fly in your wine is OK
Just asking questions, just asking questions ;) Horseflies were the worst! I feel like I lost a part of me when they’d bite
Which is why when you meet many old timer Indigenous person in northern Ontario, they’re dressed in long pants and long sleeved clothing in the summer. The only time I wear tshirts or shorts is if there is a strong wind or I’m planning on jumping in the water some time soon. In the evening and especially at night, I’ll cover up every inch of exposed skin.
It always amazes me when I have my southern friends visit me, sit around a fire at dusk in tank tops and shorts and complain about the bugs … then slather on tons of insect repellent and complain about the chemicals they put on.
… all while I skim off the bugs from my drink and take a sip.
I’ve heard a dryer sheet works for this purpose, can u confirm + deny?
Lots of things work … including dryer sheets … but the problem is that you have to apply whatever product or diy trick or whatever you are using on every bit of your skin … every piece of skin. If you have one spot the size of a penny of untreated skin anywhere on your body, the insects will find it and sting you there. The best way to do all this is to find a vat of insect repellent, swim in it for 10 seconds and come out. And even then, it only works for about half an hour or hour because your skin is constantly changing … all that has to happen is you sweat a little bit, the repellent washes off and now you have an untreated section that the bugs will find.
It’s a never ending battle and the bugs always win. Part of surviving in these conditions is to accept that you will get bitten … you just minimize the bites and you learn to live with getting bitten.
There is research I’ve read that more and more people are becoming so accustomed to never wanting to be bitten that they spend their lives in a bubble away from biting insects that it becomes a severe problem when they do get bitten … even to the point where they develop allergic reactions because they do such a good job avoiding it all.
I grew up in these conditions and I remember being a dumb kid running around the bush and being covered in welts all summer long and never thinking it was unusual.
As a teen, I remember a few summers with my friends where the mosquitos grew so thick and noisy at dusk that you could literally choke on them as they filled your nose and mouth.
Now as an adult, I minimize the number of bites but when I do get bitten (which is still fairly high) I don’t really mind it all that much. You build a tolerance to them over time. Like anything uncomfortable and unavoidable in the world you learn to live with them.
Wouldn’t moisturizer do the trick to? Like something real goopy?
Lots of solutions work … temporarily and for certain circumstances and for people of certain biologies.
There is research that says that some people just naturally attract more mosquitoes than others. I remember reading a few places a long time ago that said that it ranged about one in seven people attract more than others. I think I am one of those seven because I remember being frustrated as a teen with my friends. We all came from the same background, did the same things, tolerated the same things but for whatever reason, more mosquitoes bothered me than any of them. I changed my diet, changed my shampoo, didn’t shower for a week or more, changed clothing, changed detergent … nothing worked so I just accepted it. Years later, read about how some people attract more mosquitoes than others and it made sense.
So if you do go out there and do your best to avoid the insects … don’t be discouraged that you turn out to be the one that attracts more than others … sometimes it just works out that way.