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Swatting Bugs: How to Get Rid of Insects at Your Campsite
Let’s face it. When you head outdoors, you’re likely going to come across one or two unfamiliar creatures that you don’t need pestering you. While some of these creatures can be dangerous, most insects and animals don’t pose an immediate threat. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t pestering you. So how do you minimize the impact of mosquitoes and other insects at your campsite so you can have the best camping experience possible? Let’s take a look.
The first insect on anyone’s mind when they start putting together the campfire is the ever-popular mosquito. The mosquito can be such a pest that even its very name conjures up images of annoyance and discomfort. Summers in the north will particularly see a lot of mosquitoes; so how do you get rid of these pests? Insect repellent on your skin will make a significant difference, but you’ll also want to light some strategically-placed insect repelling candles around your camp area. Make sure they’re in fire-safe areas. Once you have these in place, light your fire; that should be enough to keep a majority of mosquitoes away.
Once you move beyond mosquitoes, the pests become a little bit more threatening. For example, ticks can carry disease and generally pester you; they’re so small that they can be hard to prevent. Make sure a few times a day, you check your skin for ticks, particularly after waking up and spending a lot of time near the ground. Bring long, light pants if you think you’re going to be knee-deep in wild brush; ticks can often get on your skin while you’re wearing shorts and wading through some wildlife. Making sure you have your skin protected will also help you to avoid Poison Ivy.When it comes to larger critters, including everything from chipmunks to snakes, you’ll want to take an alternate route: instead of removing them, you’ll want to keep your distance. You don’t know if a mammal is carrying a disease, and you can’t be sure which snakes are poisonous. It’s better to take the safe route and avoid as many of them as possible. Try to clear out your camp area so that you can tell if anything larger than an insect is around you; this will help you to spot these critters. If necessary, be sure to leave your boots upside down and inspect your sleeping bags before you go to bed.
Sometimes, keeping pests out of your way can be an issue of common sense; simply try to evaluate your situation and come up with a solution that gets rid of the pests most frequently bothering you.
Photo Credits: Mike Burns
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Five Tips to Become a More Courteous Fisher
Before you head out on your next fishing trip, it will pay to know some of the rules of common courtesy. If you’ve been noticing other fisherman glare at you while you’re out and don’t know why, it’s possible you may have been violating some of the unwritten rules of fishing – or even some local laws. To make sure that you are more courteous the next time you’re out looking for Muskie, here are some rules of common courtesy you’ll want to follow.
1. Give other fishers their space. Fishing is often a territorial sport, so if you crowd another fisherman or bring your boat too close to theirs, you’re being obnoxious. You’re also being dangerous, as you want to keep plenty of space between each boat. Some potential consequences to fishing too close together can include scaring away the fish they were trying to catch and creating a wavey wake that throws the other fisherman off their balance. Be sure to keep your distance.
2. At early morning and evening, keep your engines quiet. There’s nothing more frustrating to a fisherman than to find an area of good fishing at 6 o’clock in the morning, only to have someone with a speed boat come zooming through the bay and scaring away all of the day’s catch. You don’t always have to keep your engines perfectly quiet just to make fisherman happy, but try to be courteous.3. Throw a few back. Don’t come into their lake and catch up all the fish. You might think this makes you look good in front of other fisherman, but they’ll only resent you for showing them up. Be sure to throw a few fish back – including some large ones if you have caught some already – to keep the sport in the area alive.
4. Respect the professionals. If you’re in an area where there are professional fisherman around, be sure to give them plenty of space out of respect for their livelihood. This doesn’t always apply to inland lakes, but in coastal areas, you’ll see a lot of commercial fishing boats and you don’t want to get in the way of them and putting food on their family’s table.
5. When in doubt, think. If you’re getting glares, ask yourself, “would I be annoyed if I were them?” Try to put yourself in their shoes and see if your behavior’s been obnoxious. You can’t please everybody all the time, but you can work to be more thoughtful.
Photo Credits: bugeaters
