View Full Version : Woodstove users & bugs...?
Uncle Walkie
06-12-2011, 20:08
For those who use woodstoves...
..do you see less trouble with bugs? I know that you will carry the smell of smoke on you and your clothes...does it deter flies or mosquitoes?...I know it will while you are in the act of cooking/using the stove...but in general?
...what about those of that you that smoke? I've smoked a pipe on and off for years and wonder if smoking a pipe regularly for a thru hike would deter bugs?
thanks for sharing your experience and advice
For those who use woodstoves...
..do you see less trouble with bugs? I know that you will carry the smell of smoke on you and your clothes...does it deter flies or mosquitoes?...I know it will while you are in the act of cooking/using the stove...but in general?
...what about those of that you that smoke? I've smoked a pipe on and off for years and wonder if smoking a pipe regularly for a thru hike would deter bugs?
thanks for sharing your experience and adviceVery interesting thread. On my last hike the bugs were very bad, both mosquitoes and black flies. More research is definitely needed. I would like to see a very detailed and thorough treatment of this subject. It is complicated, as there are so many factors involved, and conditions and severity can vary dramatically. It deserves as much treatment as hypothermia etc, but doesn't seem to get it. Not sure why.
Yeah, from y experience smoke helps, and is a useful part of your defense system along with clothing, screening, tenting, repellant, keeping moving, swatting, avoiding buggy places, avoiding buggy weather, avoiding buggy times of day, avoiding buggy times of year.
I think smokey clothing helps. I also think pipe smoke is probably better than other forms of tobacco, and probably a big reason it was popular with fishermen, woodsmen, and native americans. All the photos and pics of Micmac women, for example, seem to show them with a pipe. On my last trip I burned insense doop, in the form of these little strings. They were jasmine. Not sure what insense works best. Mosquito coils probably, but not as pleasant, or healthy maybe. I will try them though, when it is really bad. I used a hand cream type repellant, with 25% deet. Not strong enough, but it helped. More research needed for sure. When they are bad they can be really bad, and can indirectly cause severe injury or death if they are bad enough because they can drive you mad, and tire you out, and cause you to mess up someway or other even if they don`t get you in some more direct way. Good to learn more about for sure, just like all the other stuff.
SassyWindsor
06-12-2011, 23:52
I use a titanium zip. You will see some benefits in temporary bug management but still pack the deet if you really want to keep bugs at bay. The benefit of a wood burner is the unlimited supply of fuel with the ability to boil lots of water, and not having to leave the trail to search/buy fuel.
mweinstone
06-13-2011, 07:51
after a lifetime of not being bothered by bugs im not sure theres any other reason but cleanlyness. im simply the cleanest human being. hiking or not. and i watch when im sitting in a group. they land on whomever is dirtyest. period. wiping the salt off and spong bathing with dr bronnes several times a day is my norm. its what works. ive not put bug dope on my skin ever. it goes on the leading edge of my clothes only and wafts around me. this works way better.
Pedaling Fool
06-13-2011, 07:56
I remember being swallowed up by a swarm of gnats in Virginia. Can't see how a woodburning stove or smoke from a pipe would be enough. I started a smoky fire and surrounded myself, problem solved.
Beachcomber
06-13-2011, 08:52
I remember being swallowed up by a swarm of gnats in Virginia. Can't see how a woodburning stove or smoke from a pipe would be enough. I started a smoky fire and surrounded myself, problem solved.
The aroma of woodsmoke on your clothes may have some deterrent effect on insects. On the other hand, it may attract other nuisances, like hungry hikers, because you'll smell like a walking side of bacon.
Even though there are relatively few mosquitoes which feed on man, there have been and continue to be many studies on the attraction mechanisms of mosquitoes to humans Thus far the following list of cues have been implicated as attractants: moisture, CO2 (as an activator), sweat, ABO blood type, age of the host, skin temperature, and lactic acid concentrations. While smoke, either in the air or on the clothing may deter bugs from landing on you, it does not in and of itself prevent them from being attracted to you
Uncle Tom
06-23-2011, 08:28
Bug Repellent: A traditional technique used to ward off mosquitoes is the smudge fire. Using the Bushcooker LT1 in wood mode allows one to add wet organic material such as pine needles, or forest floor duff to generate clouds of smoke.
On a recent canoe trip to northern Maine with particularly bad mosquitoes, we ran the stoves straight out for several hours on a daily basis, moving them around on the picnic table to suit the wind conditions.
http://youtu.be/O4NAJb3a1Ak
delaford321
06-23-2011, 16:04
Anything you can do to cover your scent is going to help.
cooking over wood is going to help a little, but it's not a miracle cure for insect plagues. I cooked over VERY small fires on the PCT and just used my titanium tent stakes as a pot stand.