A Walk On The Wild (And Buggy) Side – Everglades National Park, FL
We’re finally on the road again! After almost 3 months sitting still the jacks are up and “the beast” is once again wheeling! It feels good and freeing, and yet a tad strange at the same time. Even after 7 years on the road I’m still amazed at the fact that we live and travel full-time in this big metal container, and whenever we sit still for a while I almost forget it.
You see when you’re not moving you fall back into “regular” life, the kind of life you lived before you got on the road. It feels relaxing and easy and oh-so very familiar. In fact if you’ve been hard-core traveling for a while (like we did last year) it might even come as a huge relief.
“So, this is what regular life is like? Yes, I remember this…It’s nice.”
Then, once the initial travel stress has worn off and life has started to become almost predictable again, you begin to get that travel itch again. It’s a restless feeling, a feeling that either you should get rid of the rig and settle down permanently or just get going. So your mind wanders and you dream and you plan…
“We could go there. Oh and explore this….Oh and how about that?!”
Then finally the day comes when you’re back on the road. You lift those jacks and move and you almost feel like a “newbie” again. It’s a little daunting, a little exciting, and you feel a little rusty at this whole RVing thing.
“Where is it I put away all this stuff again?”
The first day we move after a long stop it takes almost an hour to get everything ready, which is twice what it usually takes when we’re in the “RV groove”. It’s such a strange phenomenon. But after a mere few hours it all comes rushing back and we’re fully back in travel mode. The road is our destination, the horizon our vista and endless adventures are ahead.
“Yeah, this feels good and THIS is why we RV….!”
There is no doubt we LOVE this lifestyle, but as with all things in life that are unknown, not all destinations are what you expect them to be, and not all adventures end up with rainbows and unicorns. Our first stop of 2017 was going to be wild, in a few good ways, but also in a rather bad way that would drive us almost insane and force us to cut our visit to only a few days.
We were headed to Flamingo Campground (review coming), a teeny blip of man-made in the enormous desolation of raw wilderness that is the Florida Everglades. The forecast called for heat, high humidity and a heavy rainstorm, none of which really scared us. After all we’re a self-sufficient “beast” with the luxury of space, practically unlimited self-generated power and (thankfully) no leaks so we’re pretty much ready for anything, right?
But there was a small thing, a minor little buzzing irritation that we thought we were prepared for, but clearly weren’t. Yes, in our grand naivety we had dismissed the flesh-eating monster that is the Everglades mosquito and neither hard-core DEET, nor Permethrin-treated clothes nor full window-netting could save us from their insatiable thirst.
Now, as a prelim to all this I should give you a little history. You see I’m no newbie to skeeters. I grew up in Asia, I’ve backpacked in the Amazonian Rainforest and my pasty-delicious white skin is like a Universal Lighthouse to all the blood-sucking creatures of the world. I’ve seen my share of mosquitoes and not just in a “I’m a wimpy Scandinavian” kind of way, but in a “I’ve been to the rainforest swamp” kind of way. I’ve seen the hoards, I’ve faced the armies and I have survived….
But clearly I’ve never been to the Florida Everglades.
The mosquitoes here are not just ferocious they are hysterical, and that is the formal description taken directly from the certified, National-Park-approved Mosquito Meter that is so helpfully posted at the Visitor Center. Of course that’s assuming the swarms of little demons that you encountered on your way over to the Visitor Center didn’t already alert you to that fact. As an added bonus there are over 30 different species of the flying pests. So, we’re talking billions of buzzing, flying, blood-sucking culicidae all waiting for unsuspecting tourists to show up. It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet and YOU are the main course!
So as you see my dear blog readers, this place is not for the faint of skin. But it’s not usually this bad either…
For the most part the “dry season” of winter is supposed to be the best of times to visit the Everglades. Generally the weather is nice and cool, there’s not much rain and the mozzies are usually pretty subdued. But this has been an unusually hot winter and it’s changed everything.
On our first fine afternoon in camp I was bicycling like an insane woman, one-armed of course (because the other arm was desperately swatting clouds of buzzing fiends from my delicious pasty white face) when I happened across the camphost. I stopped for a few minutes to allow nature to feast and ask him if the mosquitoes were particularly bad today.
“Oh no” he answered quite seriously, his voice muffled a bit by the 1/2 inch thick head-to-toe netting that covered his body “they’re actually quite good today. You should have been here in December”
Apparently this has been the worst mosquito season they’ve seen in the Park in 20 years. And the few clouds of critters we were seeing today were just a sample of what had been on offer all season. Like I said, we thought we knew what we were getting into, but we didn’t know know.
So, with all that WHY would we even come here??!
Well there’s a reason, and it wasn’t just to subject ourselves to the buffet of nature’s carnivores. No, it was to experience Florida’s wildest, to immerse ourselves in the depths of nature and to basically just get “out there”. And when you find yourself on the East Coast, this is just about as wild as it gets.
I talked a bit about the Everglades when I covered Miami a few posts ago, but for those who might have forgotten I’ll refresh it here. The Everglades is really quite an astonishing place. When you look at a map it’s that HUGE, enormous green bit at the very southern tip of Florida. It’s the largest sub-tropical wilderness in the United States and just 20% of it (a mere 1,509,000 acres (6,110 km2) is protected as part of the Everglades National Park.
It’s a complex system of multiple interdependent ecosystems that include cypress swamps, the estuarine mangrove forests of the Ten Thousand Islands, tropical hardwood hammocks, pine rockland, and the marine environment of Florida Bay. This amazing natural network supports over 350 bird species, a slew of reptiles, amphibians & insects and one of the most endangered animals in the USA, the Florida panther. Plus, because of the unique mix of water in it’s most southern section (where the fresh water of Florida Bay meets the salt water of the Gulf of Mexico), it’s the only place in the world you can see both Alligators and American Crocodiles in the same place. Frikkin awesome!
The Flamingo Visitor Center is the most remote visitor center in the Park, over 38 miles drive from the Southern Entrance and as far as you can go by wheels in the Everglades. It has the added bonus of a large on-site campground (accessible to any-sized RV) so once you get yourself down there you’ll be right in the midst of the wildest of the wild, with the pleasant breeze of the Florida Bay on one side and the wetlands on the other. You can walk or bike endless trails, go bird-watching on one of the many lakes, take part in one of the Ranger-guides tours, or get on the water with a kayak/canoe (tons of canoe trails here!) or in one of the Park-Sanctioned boat-trips. Honestly, if it weren’t for the mosquitoes this would be a nature-lovers paradise!
But alas, the little blood-sucking monsters cannot be ignored, and we made it exactly 3 nights before we reached our limit and called it quits. During that brief time we enjoyed a bike-ride along Guy Bradley trail (from the the campground to the Visitors Center), a spectacular sunset (although I suffered at least 50 bites for it) and a very pleasant boat-tour into the Backcountry ($35/person and totally worth it!), but the hoards of mozzies meant we couldn’t really spend any other time outdoors. We were miserable, the pets were miserable and it just wasn’t worth the suffering to stay.
It was fascinating to see Florida’s wildest, and if it ever gets cold enough to dampen those monsters you can bet your solar pants we’ll be back down here to explore further. We may well return, but we’ll call ahead on that skeeter meter before we ever do so again 🙂
Visitor Notes: Entry fee to Florida Everglades National Park is $25 (good for 7 days) or FREE with the National Parks Pass. It’s 38 miles from the Southern Entrance to the Flamingo Visitors Center so plan accordingly. There’s a small store, but no real groceries or gas down there. If you want to hire a canoe/kayak or take one of the boat tours at the Flamingo Visitor Center you’ll need to pay an extra fee. Also be ready for mosquitoes (!!!) by bringing bug spray or pre-treating your clothes with Permethrin. Mozzies are sometimes OK in winter, but can be BAD, BAD, BAD in warmer weather -> you can always call ahead for exact current conditions.
Paw Notes: Dogs are allowed in the campground and on the nice trail between Camp and the Visitors Center (Guy Bradley Trail), but are not allowed inside buildings or on ANY other hiking trails inside the National Park. Also, do not take doggie near or into the water either on the Bay or by the Visitors Center (due to Crocodiles & Alligators). It’s simply not safe.
Glad you’re back on the road! Sure know what you mean about how curious and quickly it happens that, when you’re ‘off the road’, getting back on the horse can seem surprisingly strange. We are only part-time, and embarked on a trip early December but had to abort (because we got T-boned, having to limp all the way back home). Now after waiting over 2 months for repairs to be completed, it seems hard to prepare to ‘try again’, and we feel apprehensive. But like you, I’m sure it will feel good once we’re back in the groove! Happy Travels!
Yes it really did feel good once we were going again. There’s always lots of inertia to get moving, but once you do you feel great. And we totally get that post-repair apprehension too. This drive was our first time towing since our big accident last October. It was definitely a bit nerve-wracking! Hopefully everything goes smoothly for you and you have some great travels this year.
Nina
I am so sorry about the Mozzies….because you are truly in one of my favorite places…when we were there we were lucky…nothing buzzing around us and we did it all…hikes, swamp tours and even bike riding…not to mention the fabulous birding……I hope the rest of the places you have planned will be much better and have NO BUGS of any kind…..
I’m fully prepared for more bugs, just as long as they’re not as bad as they were here. This was the worst we’ve experienced in many years.
Nina
I’ll never go there again….period….not negotiable. Yes, it has many things to entice one to visit, but those bugs! We spent 4 days in the ten thousand island area (Chokoloskie) and I nearly lost my mind. I had so many itchy red bites that they all merged into one huge body covering (and I do mean covering) mess. It was not a pretty site nor was I a happy camper. argh……
I don’t blame you…they really do drive you insane. The bites, the constant buzzing, the never-ending swatting. It’s nature’s worst torture.
Nina
I forgot how good a photographer you are. It has been a while since I opened one of your emails
I have been storing them away since I am dealing with health issues which have robbed me of my
dream to travel more. Funny how cancer can do that. Yes you have a wonderful blog and I forgot
how good it is.
Yes the weather has been changing all over the world. Kind of funny in a way, people are so worried
about global warming which I have heard is a lie. I think of it as just Gods plan playing out. Don’t
know what your beliefs are. I am a Christian by relationship not religion and am living in a garage
that is attached to a house owned and occupied by Mormons.
Isn’t that a kicker? God has a great sense of humor. They shun me and I am more used to it now.
Used to pray for their souls, now am at a point of not caring if they go to hell. Don’t know if you
ever felt stuck, but that is the way I feel now. I had such dreams of having a bus again and traveling
all over until my eyesight and cancer took that away.
That is why anyone should make every day count, it may change. At least here I can enjoy the Coast
and the cooler weather of the ocean. And yes mosquitos can be a pain. Especially when they fly around your head at night and you can’t see them but sure can hear them. Any way I just wanted
to thank you for your wonderful blog and the great way you photograph things.
Gosh John, I’m so very sorry. Cancer can steal so much so quickly, and it can happen to any of us. I’ve known many who’ve gone through it, some with positive outcomes and others who did not survive. It’s so tough to see it happen to those we love and I can only imagine how much tougher it is to experience. I’m so very sorry it’s taken your travel dreams.
I know this may sound trite, but I hope you find some means of peace and enjoyment in the years that remain. It may not be travel in a bus, but perhaps the Universe will find some other way for you? Thank you for sharing, thank you for the kind words and I wish you all the best.
Nina
Surely nothing trite about your comment, At 82 I hope my remaining years contain the same.
PS: My son spent almost 27 yrs with the Florida Fish and Game based in Cape Coral (SW coast.) He frequently camps and fishes out of Flamingo and Chokoloskee, sometimes with his Norther visitors. If they are readers of you fantastic emails, NO MORE!
I am constantly amazed at what a wonderful writer and photographer you are. Great storyteller. Sometimes I forward your emails to non-RVers just for their reading pleasure. Plus, they may even become converts to our lifestyle!
We spent Christmas 3 years ago there — but camped in a lovely municipal campground very near the Everglades park — as the mosquitoes were in rare form, and I am their favorite food…..so we explored it all, but not from the campground there…..!!! It was hot and humid that December — hugely so, and that was hard. But what amazing nature there! And we saw both a crocodile and alligators — but while we were there, a couple walking their Golden Retriever on one of the boat docks experienced an alligator rising up out of the water and dragging their dog down — was a horrible thing to happen. Now I know how dangerous they are….will never forget that. We keep our dogs well away from any possibility of that whenever we are in alligator country.
What a horrible thing to see happen to that dog! I’m so careful of water in Florida. I always assume that ANY body of water here contains alligators and I never let Polly anywhere close to them. It’s just not worth the risk.
Nina
Were you there this month? We have reservations there next month. Luckily we have net suits. Sounds like we will need them.
Yes, we just left 2 days ago. I think bringing net suits when you come will be a smart choice.
Nina
Koodos for lasting 3 nights. When we were there (Jan, 2013) it wasn’t mosquitoes but no-seeums that drove us crazy at Flamingo campground. A hot, humid night and we couldn’t open any windows; they don’t make screening that tight. We moved to the other campground and were surprisingly totally free of them.
HA! Funny thing is we got no-seeums while we were there too, but they were only really bad around sunset and they were so mild compared to the mosquitoes that I totally forgot to mention them! We DID keep our RV windows closed all day and night.
Nina
Great post Nina. I am already itching from the mosquito invasion.
I first visited the park in the early 60’s. They sold “mosquito repellant” with the Shell oil company logo on it at the visitors center. At that time nobody knew about such things. I think it was supposed to keep the skeeters away with its foul odor. It did not work! Seems like things have not changed!
When our family lived in Singapore back in the day, all the adults drunk Gin and Tonic for the same reason. Something about the quinine in Tonic Water if I recall correctly, with the Gin added for good measure. Not sure if that worked either, but everyone swore by it 🙂
Nina
G and T to ward off the bugs! That would be too excellent! Unfortunately it never worked for me 🙁
Wouldn’t it just! I do think they’ve changed the recipe of Tonic Water over the years. Before modern regulation it used to have quite a lot of quinine in it, but these days I think it’s a pretty minuscule amount. Still not sure it really helped. Quinine used to be an effective agent against malaria, but I don’t think it was ever much of a “real” mosquito repellent? But hey, here’s to G & T’s all round!
Nina
My parents moved to Ft Myers in 1998. I got to enjoy visiting them them for a few years before Daddy passed away. The hubby and I always traveled further south to visit the Everglades. Love it! You’re so right about the mosquitoes!! We pulled in to this one state park and Jim said they were pecking on the glass of the car window waiting on us to get out. We did not stay. Lol! We started using Thermacell’s last year when camping on Hunting Island. I have to admit, I was very skeptical at first..but they proved to work amazingly well at warding off those blood suckers!
Thermacell eh? I’m definitely going to look into it!
Nina
If you’re going to be down there it’d be worth it to try.
http://www.thermacell.com
Look it up!
Our friend who runs an airboat tour up around Daytona told us about it.
What a fascinating adventure!! I have a feeling our little Shih Tzu would have not been a happy camper with all those skeeters. I’m not sure how I would have done. I can only imagine how pesky they were. It does sound like an awesome place to experienced!! Glad you got our with most of your blood!!
Your first few paragraphs really ring true for us! We’ve been in San Diego for the last four months and are hitting the road again on Wednesday. I almost feel like I need to open up the motorhome operator’s manual to remind myself on how to bring the jacks up! We are heading east… maybe we’ll cross paths.
Ron
I could not do the skeeters, they love me, and I react badly to their bites. Glad you’re on the move though. Always feels good to be going again.
We just finished a 14 days stay at Flamingo on January 25th, so I know we crossed paths and didn’t even know it:-(( We had a few good days and if we headed to the north end, we could enjoy the Anhinga Trail and Mahogany Hammock. We did get to take the Nine Mile Pond Canoe trip with the ranger and it was fantastic…no skeeters out on the water!! However, even if we couldn’t spend a lot of time outside, there is something special about being off the grid for 2 weeks. Just gives you time to chill…or swap skeeters;o)) We have been at Flamingo at least 3 times and this was the worst by far!!! What site were you on? We were on site 35. Just can’t believe we did not get to meet you since we will just miss you this summer in Maine. One of these days we will cross paths and actually know it:o)) Safe Travels!!!
No way! You guys were there when we were? Did you mean you just left Feb 25th (not Jan)? I’m so sorry we missed you! We were too big for A/B loops so they put us in the Trailer loop, about 1/2 way up (I have the number, but just can’t recall it right now). I’m super impressed you managed 2 weeks there with those horrible skeeters. I do agree that our best day was the one we spent out on the water with the boat tour. It was blissfully skeeter-free out there.
Nina
Yea, meant Feb 25…the skeeters have affected my mind;o))
We’re just north of you at the Big Cypress RV Park on the Miccosukee Reservation. Very nice, for a commercial park. We’re still in the middle of the Everglades, but in the northern part, which is much drier, especially this year. The mosquitoes haven’t been too bad, but I still managed to get maybe 10 bites in 6 days. It was breezy much of the time, and that helps a lot.
Even with all the swatting, you still got some great pictures!
We hope to meet you on the road someday. You were one of our biggest inspirations as we were rpeparing for full-time RV life.
We stopped at a few of the overlooks when we left Flamingo going north and also had a drive around Big Pine Campground by the Park entrance. It definitely felt drier up there, with way fewer mosquitoes. Right around Flamingo was the worst, for sure. Glad to know you’ve been enjoying it up there.
Oh and regarding the swatting while taking pictures, you totally hit the mark. I actually had a ton of fuzzy pictures because I couldn’t hold the camera still (from the mozzies). It was quite funny…after the fact LOL.
Nina
Don’t you just hate getting somewhere and hearing “this is the worst it’s been in 20 years”?? How could we be so unlucky?! I love the idea of the Everglades and the wildness of all it is, but I know I couldn’t handle the bugs. If there is one in a 100 mile radius it will find me and bite me at least four times – can’t imagine billions :-((( Your photos are beautiful as always, the sunset is magical.
We SOOO lucked out there last March. No skeeters at all! We rode our TerraTrikes on the 17 mile Shark Valley trail, and we also checked out Flamingo. When we asked the ranger what we should do if we encountered a gator on our trikes (we are at ground level, as they are recumbents), he said “just don’t get between their heads and the water”. We probably passed 10 of them…yikes!
If you ever get a chance to go when the bugs are down…definitely go back!
We did get lucky the one day we visited Shark Valley (back in Dec when my family was here). It was one of maybe only two or three days it was actually really cold this winter, and there were literally zero skeeters. I’d love to have that same experience in the southern section of the Park.
Nina
It’s not just any old ordinary mosquito, it’s the ferocious Salt Marsh Mosquito! Swatting at them does no good. As you may have guessed, they do not spray for them in the Park.
Well that would explain it. Those skeeters did seem super-human (super-mosquito?).
Nina
It is ashame the bugs are so bad this year. The Everglade area is magnificent and there is so much to see and do. But I hear you with the bug attacks!! I (they don’t like John) suffered through them in Dec while in Cortez. While the mosquitoes were present, they weren’t as bad as the no-see-ums. I was just miserable with all my bites on every part of my body. The quarter size welts were from mosquitoes and the dimes were from no-see-ums…that how I sorted my body art!! I couldn’t sit near any bushes at any time of day. And…we had Red Tide that annoyed us if near the water many days. Needless to say, I will be hard pressed to return to Florida. I felt your pain!!
So sorry you were driven away by those pesky blood suckers. I know first hand just how terrible they can be—I grew up in Miami and spent a lot of time camping, boating and fishing at Flamingo with my family. Sometimes the only escape was running the boat at full speed to blow the hordes of mosquitoes away!
It took me decades to return to the Everglades—but we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our two trips there in the past several years. (Maybe we didn’t have problems because we were drinking G & T’s—with real tonic water, lots of quinine.) :-))
Your photos are amazing, even with the handicap of swatting mosquitoes.
So sorry to hear about the mosquitos; we were there in Jan of last year and it was very good. Next time you return (or if you are still nearby), I’d highly recommend the Slough Slog, where you put on old runners and take a ranger led hike in knee deep water. It was the most amazing thing we did in the Everglades, I cannot recommend it enough! https://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/sloughslog.htm
I heard about that hike a few years ago, but totally forgot about it!! Definitely something we’d love to do in cooler weather with less bugs. Adding it to this list for the future!
Nina
The Mozzies cant be as bad as Vietnam was back in the 60s, they were so thick there that one night a bunch of them got together and picked up the tank we were guarding and took it away! We finally found it a week later and it was 20 miles away!!!
Yeah, your experience has everything here looking like complete child’s play. Our RV stayed in place for the trip, despite being pecked half to death by the little monsters. Plus we could always escape indoors. Thank you for your service.
Nina
thanks NIna, we had plenty of mosquitoes jokes over there because they were so bad, but I have heard they are worse down there in the Everglades. We ran into a bad batch of them up at the Tetons a long time ago and couldnt even leave our rig without being totally covered from head to toe! We visited the Everglades back in 2010, just a day trip and they werent bad then. I dont remember any mosquitoes at all then and that was about late February. Hope you get a chance to go back when they arent so bad.
I had no idea the mozzies ever got bad in the Tetons, but we were there in late fall (and it was quite cold already) so that’s probably why we never saw any. It’s good to know!
Nina
We will hit the road again in 2 days after jacks down for 9 weeks. I was having some of your same thoughts as we prepare to get on the road again.
Mental note made on the skeeter warning when we do make it to the Everglades
Safe travels
And the gnats… on the beaches and coves!!! Been to Florida a couple times; neither of which offered my soul a it’s daily requirement of solitary. It felt like one big Mall…
And tho the ocean is pleasant, the beaches were over run with people… and gnats. Maybe our timing was off…
Bummer Mark 🙁
I have to admit the Everglades felt nice and remote. Really feels like driving into the wilds when you’ve been RVing in the “big Mall” of Southern FL cities for a few months. But I can’t deny the West has waaaaay more opportunities to get “out there”. My heart is definitely over there.
Nina
I know about getting back on the road again. Our 5th wheel fell apart on our return trip west from South Carolina and we didn’t have it for about 9 months. We have a truck camper we were using in the meantime. When we finally loaded up the 5th wheel again to take it to Mammoth, we forgot where the hot water heater switch was and many other things we used to do and not think about. It got to be pretty funny.
The Everglades are amazing, but like you, we were sent running and waving our arms about like crazy people! I couldn’t get over the size of the grasshoppers. You could put a saddle on them and ride them!
So glad you are back on the road again. Love you blog.
Totally with you. We felt “rusty” after only 3 months, so 9 months would certainly be enough to make us forget just about everything. The human mind is a funny thing….
Nina
WOWEE … I’ve never heard of the bugs being that bad in winter. I woulda thought you picked the perfect time. That hilarious mosquito meter seldom hits “hysterical” unless it is summer. What a shame. Look back on our Everglades posts for a bit more everglades fun since yours got cut short. Travel safe friends. We miss you!
I was actually reading your old blog posts while we were down there, and feeling rather jealous that you had such a bug-free experience. There really is tons to do in the area if it’s nice enough to be outside. Maybe next time…
Nina
Oh my! We were SO lucky. We spent quite a bit of time in the Everglades at this same time last year and I can only remember one time that we were really besieged by those buzzing critters. We enjoyed our time there and the memory of that wild, amazing area full of so much wildlife is still vivid in my memory.
It’s a beautiful place no doubt. I had such a blast with photography despite the bites. So much natural beauty.
Nina
We saw a large vehicle (everything is large to us as our rig is Roadtrek) proudly labeled The Beast and thought it was you but no it was a float in the Pensacola and Pensacola Beach Madrid Gras parades. We are headed your way from Fort Pickens and will look for your Beast as we head down the keys.
We used some of your advice earlier in our trip and tried Ogilby Road. Thanks for the tip.
some of your pics remind me of some of Ansel Adams work. good job!!
Great post! What a beautiful place. I still have scars from skeeter bites I received from staying with my grandmother on Key Largo. Thank you for sharing.
Great post it’s a beautiful place but I was born & raise in Louisiana I seen all I want of those blood sucking insect & gators but still love to eat them tales . We are still working on fixing our house up to sell their is so much to do to prepare for our travel I had know ideas once we do that I plan to buy 5th wheel & hit the road I can’t hardly wait in the meantime I will keep getting as much info. about fulltime rving so I want be caught off guard hope to seen yawl in person soon GOD BLESS yawl and have a safe travel
With all due respect it shouldn’t take me 3 car rides over to the library in order to post just once. On Monday the library’s computers didn’t recognize my flash drive on 5 plus computers. I couldn’t use my normal library computer as someone was sitting there already. Eventually I had to leave to pick up the granddaughter at preschool before trying more. Then, I went back to the library after dinner and this time my normal library computer showed my red flash drive on the computer. However, when I went to copy and paste it to this post, it said that the post had already been posted. Usually at the library my copy and paste jobs show up instantly. This time there was nothing in the comments that indicated that it went through. I like Nina’s blog and will continue to read it. I will limit to what I comment on. However, it isn’t worth wasting gas money when I can’t post at home or at the library every time that I drive over there. This is the only place that gives me such a hard time about posting material. So good luck Nina and Paul and wish that you stay healthy along with your pets. One last point it that I didn’t receive any emails from having checked the box down below like I usually do when comments were added after my comment supposedly went through. I’m back over to the library as another RV book came in that I wanted to read – Southwest Camping Destinations by Mike and Terri Church.
This is what I use when going camping: Raid yard guard mosquito fogger. It lasts 6 hours and does a 30 feet by 30 feet area. If one wants to move around it will do a bigger area than that the way that I do it, but use more of the product. Then, there is Off, which I have been using since pre teen. On the 2014 Philippines trip I learned of the electronic bug zapper, which worked well for me. I learned of the mosquito head netting while doing Alaska research. I’m surprised those that are full timers already don’t know some of this. I think some of you are making this to be too big of a deal. I’ve been to the Everglades twice, but didn’t go camping – once in March and once in July. In March things were good except close to the Flamingo Visitor Center, which was more tolerable than the July visit. We used Off on both occasions and didn’t have problems. On trails such as Anhinga and Eco Lake (near Flamingo) there weren’t that many mosquitoes either time. All these products were in my animal control file before Nina’s post.
When I was 12 near a Lakeland Florida area state park (but forget the name) it was a disaster with the mosquitoes (worse than Everglades) and had to go to the store to buy the Off so we could put up the tent. After the Off was put on, then no problem putting up the tent with them around.
I am not going to say where I was, but one time I had a very bad experience in August (not in Florida nor Michigan) and lived through it. You might as well not be RVing or camping if you don’t know how to deal with them.
BTW I used to have a .5 acres bug zapper for the backyard when we first moved into our current house. For the first week you should have seen how many it killed as it filled it up inches thick each and every night. My old neighbor kept shooting the light out so I no longer use it, but haven’t really had an issue with them since the last one I put in decades ago. I never took it on a camping trip, but was thinking that full time RVers could use something like this when the pesky things are around as it worked great.
We loved the Everglades and had heard that the mosquitos were pretty bad the winter we planned to go so we cut our stay back to 10 days. Once we got there we were pleasantly surprised and I was wishing we could have extended our stay. Sorry the mosquitoes were so prolific this year. Even so, you got some amazing shots Nina.
My daughter really wants to go here. I think we’ll try for next January. I’m sure hoping the mozzies will be in the good range by then ;-)!
Nina,
I had this company link for a different product for quite a while and noticed this pest control link. What you think of some of the products on this link? Besides the mosquito links there is a cordless ultrasonic rodent repeller for mice and rat control.
http://www.hammacher.com/Category/Outdoor-Living-Pest-Control?promo=topnav_outdoor_pest_control
Honestly can’t really comment on them since I’ve not personally tried any of them. Many of the products are similar to stuff I’ve tried before (e.g. the personal repellent device that you attach to your belt), and they all help to some degree. But can’t comment more without trying them.
Nina
Fair enough. I was just trying to give people more options to use. I had some time to try to find some products that I haven’t seen mentioned on blogs before. If we full time RV and do the Dalton Highway, then the hooded zip up mosquito jacket will come in handy.