Scandinavian Mossies. How bad?

[Antonymous]

I'm thinking of taking a group to Northern Scandinavia in the summer and was wondering how bad winged beasties might be.
Are they insufferable? Requiring a full net suit?
Or will some DEET sort it?

I am initially thinking a canoe journey, but that may depend on the response of this forum, as I'm assuming the biters will be worse by the water.

Cheers

 

[verney]

It differs from area to area, season to season and from year to year. One three week autumn trip I saw five (5) mossies and sometimes they just block the sun. I have never needed to wear a full suit but many times I use a hat with a veil and close my jacket tightly. This can get very uncomfortable in hot weather. Most of the time when moving I don't use the net, only deet. This is of course a personal thing.

Canoe trip is actually a good idea especially on lakes. You will get some peace and quiet when you get 100 meters from the shore and there is little bit of wind. Going in spring or autumn lessens the risk of been eaten alive but you need to be aware of possible snow and frost.

I am heading to the Porttipahta reservoir next week with wife and daughter (4yo)...

 

[Didgeridoohan]

As mentioned above, it differs... Some years are horrible, some years you don't notice them. It also differs from place to place.

The worst though, are not the mosquitos, it's the gnats (tiny little buggers that can drive you completely crazy)!

The best is to stay high up on windy hill tops our on water far from the shore.

I'm gonna attach a couple of pictures with this post. One showing my father getting attacked by gnats and one showing our defence when out fishing during summer nights (note the surgical gloves taped to the jacket and the cloud of gnats and mosquitos over the head). All of this takes place in northern Jämtland (a little more than halfway up our long country).

 

[JonathanD]

That looks like pure misery.

 

[Didgeridoohan]

Yeah... My dad was quite miserable when that photo was taken, even though he doesn't show it. As long as you find a way to keep them away from you you'll be fine, but that can be quite a challenge.

I also forgot to mention the different kind of mosquitos and gnats you might encounter.

Usually you'll encounter the quite docile woods mosquito, but if there's been a lot of rain and floods the flood mosquito will hatch and this bugger is really aggressive. The eggs can stay in the ground for several years waiting for a flood.

In the photo above you can see the small, super-annoying, crazy-driving small gnat ("småsvädan" in my dialect, literally "little sting"). You might also encounter a larger kind that's about 3 to 5 millimeters long and takes a good sized chunk out of you when they feed. I've heard stories about giant swarms of these chasing people out of the woods and even killing cattle, supposedly from allergic chock (but I'd take this with a huge grain of salt, adds some nice drama to the story though ).

 

[Antonymous]

Thanks.

Just the sort of info required!

 

[GGTBod]

Sounds like they give the Scottish West Coast midge a run for its money

 

[British Red]

The best is to stay high up on windy hill tops our on water far from the shore.

I'm gonna attach a couple of pictures with this post. One showing my father getting attacked by gnats and one showing our defence when out fishing during summer nights (note the surgical gloves taped to the jacket and the cloud of gnats and mosquitos over the head). All of this takes place in northern Jämtland (a little more than halfway up our long country).

You couldn't pay me to visit somewhere where that was necessary!

 

[Didgeridoohan]

Ooooh, but the fishing there is really good. Brown Trout weighing a kilo is quite common, up to 5 kg not unusual and my grandfather once caught one weighing 10 kg. There's also good sized Charr, Whitefish, Grayling and Pike.

 

[susannewilliams]

I spent a summer up in Sundsvall area and was amazed at the buglife.

It ranged from the tolerable to the truly heinous. (Even worse than the world destroying clouds of scottish midgies that took half my blood in Glen Nevis one wet summer...) I did, however, seem to develop a sort of tolerance by end of summer....

Mossie-proof trousers are worth considering. The little buggers just poke right through the ordinary trekking pant.