Mosquitos

[FloridaFan]

My neighbor said that I should prepare for lots of mosquitos while in Alaska. We'll be on a cruise 6/1-6/8 and then on a land tour from 6/8-6/13. Will mosquitos be a problem? If so, any suggestions on how to protect against them?

[camella]

I can't imagine that there would be mosquitos in Alaska but I guess anything is possible! I think it would be too cold. but I could be wrong. You can always take along some of those Cutter wipes that they sell in a canister. Just put them in a ziploc.

[Chenega]

Oh, but we do have our legendary mosquitoes, sometimes called the unofficial Alaska state bird. You shouldn't have much problem while on the ship but interior areas like Denali can be troublesome for some. Lots of different products available and everyone has their own favorite.

[pierces]

We've been there from June to late September and never even saw a mosquito. They tend to emerge at dawn and sunset and are really only a problem in the interior. Even Denali and Fairbanks are south of the real problem areas. You may want to pack some repellant wipes as mentioned above, but unless we were just fabulously lucky on four Alaskan cruises (one a cruisetour to Denali), you won't really need them.

 

Info link: http://alaska.org/mosquitoes.jsp

 

Dave

[mytime53]

I can't imagine that there would be mosquitos in Alaska but I guess anything is possible! I think it would be too cold. but I could be wrong. You can always take along some of those Cutter wipes that they sell in a canister. Just put them in a ziploc.

 

Actually, around here it is the cooler days when mosquitos pose a problem. Hot days we rarely see a mosquito around our yard. We've had a few in the past weeks, but yesterday afternoon there must have been a hatch nearby, as they were quite troublesome. Fortunately, slow ones that were easy to kill before they bit.

[Krazy Kruizers]

While on ships we have never had a problem. But inland - that was different.

 

I always take DEET with us which I get from Magellans.

[Sea Hag]

Sunscreen and repellent in one. It's a medium-level sunscreen, with a low DEET concentration. Nice lotion type, which is a lot less icky than a lot of DEET preparations. Works well for me on both problems.

[Sailfish]

We did a lot of hiking in all our ports of call - we went in late June a few years ago - tons of mosquites and really big ones! If you don't venture into wilderness areas, you won't have any problems. But you will be miserable if you do not have something with DEET in it to smear on the exposed parts of you body.

 

With that said, I never saw any mosquitoes on or near the ship while in port or in the areas near the pier. If you plan to go inland, if you have any tours planned in wilderness areas or you intend to hike up into the hills while in Ketchikan or in Juneau, then take some repelent with you.

[Boo's Mom]

My neighbor said that I should prepare for lots of mosquitos while in Alaska. We'll be on a cruise 6/1-6/8 and then on a land tour from 6/8-6/13. Will mosquitos be a problem? If so, any suggestions on how to protect against them?

 

 

FloridaFan....

I have cruised twice in Alaska. The only time the mosquitos were an issue, was when we were on the Taku Lodge (Flight & Feast) excursion.

 

We went into the woods... to see the waterfall and the mosquitos were swarming us ! :eek:

 

The Lodge provided some plastic, hand held, electric mosquito zappers.

[FloridaFan]

Thanks everyone for your experiences. It sounds like I should get something with DEET, since we're going inland for a week.

[Scarlett3]

Yikes! And here, I was hoping to get away from the resident pests! Louisiana is known for its mosquitos too. I'll pack some DEET as well.

[NAS-KARR]

Was on a 13 nite cruise/tour in Aug. and NEVER saw a single "skeetoe". I don't know what they're talk'n about.

CIAO,

[swansonia]

I'm from Mississippi and we have mosquitos galore, but I was shocked by the size of the ones we encountered in Alaska. :D But the good news was, their size slowed them down and you could kill 'em before they ate you alive. And the repellant seemed to work well. We think our skeeters have become resistant to insect repellant here in the deep south. Have a great time....

[smokingdarby]

can say when we went to fairbanks and central alaska, there were mosquito galore. they really seem to attack my husband more than me.

[island lady]

FloridaFan....

I have cruised twice in Alaska. The only time the mosquitos were an issue' date=' was when we were on the Taku Lodge (Flight & Feast) excursion.

 

We went into the woods... to see the waterfall and the mosquitos were swarming us ! :eek:

 

The Lodge provided some plastic, hand held, electric mosquito zappers. [/b']

 

Yikes!! I am signed up for that very tour...but fortuntely we live on Mosquito Lagoon (AKA Merritt Island) and are very familiar with those flying vampires.

I have already purchased a box of repellant in the moist towelette form, and will find it easy to pack in purses and backpacks.

 

On a less buggy note: How was that tour? This will be my first to Alaska, and obviously, the first time we experience this tour. Looking forward to both experiences...sans flying mouths. :rolleyes: ;)

 

Cheers! :)