Bugs in the fortymile caribou herd area Alaska in mid-August

ndbuck09

WKR
Joined
Feb 16, 2015
Messages
607
Location
Boise, ID
I'm going on a caribou hunt out of Tok for Caribou in mid-August and I'm trying to nail down my shelter I'll take. Does anyone have any experience with bug levels at this time of year up in the fortymile herd region? This is kind of my trigger for determining floorless tipi vs a traditional tent setup. If i go with a tipi, i'm going to get an ultra light netted bivy with a floor for my sleep system but I don't want to have this as my only small area for bug respite if it's that crazy with mosquitoes and the like.

Thanks for your tips
 

Colby Jack

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 22, 2013
Messages
239
Location
Eagle River, AK
This is a trick question. It honestly depends if the weather turns cold or not. I’ve been out there and it gets unseasonably warm and the bugs are unreal. It only takes a few frosty mornings to knock the population down to tolerable. A breeze has the same effect. Plan for bugs. Plain and simple.
 
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
7,390
Location
Chugiak, Alaska
^^^^what he said. Given the right conditions (which happens more often than not, in the interior, in Aug.), you could very well experience some of the worst bug problems you have ever experienced in your life.
 

AKMATT83

FNG
Joined
Mar 27, 2018
Messages
4
Location
Palmer
The little nats will eat you alive from Aug till late Sept. I don't worry about mosquitoes that time of year up there just biting nats and bees.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
 
Joined
May 5, 2020
Messages
27
@ndbuck09. What shelter did you end up running for your caribou hunt this past fall? Were the bugs an issue for you? I’ve got a similar Caribou hunt coming up first week of sept just a bit south and west of the area you described. Considering a Tipi with a nest for bugs.
 
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