How are the mosquitos getting in?

[DrBob7762]

A week spent RVing in the woods has left me at my wit's end. How are all these freaking mosquitos getting in? Especially at nght!

We have screens on every window and ceiling vent. We know to move quickly in and out of the RV door each time to minimize the opportunity for the flying vampires to "belly up to the bar". We spend 10 minutes before bed each night swatting away at the not-so-silent, ninja pests. But still, 5-10 times each night that horrible "neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" sound points out just how useless I am. And I wake up in the morning with 2 dozen bites on my shoulders and face.

There seems to be a thin gap between the screens and windows (1/16"?) Is that their way in? Can they enter via the dryer vent? Is there another portal I'm overlooking? Are they swimming navy-SEAL style through the stinky slinky and in through the toilet?

If 2 dozen mosquitos each night is to be expected, how do I best deal with those that do get through the barbed wire?

While I find it satisfying to swat them Billy-Jean-King-style with the electric tennis racquet, it's a bit hard to do in the dark when one wakes me from a sound sleep. I hit my wife with the racquet one time by mistake (I swear) so the critter-swatter is now banned from the bedroom.

Plus, when you connect with one of the critters while lying in bed, and hear the tell-tale sizzle and flash of light, you know that a chunk of charred kamikaze is going to end up on your pillow at best, and perhaps in your mouth if you aren't careful and cheer too loudly as you connect with the bastard!

I'm making light, of course, but still - the problem remains. Do the electric Star Trek force-field units work? Are the green, smoking coils from my childhood the answer? (We used them a lot when I was a kid, and I still blame them for the 3rd nipple I grew.)

Help! I'm tired of going to bed with numb lips and smelling of DEET!
B

[twogypsies]

Sounds like you're in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We've never seen mosquitoes that bad anywhere! They were worse than along our trip to Alaska.

We were boondocking and it was hot in June so couldn't close up everything to turn on the AC. They literally covered the screens. We were camped in the woods with a nearby lake. We were actually trapped inside during a July 4 weekend as were other campers. As soon as the holiday was over we high-tailed it out of there. We found a spot in the open along Lake Superior with nice breezes and were cool with no mosquitoes. They like grasses, leaves and standing water.

One thing that helped was to keep the door closed - no screen door. AC would help.
Perhaps spraying your window screens with OFF if you're leaving them open. Do you leave an outside light on? Turn off lights inside. Are your slide seals tight? Is your outside microwave vent closed?

Good luck. I feel for you!

[rgvtexan]

At FT Dix, we could here them cutting the screens. One Night I heard them say, shall we eat them here or take them with us!

[wrvond]

You can't really keep them out, but a fan beside the bed will help keep them off you.
One time I had enough and fogged the interior of the camper with Hot Shot Flying Insect Spray. Apparently women are part mosquito and do not appreciate the smell at all. Maybe I like it because it takes me back to the days of riding my bicycle in the cloud behind the DDT truck.

[Peter M]

My Tiffin 32 SA has a small square opening in the lower corner of the windows. I would look for something similar and plug it with a paper towel for now.
Had a similar issue w lady bugs 2 yrs ago.

Treat your camp with a propane fogger to protect both in and out.

[MevetS]

We had a Tiffin Breeze and found that the slider windows never sealed well. The windows have radiused corners and they always leave a small gap between the radius and the window frame, when open. This is true, as well, for when the windows are closed. There is always a gap between the straight side of the sliding window and the fixed pane. It seems that Tiffin made no attempt to address these issues. You can always clearly see gaps through these areas when the windows are open or closed.

It took a while to figure out how all kinds of flying insects could make their way to the inside.

[Toby Dog]

Originally Posted by wrvond

You can't really keep them out, but a fan beside the bed will help keep them off you.
One time I had enough and fogged the interior of the camper with Hot Shot Flying Insect Spray. Apparently women are part mosquito and do not appreciate the smell at all. Maybe I like it because it takes me back to the days of riding my bicycle in the cloud behind the DDT truck.

Maybe that's why my sisters and I are a little strange. We too followed the DDT truck around, ours was at Camp Peary VA 1959-1962.

[Gary RVRoamer]

While spending a summer in Alaska in our 2002 Dolphin coach, we found that leaving a bay door open resulted in a steady flow of mosquitos inside. Obviously there was an easy path or two from the basement to the living areas. It was especially bad in the evening - maybe lights and cooking smells? We often had bays open during the day to get out gear, so I learned to spray the bays with an insect fogger before closing and always closing up by late afternoon.

[dizcom]

A little zapper or trap will work. You can use one of the small ones inside. About $20 or so on Amazon. It will attract all the little suckers to their doom. A big one outside would help cut down their numbers, but a lot of campgrounds won't let you use them.

[Skip426]

The { self edit } are most active when it's calm and temp is 65 to 70 degrees , other wise they tend to hide .
I had a mountain cabin for 25 years and a house in mosquito territory for 10 ; on a wetland bird sanctuary no less.

Use no scented anything ; after shave, deodorant ; and make sure the DW leaves hair spray at home .

Other than that " Good Hunting "

[Country Road]

I think we all have our mosquito stories. Why they were put on earth is a huge question. I’ll ask the “big guy” one day if I don’t forget. Only reason I can think off is a food source for some birds.

My story. We were camped out on a stretch of beach bordered by saltwater grass and as the night came upon us........

[twogypsies]

No See-Ums are worse than mosquitoes!! They come through every hole in the screens. St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Florida comes to mind. OMG!!!

[donr103]

Keep bug zapper in rv.. on at night.. grab what you want online.. try different styles.. so you can decide what you like.. low power consumption and great.. kills them by the millions.. then use at home.. I love mine.. I even have battery powered one.. it's great.. low light and double as lamp..
Good luck and keep us posted

[StephenW]

+3 on using a bug zapper. My wife loves the sound of bugs sizzling in the RV!