Clarification on bugs? Contradictory info. (Anderson: travel, work, house)

[zeitgeist09]

Hi all! I'm hoping some of you may have the insight and willingness to help me figure something out. Short summary, I'm planning a wedding and honeymoon in Alaska for summer 09. (Wedding on a cruise, honeymoon travelling around via RV thereafter). My question is this: what MONTHS (or portions of months) do mosquitos and, separately, black flies come out in general in Alaska?

I'm sure it's different place to place, I'm just looking for a rough idea. What I've found so far online seems to imply that mosquitos are worst about mid-june to mid to late July, but then other info seems to tell me that June is OK for mosquitos and august is awful for them.

Similarly, I'm seeing contradictory info re: black flies/white socks. Some places have said May is the worst, others have said August is the worst and May and June are free of the buggers.

So, I'm just looking for any info any of you know of or can relate from experience. I have one relative who is badly allergic to black flies (assuming they are what we consider them), so I'd like to avoid those in my timing as much as possible. And, well, I'd just generally like to avoid mosquitos :-)

As I said... I definitely know that it's to an extent a crapshoot, and different place to place and year to year. But I'm finding so much contradictory info already that I'm having trouble coming to even a "best guess" as to a good time to avoid the black flies (and if possible some skeeters too, if the timing works!).

Thanks in advance to anyone with info. Also feel free to point me to good places to find this info. I've spent literally hours searching online, and just don't feel like I'm getting anywhere trying to figure this out!

[warptman]

I'd say don't worry about them, if you think about them, they'll "bug" you.

[HighlandLady]

Not romantic in the slightest....and perhaps not exactly what you had in mind as far as perfume - but it does help to have some sort of bug dope; i.e. spray et al. I recommend anything that has a fairly substantial amount of deet. I used a spray that had 98% deet in it and mosquitoes were not much of a problem (I sprayed it on clothing). There are a few people I have run into that tout the Mosquito Magnet..but I have yet to try that. I noticed a significant decrease in mosquitoes in August here (outside of Wasilila).
As for the flies, no-see-ums, and whatever else....short of wearing some sort of netting from head to toe, which again blows all the romantic notions of a wedding out of the water, as warpt said - I wouldn't worry much about them. Enjoy yourself and congratulations.

[karibear]

It doesn't much matter what time of year it is. If it's not freezing, there will be bugs of one kind or another, mostly several kinds at a time.

[arctichomesteader]

Black flies are only bad when they fly into your eyes, nose, or mouth.

[Marty Van Diest]

By my house, the mosquitos are out as sson as the snow melts, and they don't leave until late August.

I don't have much of a problem with gnats, noseeums...or what ever they are.

But I was in Anderson on Sept 20 and they were absolutly horrible. Make sure to have your wedding on a windy day, that will take care of the bugs.

[Rance]

I've only had black fly trouble in early Sept while moose hunting. It seems the kill attracts them. And they can be annoying up here on the north slope in the summer. I don't recon you'll be RV'ing around up here tho so I wouldn't be to concerned with them period. The whitesocks seem to get bad when it starts cooling off late August early Sept in my area on the peninsula, no see um's are about the same time frame. Mosquitos seem to depend on the amount of rain fall in my area. Dryer summers result in few and smaller mosquitos...damper summers seem to result in bigger and more numerous. Stay out of the thick woods and hang in more open breezy areas would be my guess. I don't even worry about any of them any more. Pack some Avon Skin so Soft if you want to smell pretty...or deet if you want total control without the perfume.

Congrats on your upcoming wedding. I'm sure you'll find Ak a nice place to honeymoon.