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After seeing how homes are built, all the porches are screened in...it made me think that there are some pretty intense bloodsuckers to be aware of? When do they get really bad? What are the insects really like? Are ticks a problem? Don't have them in the Puget Sound region..probably too cool most of the year for them to thrive all that well.
We do have our share of biting insects including ticks. Since you're in the NW, its not like Alaska during mid summer, but still an issue for most of the warmer months.
I think it depends on how many trees you have around your house. I lived in a clear-cut subdivision in Apex and rarely saw a flying insect. My current home has tons of trees, and I have tons of mosquitoes (which is why I just had a screened porch built). This year was the first time I had major tick problems - I have three dogs and they have picked up ticks both in my backyard and in the utility easement where I walk them. It's settled down some, although I'm going to be putting fresh tick collars on them soon.
Anyhow, I've never lived in an area that didn't have bugs, and I don't think NC is better or worse than NY or VA (where I used to live). My sister lives in New York State and has gotten lyme twice now. :-( Luckily the ticks I'm dealing with are not deer ticks!
I think it's a gross exaggeration to suggest that "all the porches [here] are screened in." Yes, the Southeast does have more insects than some other parts of the country. Some areas have lots of mosquitoes, some areas have few. On a day to day basis, I don't really tend to think about biting insects - it's just not that big a problem most of the time, at least where I live.
The mosquitoes were bad this summer in my neighborhood, although I almost never got bitten while taking early evening walks (when they're normally very active). Working in the yard and staying in one spot for more than a couple of minutes earned me a lot of bites. We have a fair number of trees and a drainage creek behind our house, which was usually a trickle but was all the mosquitoes needed, apparently. Didn't see any ticks, though.
Mosquitos are the only thing we've had issues with...lots of them behind our house, which has a very wooded area behind it. They're primarily Asian tiger mosquitos, which are more aggressive than most and are active throughout the day rather than just at dusk and dawn.
Usually you don't have to worry about ticks unless you're walking in taller grasses outside. So a screened porch won't help you there.
The ones that bug me are mosquitoes and also what I think are called "no-see-ums," because I don't see 'um, but they do bite me, usually in the evening when we're letting the dogs in and out. The only other place I've experienced "no-see-ums" was during Caribbean vacations.
Each bite swells up to quarter size, but that's just my allergic reaction. I don't think most people are bothered as much. (I learned a paste of salt and water applied to the bite really does reduce the pain!) My husband never gets bitten. We live on a wooded lot on a small lake, so I'm sure that's why we have them.
I know that two things people from the North often mention about the South (and I know, because I was a Northerner) are: bugs and heat. Heat, to me, is a bigger issue than bugs. Except for the mosquitoes, we don't have any problems with any other types of bugs.
I did spend a whole lot more of life outdoors up North, though, than I ever did here -- because of the heat and the mosquitoes here.
Most people don't have screened porches, but if I was building a home, it definitely would be in my plans.
Thank you all for the information. Your feedback is very helpful. Can you answer me one last question.. what months are they generally the worst? Spring through summer... April-August I'm guessing?
When we were looking at houses, we saw almost entirely new construction.. and all of them did have screened in porches. Hence my idea of what its' like... Nobody has screened porches up here... Seattle region.. so it really stuck out in my mind as an oddity but that is what I like about other places, the things that make them different. Not that I like getting bitten by mosquitos mind you...
Thank you all for the information. Your feedback is very helpful. Can you answer me one last question.. what months are they generally the worst? Spring through summer... April-August I'm guessing?
I don't know about "worst" but there are still mosquitoes buzzing around my backyard and it's nearly the end of October. But like I said, depends on the amount of trees - most new construction isn't heavily wooded, so it probably won't be a big deal.
It is October, and I'm still getting bitten by mosquitoes.
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Nobody has screened porches up here... Seattle region.. so it really stuck out in my mind as an oddity but that is what I like about other places, the things that make them different. Not that I like getting bitten by mosquitos mind you... 
