bugs in Wisconsin?? (mosquitoes, summers, family)

[mrs.cool]

I got bit by something Sunday night, while standing on the boat launch on Lake Waubesa (McFarland). I thought it was mosquitoes, but they hurt! I was swatting away at them, but one of them got me on the back of my shoulder. It was big and red by yesterday morning already, itches like crazy, and this morning there was a circle of red around the original bite! I have no idea what it might have been, but apparently it was NOT a mosquito! I've never had a reaction like this to a skeeter bite before.

[mlb]

As a native of Wisconsin - I now live where the desert meets the mountains in the Rockies...

I cannot tell you how in awe I am - and how much I marvel - that I can sit out on my deck on a summers night and not have to battle mosquitoes.

It is LIBERATION.

And I've been gone from Wisconsin since 1976. It was NOT enjoyable....even tho I love the state.

[Thunder98]

Is there a lot of ants in Wisconsin?

[No Happy]

They are around, but they aren't bad. I live a half hour outside of Wausau and there are plenty of ant hills around, but they aren't a big nuisance.

[Nicci6Squirrels]

I went outside last night to shoo a raccoon off my deck. I had the light on and small bugs were swirling around it. Some June bugs were also in the mix... moths, etc. Well, this morning I woke up and was like, "what in the world is in my HAIR?" Oh, just a big bug. I slept with it IN MY HAIR all night. My hair is too thick for it to have been able to find its way out, apparently. But, yuck. I'm glad it wasn't a June bug, at least.

So yeah, we have some bugs in WI. But after having lived in SC, I can handle them, no problem! Even the ones that take up residence in my hair, I suppose.

[hankejp]

Originally Posted by Thunder98

Is there a lot of ants in Wisconsin?

We've seen small black ants in our house this year. I found a concoction online that seems to work. I think it is tee tree oil, mint oil, water, and chili powder??? Put it in a spray bottle and spray the trail they use. It kills them on the spot and they don't come back for a few weeks. Got a big bottle of it to spray every few weeks. I can find you the link if interested.

[Thunder98]

In the Central Coast of California there is a lot of red ants.

[gypsyjudy]

This is a topic near and dear to my heart - bugs in WI. I lived in Madison for 13 years, but grew up in the South. I now live in St. Louis and probably am heading to Charlotte. Of course WI has bugs, but NOT the ones you are talking about. I am familiar with the Palmetto bug (lived in Houston and Memphis). GROSS! (I'm shuddering) NO, there are none in WI. It gets too cold for them, the brown recluse, or black widow. Lots of mosquitoes, however. Just the way it is. I've never lived in a place where they have not been an issue.

I would choose WI over any other place in the US, if I could. Great state all around. Far superior to the other 8 places I have lived, especially bug-wise.

I would think Milwaukee would be the best place to find a descent Jewish population. For the life of me, after 13 yrs in Madison, I cannot recall a synagogue anywhere. I am sure there is, but I never heard of it. I don't think I even met anyone Jewish the 13 years I lived there!

Good luck with your choice. I don't think you can go wrong anywhere in WI!

[augiedogie]

IMHO, from my experience, the bug problem is not really that bad in most places. Mosquitoes are a problem, but not bad unless you go into brush and woods during wet weather. Then you can get eaten alive. One time were visited the family hunting cabin close to Park Falls. We went out for a walk in the middle of the day, and we literally had a cloud of mosquitoes following us as we walked. As long as we walked fast, we were OK, but they kept following us, so we went back inside. And this was in the middle of the day, not in the evening. Evening and morning tend to be the worst. They avoid the sun.

Also black flies and deer flies can really hurt if you get bit. But the season for bugs is short. When we lived in NC, I had to fight bugs on New Years eve when we were moving into our house. In Texas, cockroaches are a familiar visitor inside the house in summer.

[toodles]

Gypsyjudy, yes Palmetto Bugs are in WI. They are called American Roaches here.