Bugs biting thru hammock question

**Coffee** · 05-18-2009, 17:42

Originally Posted by sclittlefield

You could just use a hammock with the bug netting cocoon type system. ENO has a good example, but there are other makers as well. That should do the trick - especially if you run a line out the sides to keep it expanded and away from the sides - kinda like the Hennessy asym lines.

Yup, option 5 for me. A big bug bivy. Pretty easy to make. Some pics of a couple versions in my gallery.

**Spock** · 05-18-2009, 18:49

Another mosquito-ridden Texan voting for either permethrin or nothing but the hammock fabric itself. I use a single-layer hammock and sometimes try a new iteration out before treating it with permethrin. Mosquitoes just can't get through nylon. I treat it anyway because I like to think of all those mosquitoes dying. Bwa-ha-ha-ha!

**TeeDee** · 05-18-2009, 19:08

One of the hammock makers has a model made from fabric that has been tested as mosquito proof. Cannot remember which one. I remember wondering where to get some of that fabric though.

**neo** · 05-18-2009, 19:57

Originally Posted by Miguel

I have a Claytor double bottom and have never had a fly or mosquito bite through it. It's simple and it works. It also keeps your pads in place if thats a system you might consider.

Miguel

my claytor double bottom rocks

my dd double bottom hammock rocks

neo

**BillyBob58** · 05-18-2009, 20:12

Originally Posted by Spock

Another mosquito-ridden Texan voting for either permethrin or nothing but the hammock fabric itself. I use a single-layer hammock and sometimes try a new iteration out before treating it with permethrin. Mosquitoes just can't get through nylon. I treat it anyway because I like to think of all those mosquitoes dying. Bwa-ha-ha-ha!

A lot of folks have reported being bit through a single layer hammock. SOME of the HHs ( like the UL series ) are supposedly more Mossy resistant than most other single layers, but not guaranteed. Some one here has recently reported being bit through a dbl layer, but I can't remember who it was or with what hammock or fabric--- maybe a BB? Not sure.

Pads, SSs or UQs pretty much solve the problem. And at 7.4 oz, there is this which seems pretty nice:
http://www.warbonnetoutdoors.net/travel_h.htm

**TinaLouise** · 05-19-2009, 05:58

Originally Posted by TeeDee

One of the hammock makers has a model made from fabric that has been tested as mosquito proof. Cannot remember which one. I remember wondering where to get some of that fabric though.

My Clark is advertised with mosquito proof fabric. A couple of weekends ago I was swarmed by the little buggers as I was setting up my camp. To someone watching me, I probably looked like a puppet with a crazy person pulling the strings, arm, legs & head twitching in every direction!! When I got inside the hammock, the mosquitoes covered the netting and probably the bottom too. I remember falling asleep with that sound, you know that zzzzzz that mosquitos make!!! I didn't get any bites while inside my hammock.

**nemo327** · 05-19-2009, 06:19

Mosquitoes cannot bite thru waterproof fabrics. My HH has a waterproof bottom and skeeters cant get thru. Black flies have jaws not needles so any fabric will stop them. Permethrin is harmless to humans AFTER it dries. Never put this on your skin.

**riverkeeper** · 05-19-2009, 06:21

Just turn the other cheek.

Recall that some of the Hennessy model are 'supposed' to be resistant.

During the summer I've used a Hennessy hammock for 4 years in our mosquito infested high country and do not recall donating blood .... course they mostly retire before sundown here unlike the South. Tho unlike me they are usually out and buzzing at sun rise.

Add'l suggestions -- SPE, wide pad

**T-BACK** · 05-19-2009, 06:36

MADD,

I thought I was the only one here in Florida that hiked in the summer months.

I have been hammocking for a little over six years now. Back then there weren't a lot of "off the shelf" options for us hangers. My reason for hanging was to stay cooler in the summer and while most all of the people North of me were trying to develop some kind of under quilt to stay warm, I was busy trying to sleep cool and bug free. I tried all sorts of bug net set ups, different hammock materials and chemical treatments. In the end, only three methods worked to keep my bottom bite free. A "cocoon" style bug net, a sewn on under netting, and a double hammock bottom. The netting MUST be positioned in a way as to not touch the hammock or the little buggers can bite right through. This is not always an easy task. The double bottom, in my experience, is completely bug proof. The outer layer can be the lightest sub-ounce taffeta you can find and will still work. It got its true test during my FT Thru hike as I passed through the sugar cane field areas and prevented even a single bite. I soaked my entire hammock and bug net with permethrin prior to the start of my hike and after many nights of observation, I was unimpressed. It does kill mosquitos, just not on contact. They would dance across my netting for over a minute getting weaker and weaker but still probing through several times before falling to the ground.

**Cannibal** · 05-19-2009, 07:01

Former Florida hiker here. Permethrin was my method of choice and I adored it. But, it is designed for ticks not mosquitoes. It does work on them, but it takes a few more seconds to kill em. Even so, I have never had a problem with mosquitoes; other than the sound of them buzzing around keeping me awake.