Tarp Camping and bugs

[GWP]

Ants bother me more than skeeters.

Yes! I forgot about them! Great fun to be all camo'd up hiding in a bush with one foot on a red ant when it is warmish. Been there, done that!

[Okanagan]

I’m in the flat tarp brigade. 

A cut down/homemade mosquito net wads tiny and lightweight and worth its weight in gold.  My mosquito net makes a bug free space only around my head and upper body. It simply drapes onto the ground sheet around me and onto my sleeping bag about my waist point, with only the part over my head tied/rigged up.  I want mosquito buzz away from my ears, even if they can’t get in to bite. 

Most of my backpacking has been well away from places other people camp, so haven’t had a mouse bother me for years.  A spot where backpackers regularly camp means critters from mice to deer get used to raiding backpackers and their gear/food.  By deer seasons in the mountains, there are so few mosquitoes that I don’t us a net.

For more than one person, I carry a full size bed mosquito net from REI.  Rig it sideways to the sleepers and tie up one side, (which is over the heads when rigged sideways).  Let the rest drape to the ground and close/flatten any open spots.  Three reasonably friendly men can sleep side by side with head and upper bodies in the bug free space.

[hoppsxc140]

I’ve found hammocks to be semi-enjoyable for off the ground, and bug proof.




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[Gettin Birdie]

Anyone use Tyvek for a groundsheet, I've carried around some in my rig for years, but never actually used it as I always had a groundsheet, but super lightweight, that I'd throw it in the pack if necessary. 

[Stein]

I have two, one is the old Tyvek and one is the newer material (1443R) that seems to be as strong or stronger, lighter and less bulk.

Make sure you wash it before you cut it to get the shrink out as well as the crinkly noise.

[Shawn Ryan]

Anyone use Tyvek for a groundsheet, I've carried around some in my rig for years, but never actually used it as I always had a groundsheet, but super lightweight, that I'd throw it in the pack if necessary.

I've used house-wrap for years in a floorless tent. Works well.

[Gettin Birdie]

Make sure you wash it before you cut it to get the shrink out as well as the crinkly noise.

Thanks, didn't realize you could wash it, but makes sense on the sound aspect.

[ridgefire]

I have used a Kifaru Paratarp paired with a Ti Goat Raven Omni bivy with great luck. Really compact and light and you can set it up pretty much anywhere. You can also use the bivy by itself if you are not expecting any weather. The bivy has a waterproof bottom and bug netting around the head to keeps all the bugs out. If I remember correctly, the total weight is just over a pound.

[spin05]

Thanks for the input guys. I wasn't even planning on a tarp if the weather was right, just sleeping under the stars. My MSR Mesh House weighs about exactly 1# with it and 6 stakes if I don't bring a footprint of some form. Maybe I'll just plan on bringing it as insurance.

We did this once up in Baker. Woke up pretty wet from the dew. You go to bed thinking theres no way theres going to be dew and wake up wet.   Maybe just our bad luck

[7mmfan]

Thanks for the input guys. I wasn't even planning on a tarp if the weather was right, just sleeping under the stars. My MSR Mesh House weighs about exactly 1# with it and 6 stakes if I don't bring a footprint of some form. Maybe I'll just plan on bringing it as insurance.

We did this once up in Baker. Woke up pretty wet from the dew. You go to bed thinking theres no way theres going to be dew and wake up wet.   Maybe just our bad luck

I should add, that the area I plan on sleeping is in the timber. It's dry in there. I've done the sleep under the stars in the open and wake up soaked in dew before, I learned that lesson!

[CasterlyRock]

Hammock. plenty of trees to  use around here. Fully enclosed and off the ground and a super comfortable sleep, for me anyway. The pricey ones are very light.

[444Marlin]

I don't think mosquitoes or flies are ever a problem for me at night when I'm sleeping.  It's during the daytime they bother me.

Everything is a trade off and there's no free lunch.  If you want to go ultralight with a tarp, then do it and be prepared that stuff might get a little wet, and bugs might get on you.  You need to be mindful of where you camp more than anything (if you're with a tarp, tend or camper)...and if it's a bog or a grassy field, it's going to have more bugs than not.  Or if it's a breezy, semi exposed dry area...it might be a little more pleasant.

Permethrin treat your clothing.  And a bandana.

My tarp is a 20-ish year old Sil-nylon tarp from Integral Designs.  I don't think they are in business any more.  If I needed a new tarp I'd go with some of the new sil-fabric designs, probably leaning towards Seek Outside.

[Stein]

Make sure you wash it before you cut it to get the shrink out as well as the crinkly noise.

Thanks, didn't realize you could wash it, but makes sense on the sound aspect.

If you go that route, wash then cut if you care about the final dimensions.  It will shrink some.

The newer Tyvek is soft from the factory and lighter.