Anyone from Florida or the Gulf Coast want to clue me in as to what sort of bugs I’ll run into on my ride in the first couple of weeks? Particularly the biting or stinging kind.
Alaska’s State Bird (a little larger than full size)
We’ve had a very rare almost mosquito-free summer here in Alaska. By the 18th of this month they’d be winding down anyway. I’d like to have some idea what I’m headed for, having not spent any time at all in North Florida, the Panhandle, or along the coast. Also if you have suggestions for any kind of bug dope that’s effective and plays nice with copious amounts of sunscreen.
Thanks.
b2bbiketrip.com - A 2019 bike trip blog 
Not from the deep south, but I figure your biggest issue with bugs is going to be while camping. You have your normal mosquitos and gnats (or whatever the small swimming biting insects are called in the deep south). While camping you can add in: spiders, mostly safe but some are poisonous; snakes, mostly safe but some are also poisonous; ticks and chiggers, mostly a problem in the grass. Not sure of the exact range of fire ants, but I believe most of the route until well up the Mississippi will have them. Then the normal small threat from bees, hornets and wasps. Probably lots of other bugs that will try and eat your food and make you itch. As far as I know DEET is still the most effective bug repellant. https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/insect-repellents.html has a good blog on current bug replellants.
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Watch out for palmetto bugs. They won’t bite or pursue you, but a head-on collision with one at speed could startle you into a loss of control. They’re big, dumb, clumsy flyers, so it’s not like they will dodge you.
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