Here in Texas, where there's lots of livestock along the local roads, a body can pick up any number of misery-generating vermin - most significantly among them, ticks and chiggers.

Sleeping in areas that haven't been chemically beaten into entymological submission would seem to be bad form based on this fact if nothing else.

Any Southwestern US touring campers that have developed effective defenses for this sort of thing?

I find the species that is most irritating when I camp to be **** sapiens. I've tried sprays, powders - nothing seems to work. In developed campgrounds it is worse than ever. People bring their entire urban ensemble with them - TVs, radios, DVD players. Plus they go back and forth to their cars all evening and night long which means a beep-beep each time the doors automatically lock or unlock.

Give me a random site in the woods or in a meadow any day of the week.

When I toured from SC to TX last year, I found the insects not to be a factor in Texas once I was away from the coast. The worst living being that affected me in texas was catcus plants. Those suckers must shoot needles into the sides of bike tires on purpose and puncture holes into the bottom of your tent.

I also agree that **** sapiens while camping are the most irritating. It also seems that dogs, mice, raccoons and other critters seem to be attracted to commonly used campsites. And the pisser is a lot of these campsites will want to charge you the same rate they charge an RV for a space, especially state parks.

I just rather stealth camp and shower up at a Truck stop or other public place.

1:15 am somewhere in a state park...
Free Bird! Free bird!

I guess we are lucky in the Great White North to only have blackflies and mosquitos.

The blackflies drive the moose out of the forest, so don't go camping in blackfly season. The blood from the bites drips down your forehead and into your eyes. Very CSI.

Mosquitos can be controlled by DEET but they carry 'West Nile' and by their shear volume (especially about a half hour before sundown) can be quite disruptive.

Then we come to the shoulders. The time before blackflies and after mosquitos (now for instance), when it is not too hot and not too cold and there are no bugs. This is the time I am most active.

My favorite time too, though I guess this fall is not going so well as far as getting out. I was 3/4 done at this time last year, and it turned out to be plenty buggy. One weird thing in NB where I spend some time is that we used to have a lot of mosquitos but by the time it warmed up and dried out they tapered off. Now there is a second brood of mosquitos that pick up were the first left off, and they hurt when they bite. Luckily there is virtually no West Nile activity but it's either too cold or too buggy.