Re: [Paddlewise] Yum-yum yellow -- bug attractant?

I paddle a lot in Georgian Bay, which is thick with mosquitoes and black flies
and the like in the summer.  (Mosquitoes never seem to be much of an issue
unless I'm in very sheltered water.  It's the black flies that dog you,
especially in the heat of the day.)  There is no doubt that flying insects are
attracted to my yum-yum yellow boat, but my impression is that it distracts them
from me.

Matt Broze wrote:

> Kenneth Cooperstein <cprstnc1_at_optonline.net> wrote:
>
> >>Has anyone else noticed that their bright yellow composite kayak
> attracts insects of all kinds, particularly the tiny biting flies?
>
> When I leave mine in an outdoor boat rack for a few days, I find it
> covered with  hundreds of tiny fly carcasses.
>
> This never happened with white, blue red or green.<<
>
> not only have I noticed but have been advising customers of it when
> discussing the pros and cons of different colors. Yellow is the Coast Guards
> favorite color as well as the bees and the flies. I can recall a yellow and
> blue kayak side by side. The blue kayak had about 10 black flies on it the
> yellow one must have had 200. Usually this is not a problem because when you
> are on the water you are moving and there are few bug and when you are on
> land you are not in the kayak very long. Possibly the yellow kayak will
> attract the biting bugs to the kayak rather than you (unless you camp right
> next to it). If you wear a yellow PFD expect to be checked out by a lot of
> bees. If you have a red one on those huge bees buzzing you occasionally are
> actually hummingbirds. I suspect these bugs feed on yellow flowers.
>
> I once landed at Tatoosh Island on the NW tip of WA and the member of our
> party of four who had the yellow kayak was spotted by three seagulls and I
> don't think any of the other three took a single direct hit. Maybe this was
> just a coincidence but I've always wondered if it wasn't. Anyone have any
> more anecdotal evidence here? Don't suppose there has been any scientific
> research on this one.
>
> Matt Broze
> http://www.marinerkayaks.com
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