Bugs, Bugs & More Bugs....2019 TAB 400 Boondock Lite

Gliddenwoods

We recently used our four month old 2019 TAB Boondock Lite in a campground that has alot of small "Lake Flies."  That evening we had dozens of the little devils inside. How are they getting in? Above door screen? Vents? Window seals?   Anyone who how and the solution? Thanks.

Sharon_is_SAM

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/6965/mosquito-fix-for-t-b-windows/p1

You can get some Bug Fuzz from nuCamp.  Be aware that you can place the fuzz without taking the frame off or the screen out.

Emma62

We just finished a trip in the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota.  The mosquitos, noseeums, and midges were the worse I've experienced in over 30 years camping in this area.  Fortunately we had installed the bug fuzz on the windows before the trip.   Only a handful of mosquitoes  and few dozen noseeums got past the bug fuzz. 

I am trying to design a bug repellant strip that would discourage bugs from following us into and out the door though.  

N7SHG_Ham

@Sharon_is_SAM isn't the bug fuzz already installed on 2019 builds?

Sharon_is_SAM

I don’t know.  But, maybe it got left off.  Good to check.  

ScottG

I would expect a 2019 to have the fuzz, but what you describe sounds like my first three seasons in my 2015. Once I installed the fuzz in all three windows the problem disappeared.

I will add that part of the issue resulted from large gaps between the curved front window frame and the interior wall of the camper. I never noticed it until I was installing the fuzz in the shade rails and happened to look at just the right angle. nuCamp had sent some compression foam with the fuzz kit, but it was insufficient for the job. Fortunately, the stuff is readily available at most hardware stores so I was able to plug the gaps in short order.

If you do have the fuzz installed, you might want to check carefully for those gaps. Open the window, stick your head in the opening, and look directly at where the frame meets the wall.

Gliddenwoods

Thanks all for the input.  I need to look closer at the windows and the 'fuzz" topic you raise. However a source I did discover is the top of the screen of the screen door. The screen does not go to the top of the upper channel that guides it. In the evening with only the screen door closed and interior lights might be the problem. Thoughts?

Sharon_is_SAM

Yes, any gap + lights = bug beacon!

Mouseketab

I make it a point to not turn on inside lights on the T@B unless the door is closed.

jkjenn

And leave your porch light off. Even with being careful, I had a few my first night at uCamp, this year. 

....another reason I love fall camping. 

jameskuzman

My 2019 400 (built in June) has the bug fuzz already installed.

SubaruLou

I ordered two of these and LOVE them:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L7B1Y7H/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_FWYwDb0ESCPGA 
Obviously, without the bug fuzz, you'd just be inviting more in, but once that's installed, these work great for catching the random pests that get in thru the door. 
I like that they are USB chargeable. I tested them in my home kitchen during a recent fruit fly problem. Even in a bigger space, these attracted and zapped them!

Marceline

SubaruLou said:

I ordered two of these and LOVE them:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L7B1Y7H/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_FWYwDb0ESCPGA 
Obviously, without the bug fuzz, you'd just be inviting more in, but once that's installed, these work great for catching the random pests that get in thru the door. 
I like that they are USB chargeable. I tested them in my home kitchen during a recent fruit fly problem. Even in a bigger space, these attracted and zapped them!

I have one of these. I hang it inside my CLAM shelter.

ADRawli

I hate to open a can of worms for you, but it sounds that most (or at least “many) of us with the 400s have had issues with our door alignment.  If you look closely when it’s light enough outside, you’ll probably see light coming through pretty substantial gaps around the edges.  And at night with the brightness of the interior lights, the bugs see these gaps even better than you do.  It took me a few hours over the course of a few days to get mine adjusted right (multiple threads on the forum about this effort), but once I did the bug problems have largely seemed to go away.  Our 2019 also came with the fuzz strips installed around the windows, so that ‘fix’ does seem to be affective and necessary as well.   Now, if we just never open the door at night, we’ll be fine in keeping the 10000 critters perched around the outside light from getting in.  Yeah, right.  I guess that calls for plan B... a bug zapping paddle and a very small bug vacuum.  If “bug paddle-zapping” could make it to the Olympics, I might have a shot at gold!

lkc001

@ADRawli where did you get the very small bug vacuum?  Can you post a link?

ADRawli

@lkc001 Amazon.  It’s a cheep plastic thing, and you have to cap the end to keep the bugs in, but it seems to work.  Might be better ones out there.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F6TGFLX/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_WnhyDbW7R5AAA