Swatted my first blackfly today. (gardens, moving, design)

[Maine Writer]

Originally Posted by TerryDactyls

How long do they last?

It depends on the weather. Two years ago we still had them here in August. It was a wet, cold summer. If it's hot and dry they're usually gone by early July.

[mainebrokerman]

I read somewhere , that it's just the female mosquito that bites.

I buy the cheap bug spray from reny's and mardens, and lay it on thick,,,works most of the time

one of the best things that works is this combination sun screen bug repellent, and it doesnt stink so bad-think it was -off

mosquitos and black flies are annoying, but the true terrorist of the bug family, is the may/deer fly they
buzz around your head, and have quite a bite-if you get a few of them buzzing around you...they will disrupt anything you are doing..


yrs ago i went fishing, with a friend, and he's rubbing gas all over his arms, saying this is the best repellent in the world, if you can stand the smell, never did it myself, and dont advise this to people that smoke...

[Coaster]

Deerflies zero in on the back of the neck and wow does that bite hurt. I've seen fishermen and loggers either tie kerchiefs around their necks or hang them from the back of their hats to cover their necks. Cuts down on the sunburn, too. Headnets work sometimes, but I've had deerflies bite right through if the net is laying against the skin.

[OkieTex]

So when do the flies go back to wherever they came from?? And when is tick season?

[Maine Writer]

Originally Posted by Maine Writer

It depends on the weather. Two years ago we still had them here in August. It was a wet, cold summer. If it's hot and dry they're usually gone by early July.

.
If there isn't a blanket of snow on the ground, it's tick season.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by Maine Writer

.
If there isn't a blanket of snow on the ground, it's tick season.

Lots of ticks around this year. I have a buddy that got the classic bulls eye rash a couple of weeks ago. He's to stubborn to go to at doctor so he'll probably end up with full blown Lyme disease soon. No blackfiles at the fiddleheading spot last Tuesday. It was a pleasant surprise.

[inthetrees]

Originally Posted by Coaster

Deerflies zero in on the back of the neck and wow does that bite hurt. I've seen fishermen and loggers either tie kerchiefs around their necks or hang them from the back of their hats to cover their necks. Cuts down on the sunburn, too. Headnets work sometimes, but I've had deerflies bite right through if the net is laying against the skin.

Deer flies can be trapped/killed relatively easy and cheaply, although you will look kind of silly doing it.....

Check your local garden center for a product called tangletrap, made by the tanglefoot company. Its basically a clear, very very sticky substance. I got a container last year and still have more than half left....You coat either a blue 16oz plastic beer cup, or some sort of bright blue object. Then "troll" your yard, like you were fishing.... There is even people that have painted larger objects that blue color, then mounted them on the front of their lawn tractors. Something about the blue color attracts the deer flies, they will land on the object before they land on your neck, then once they land they cant fly away.

The other thing with the deer flies is they only see horizontal movement.... they wait for a person or animal to walk by, then they ambush. So these blue traps will only work when u are walking around or mowing, biking, whatever. People have even mounted them on the top of cheap dollar store hats.

I didnt get bit once here in knox county last year.... plus i trapped n killed atleast 100 of these little devils. This year I am going to make a mount for the riding mower so I dont have to hold it. Last year I used a piece of bamboo and would drive around holding the stick with one hand above my head..... probably quite the site to see for the people that might drive by.

The first few days you do this, you will trap dozens, maybe hundreds or thousdands depending on how many you have. This is not my idea.... I just found it last year when we first moved here and I was googling way to enjoy the outdoors without flying bugs.
Its funny cause i never really considered the bugs before I moved here. Ever since i was a kid I wanted to live in maine..... I love the remoteness and overall friendlyness of people, the bugs sort of suck, along with other peoples close mindedness.

I just got swarmed by the black flies taking the dog out back for a few minutes... hopefully soon the dragon flies start hatching, once the dragonfly populations strengthen, the blackflies don't stand a chance.

[OutDoorNut]

Originally Posted by Maineah

Lots of ticks around this year. I have a buddy that got the classic bulls eye rash a couple of weeks ago. He's to stubborn to go to at doctor so he'll probably end up with full blown Lyme disease soon.

Like I said, I suspect many people in Maine might be misdiagnosed as having arthritis, when in fact they have advanced Lyme disease, because years earlier they either didn't seek treatment after a tick bite or never even knew they were bitten (because the skin rash does not happen with every infection).

And with so much of Maine's economy dependent on people enjoying the great outdoors, the powers that be might not be too eager for the threat of Lyme disease in Maine to be talked about.

[OutDoorNut]

Originally Posted by inthetrees

Deer flies can be trapped/killed relatively easy and cheaply, although you will look kind of silly doing it.....

Check your local garden center for a product called tangletrap, made by the tanglefoot company. Its basically a clear, very very sticky substance. I got a container last year and still have more than half left....You coat either a blue 16oz plastic beer cup, or some sort of bright blue object. Then "troll" your yard, like you were fishing.... There is even people that have painted larger objects that blue color, then mounted them on the front of their lawn tractors. Something about the blue color attracts the deer flies, they will land on the object before they land on your neck, then once they land they cant fly away.

The other thing with the deer flies is they only see horizontal movement.... they wait for a person or animal to walk by, then they ambush. So these blue traps will only work when u are walking around or mowing, biking, whatever. People have even mounted them on the top of cheap dollar store hats.

I didnt get bit once here in knox county last year.... plus i trapped n killed atleast 100 of these little devils. This year I am going to make a mount for the riding mower so I dont have to hold it. Last year I used a piece of bamboo and would drive around holding the stick with one hand above my head..... probably quite the site to see for the people that might drive by.

The first few days you do this, you will trap dozens, maybe hundreds or thousdands depending on how many you have. This is not my idea.... I just found it last year when we first moved here and I was googling way to enjoy the outdoors without flying bugs.
Its funny cause i never really considered the bugs before I moved here. Ever since i was a kid I wanted to live in maine..... I love the remoteness and overall friendlyness of people, the bugs sort of suck, along with other peoples close mindedness.

I just got swarmed by the black flies taking the dog out back for a few minutes... hopefully soon the dragon flies start hatching, once the dragonfly populations strengthen, the blackflies don't stand a chance.

Do you think it might be beneficial to pivot horizontal wind-powered vanes atop sticks planted around the perimeter of your yard, whith the ends of the vanes coated with your solution, as a way to control the flies when people are in the yard?

Also, are the flies still a problem when it's very windy, and would that depend on wind direction?

Do they fly about when it's raining?

Are the flies more of a problem if you live near a river, stream, or other body of moving water?

Do the flies not follow you indoors?

[namder1]

A friend tells me ticks are mostly a southern Maine problem, not so much in central and eastern Maine....true?