GAACK! Black flies are out Wicked!

[CalG]

They must have a purpose, I wonder what it is.
Devil's spawn!

 

[groundcover]

Black flies matter !

 

[ponytug]

They must have a purpose, I wonder what it is.
Devil's spawn!

Do you have a favorite repellent?

All the best, Peter

 

[groundcover]

Vitamin B, don't eat bananas , DEET if it's bad enough.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

lol, I was just thinking about that while I was swarmed by knats. I guess the black flies will be here very soon...
I've tried lavender oil, no help. I use Ben's 100, works but I don't like the oily feeling. Better than bites though.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

Does black fly season make it the 6th season around here?

 

[scootr]

Ugh, sounds terrible. Good luck

 

[Jstpssng]

They are slowly coming out here, but so far it's been too cool for them to bother much. I have a worse reaction to their bites than to bee stings; they last 4-5 weeks whereas most stings abate in an hour or so.
When they are really bad I wear a headnet.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

I feel for you. Deet worked for me when I was up there bear hunting (north of main in NB CA). I had two head nets on. Had a gap under my chin that was exposed with one and they ate my neck made it look like hamburger. Second one covered that gap but had gaps of its own. So two were needed then.

But... Saw a bear decided not to sling an arrow at it, there was a really big one lurking around the area but it never showed up.

 

[Oaktree]

They are slowly coming out here, but so far it's been too cool for them to bother much. I have a worse reaction to their bites than to bee stings; they last 4-5 weeks whereas most stings abate in an hour or so.
When they are really bad I wear a headnet.

Same here, they're around but not too bad (yet). We were out working in gardens today and they hardly bothered us. Usually they're pretty bad by the first weekend in May, as you said it's been cool so far. 70s predicted for the rest of the week, so they'll probably be out in force by this weekend.
Likewise, ticks haven't been bad this year either.

 

[Jstpssng]

Likewise, ticks haven't been bad this year either

Deer ticks aren't bad up here. However, I was 60 miles south of here last month and got one in a very personal spot, which I had to use a mirror to see. I am 2/3 of the way through a round of antibiotics which is causing problems of it's own... but still better than Lymes.

 

[dodge man]

By black flys are they what a lot of people call gnats? If so they are coming out and getting bad. They are the kind the vanilla bug spray helps.

 

[Thomas]

Just what until blackflies crazy cousin mosq. arrive.

 

[Jstpssng]

Just what until blackflies crazy cousin mosq. arrive.

I can usually deal with mosquitos, as well as what we call deer flies. Blackflies will drive me inside.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

Black flies are not gnats. BF leaves a welt like a horsefly/deerfly but it's itch lasts for weeks. And you feel them biting.

 

[Jstpssng]

Black flies are not gnats. BF leaves a welt like a horsefly/deerfly but it's itch lasts for weeks. And you feel them biting.

Thank you. I wasn't sure what a gnat is.

 

[CalG]

Don't get us started on "no- see-ems", ;-)

 

[Jstpssng]

Don't get us started on "no- see-ems", ;-)

Also eye gnats. They don't bite, but seem to like to fly around and into your eyes.

Hence the name, of course.

 

[mike69440]

Vitamin B, don't eat bananas , DEET if it's bad enough.

Black flies are just starting in NH. I take vitamin B and eat bananas for the potassium to fight leg cramps.

 

[tacticalturnip]

Ugh, they seem real bad this year...