Deer Flies
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PILOON
Super Star Member
Black flies and deer flys season seems shorter this year.
Probably due to high heat, over the years I always observed that 5 hot days in a row ends their reign.
For skitters I read that sliced cucumbers is supposed to be a deterrent.
Is that fact or fiction?
My experience is that smoke, like in a smudge pot. works for just about all those pesky insects, problem is you smell like a firefighter.
Probably due to high heat, over the years I always observed that 5 hot days in a row ends their reign.
For skitters I read that sliced cucumbers is supposed to be a deterrent.
Is that fact or fiction?
My experience is that smoke, like in a smudge pot. works for just about all those pesky insects, problem is you smell like a firefighter.
Deerherd
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I tape a blue Solo cup to a hat and put Tanglefoot on it and see how many I can catch! Great game for old and young alike.
Thomas
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Deet work for me,but you can't leave 1 spot not protected or those SOB will find it. 
mcfarmall
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Now that's funny!!
PILOON
Super Star Member
The concept of this method is probably what LeeValley tools developed into a marketable product.
It was a double backed baited sticky tape that you placed on the top of your hat.
I know it worked as friends showed me the evidence.
The theory is that the flies home in on your heat signature from overhead B4 attacking.
Einthewoods
Platinum Member
I have been using permethrin this summer qith awesome results. First used it for mosquito protection but it has worked for everything (including deer flies) so far. Make sure you read the directions as you use it on clothes not skin.
Amazon.com: Sawyer Products SP657 Premium Permethrin Clothing Insect Repellent Trigger Spray, 24-Ounce: Sawyer: Sports & Outdoors
Amazon.com: Sawyer Products SP657 Premium Permethrin Clothing Insect Repellent Trigger Spray, 24-Ounce: Sawyer: Sports & Outdoors
the old grind
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Sticky blue hat is even hilarious .... until you realize that ... nothing works better !! A lady in Livingston Cty who goes by "Umbrella Girl" (online) gathers deer flies by the hundreds for study, using four blue cups on her 'bumbershoot'. Lots of such success seen here: deer fly umbrella trap - Google Search
Deer flies breed near water. (larva to drop into) Despite ad info to the contrary, they are NOT deterred noticeably by DEET or most 'old-school' concoctions. They're drawn by instinct to dark things (like fur) that move about, where they (females) tend to land on/near the head first before dropping onto a body for a bite. Nothing attracts them quite like the bright blue of Tupperware bowls or Solo cups.
One of our members hung a bunch of blue cups near the horse barn, and IIRC cleaning-off bodies or replacing cups became something of a chore .. worth it, I'm sure.
Deer flies breed near water. (larva to drop into) Despite ad info to the contrary, they are NOT deterred noticeably by DEET or most 'old-school' concoctions. They're drawn by instinct to dark things (like fur) that move about, where they (females) tend to land on/near the head first before dropping onto a body for a bite. Nothing attracts them quite like the bright blue of Tupperware bowls or Solo cups.
One of our members hung a bunch of blue cups near the horse barn, and IIRC cleaning-off bodies or replacing cups became something of a chore .. worth it, I'm sure.
wngsprd
Super Member
I agree about the deerflies. I kept a fun log last year of my "kills" and scored over 2,000...would use a Dollar store insect net and swing in figure 8s over my head as I took the dog for a hike each day for about half mile to a mile. Many days I would catch and kill over one hundred. This year, my total so far is only 186. I hope that my kills last year thinned the herd, but believe it may be due to the several days of minus 5 to minus 7 temps back in the winter...or maybe the floods we had in May and June washed the larvae away.
