Deer Flies

[treefarmerguy]

With a week of 90+ temps, the deer flies this year are man eaters. Does anyone know of any repellant that works? I was going to try some diesel fuel but a friend talked me out of it. He didn't want me to self combust because of the heat!LOL Thanks

 

[newbury]

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/safety/395227-bug-season-bites.html

 

[oosik]

I've always used any repellent with DEET in it. When we lived in AK - got military insect repellent - 90% active ingredients were DEET.

However - in the good old days - used an area spray that killed ALL the bugs. It was DDT. Spray the perimeter of your work area first thing in the AM - no bugs for the remainder of the day.

 

[mobilus]

Friend of mine uses a fly repellent made for horses. Says that there's no way that anyone would spray anything harmful on $50K horses. He may have a point...

 

[GLyford]

Once upon a time, the "go to" product for the deer flies seen while hiking in the white mountains was a product called "ole time woodsman", smelled like heck but you could actually see the flies change their mind and fly away as they got close.

I think the formulation use creosote, or something very similar, and it was pulled from shelves.

I now see there is a product out there with the same name but I have no idea if it is really the same or works as well...
Ole Time Woodsman Insect, Mosquito and Black Fly Repellent

 

[Groo]

Friend of mine uses a fly repellent made for horses. Says that there's no way that anyone would spray anything harmful on $50K horses. He may have a point...

An old horse is what? 35? Maybe the carcinogens won't really kick in until after 40 years.

 

[mobilus]

Doesn't stop folks from sucking down energy drinks, smoking, eating too much, etc...and we know the fallout from that. I had a pharmacist tell me to put diesel on chigger bites once. There are a lot of remedies out there for just about anything. I wasn't giving medical advice, just saying what a friend did...

 

[JohnBuffaloMN]

This forum has a wealth of information - I saw a guy who fastened a fly roll trap to his hat and though everyone laughed he said it worked and was searching for it when I found this: https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kioti-owning-operating/282071-deer-fly-trap.html

Edit: here you go! https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...10d1406115359-todays-seat-time-deerflyhat-jpg

 

[Jstpssng]

Friend of mine uses a fly repellent made for horses. Says that there's no way that anyone would spray anything harmful on $50K horses. He may have a point...

The main working ingredient is most likely Permethrin. You can decide if you want to spray that on you.
One thing which works for deer flies is putting a piece of fly paper on the back of your hat- strategically placed so that it doesn't get caught in your hair. They tend to land on your head, and they won't leave again.EDIT- John Buffalo beat me to this one. end edit. I've also known woodsmen to spread bar and chain oil on their hard hats, especially for blackflies. Both methods also attract all sorts of other debris though, especially if you're working in softwood.
If you want pure DEET, try some Ben's 100- Amazon.com: Ben's 6-781 1% DEET Mosquito, Tick and Insect Repellent, 3.4 Ounce Pump: Sports & Outdoors For our Canadian friends I believe it is known as Muskol.

 

[Avondale]

I use a dryer sheet such as "Bounce" on the back of my hat, seems to work well enough but I also use "Deep woods off" which also seems to work pretty well too.

 

[Oldpath05]

For some reason I dont think the deer flies and mosquitoes are quite as bad this year around my place compared to other summers, maybe it's because a dry spring summer at my house.

 

[PILOON]

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.

 

[Deerherd]

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]

Deet work for me,but you can't leave 1 spot not protected or those SOB will find it.

 

[mcfarmall]

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.

View attachment 561367

Now that's funny!!

 

[PILOON]

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.

View attachment 561367

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]

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

 

[the old grind]

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.

 

[wngsprd]

For some reason I dont think the deer flies and mosquitoes are quite as bad this year around my place compared to other summers, maybe it's because a dry spring summer at my house.

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.