Biting Flies

[OhioBeachBum]

The Dog Flies come in when the winds are out of the NW. They are not related to the Hurricanes. When the low pressure out of the NW moves out of here, the Flies will be pushed north.

Great, send your danged flies my way. :shock: Well, I'll just tell the little buggers to pack up and go south again (don't worry, I'll give them tiny little maps that lead to New Mexico).

 

[Teresa]

a little biting fly secret that I shall share with sowal friends only:

invite smiling joe to accompany you and yours to the beach, put a black t-shirt on him, and a little red speedo, and sit back and enjoy while the flies swarm upon him. they absolutely LOVE that guy - he's so sweet and all... no kidding!

 

[Teresa]

oh, I forgot one thing: give him plenty of beer and/or red wine.

 

[Camp Creek Kid]

a little biting fly secret that I shall share with sowal friends only:

invite smiling joe to accompany you and yours to the beach, put a black t-shirt on him, and a little red speedo, and sit back and enjoy while the flies swarm upon him. they absolutely LOVE that guy - he's so sweet and all... no kidding!

Not a pleasant mental image .

 

[22tango]

Hey Smiling Joe and Kurt----thanks so much for the info. Guess we'll just enjoy the weather and wait (hope)for the winds to change. Love the idea of a sacrificial object!!!!

 

[Smiling JOe]

The only repellent is Smiling Joe's homebrew.

Yes, I do have a natural home brew insect repellant, but it has not been tested in great numbers. It proved to be fairly effective when fighting the Deer Flies. I am still playing with the recipe. I may have to juice it up a bit to repel the Dog Flies.

 

[wetwilly]

Seems that the cashier at the Tom Thumb has made our Laborday vacation a success!!! She suggested vinegar (remember "you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar"). We bought a bottle (white vinegar $1.39 for a bottle) and put it on this morning and the flies still landed on us but jumped off pretty quickly without biting us. :clap_1: :clap_1: :clap_1: :clap_1:

We have not tried it in the late afternoon or evening but we will be this evening. Kurt or SJ does this work or were we just lucky this morning??

We hope it still works later today.

 

[Miss Kitty]

Seems that the cashier at the Tom Thumb has made our Laborday vacation a success!!! She suggested vinegar (remember "you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar"). We bought a bottle (white vinegar $1.39 for a bottle) and put it on this morning and the flies still landed on us but jumped off pretty quickly without biting us. :clap_1: :clap_1: :clap_1: :clap_1:

We have not tried it in the late afternoon or evening but we will be this evening. Kurt or SJ does this work or were we just lucky this morning??

We hope it still works later today.

The smell might even keep the WHITE SHIRTS away as well! Two birds w/one stone!!

 

[wetwilly]

The smell might even keep the WHITE SHIRTS away as well! Two birds w/one stone!!

It does not seem like we need to bathe in the vinegar. Just put a lite spray on the legs and arms and it worked. It is better than sitting in the house all day/night?

 

[stormweary]

We have found that the yellow flies start on or around Memorial Day and the dog flies start on or around Labor Day. Yellow flies can leave a large swollen area around the bite that lasts for days. We were on the beach Aug.24th and the dog flies were terrible. They seemed to be attracted to anything white, so not sure about being attracted to dark objects...were all over our white bucket, white umbrella pole and husband's white shirt. You just couldn't get out of the water and stay on the beach! Tried Cactus Juice and Cutter but nothing kept them off. Wrapped up in towels and went home.

Here is a recipe from the Walton Sun, May 2004 - I've made up a batch and keep it in a spray bottle in our refrigerator. Seems to work best if you apply right after being bitten. Rub in briskly. You can also try window clearner with ammonia, in a pinch.

Yellow Fly Bite and Sting (Jellyfish) Relief
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup ammonia
1/3 twp papain (meat tenderizer)
1 crushed asprin
Mix thoroughly and store in refrigerator. Be sure to label container.
When needed, shake well and apply with a cotton swab -
or heck, just spray it on fast!

Yellow flies seem to like shady, humid areas, tend to avoid large open sunny areas, hence, don't usually see them on the beach. For dog flies, enjoy the beach when there is a Gulf breeze.