Black flies/gnats

[Hollis]

I HATE those flies. I have heard that GO JO WIPES can be a deterrent but I'm not sure what chemicals they use in them and try not to put any exotic chemicals on myself. I'm convinced that DEET products DO NOT work on them.
I don't have any stock in this company referred to. but its the only product that I have ever found that worked for me.

Now MAYBE there are different versions of these bugs and it may or may not work as well in your area,.(maybe if you go on a flyin ect trip, you might bring a head net and long sleeved shirt,even cotton gloves just in case,..) .but as I say in this E-mail that I recently sent to some friends, they have been so miserable at times that I would have emptied my bank account to get away from them.

Hope it helps some of you. here is that E-mail..



Black flies/Gnats are coming!

Do you know what these are? These things are much worse than mosquitoes. They occur in spring usually in April and May, June in the Mts. but this year they may be coming out much sooner. Every year people somehow forget how bad they are until they're into a bunch of them. By mid-June they're gone from most areas. I've seen tough, grown men break down and weep when on long hikes where they can't get away from them and none of the other people blamed them.

I recently read in the 1800s the tough- as- nails French trappers in the Adirondacks where they are particularly bad,.... that some of them would go berserk because of them.

At times they can be pretty bad around here too. They can make a pretty miserable walk in the woods, or even working out in your garden, having a picnic, etc. Any outdoor activity can be totally ruined by them.

They like to swarm around your head, getting into your ears, nose, eyes, and mouth. and about one out of 100 of them will land on your skin and bite you. That can mean a lot of bites in a short while.

WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT THEM?
Frankly not much works against them. Some sites will suggest using an insect repellent that has DEET in it. This is a joke. deet products do not work on these bugs, believe me I know. Some years ago some friends dropped me off on a great flyfishing stream and upper New Hampshire.Also noted for their nasty blackflies. They were to pick me up at the end of the day,....within minutes of the car driving away I was descended upon by the blackflies. I was in for a very miserable day. This was a very remote area with no shelter from them. I had two different types of insect repellent, one with a high concentration of deet. ..neither slowed down these bugs one iota. Again, you forget the mental anguish from these things,... if you're in a big swarm of them and you can't get away from them. At the end of the day I think it looked like a cartoon character with all the bugs welts on me.

So I asked the locals what in the world do you do about these and how can you live up here with them. They said well,..you can wear a head net. long sleeves, long pants, outside socks over the cuffs etc.or you can use this insect repellent developed up here that works very well.

So I got some of the next day I applied it . I don't think I got a single bite or any of them flying in my ears, eyes etc. since then I've used it every year during the season.

One caveat, I do believe that it gets stale. One year I use last year's bottle and it didn't seem to work all that well. I bought a new bottle and it worked fine. At only five dollars a bottle it's well worth it to me as there are times when I think I would give my life savings to be out of those bugs.

I'm told it also works for mosquitoes and other bugs such as horseflies, however I can't tell you that's true as I have another product that I use later in the season that also does not have deed and it workss very well for me.. By the way, I'm not a great fan of the deet products, I swear I don't feel very good when I put that stuff on. I can't even explain it but I think it does something systemically to me. I know in New York State they restrict the sales of the products over 18% concentration to be used on children as they have noted that in higher concentrations it can trigger seizures.

by the way one of our southwestern Massachusetts towns have a black fly Festival in which they Crown a Ms. black fly every year in case you're interested.

Where you can get it? I get mine from Florence hardware. The people are run it are great hard-working, friendly people and have agreed to stock it. They tell me it sells very well for this purpose. If you don't live around here you can also order it online but you have to pay the postage. No matter what,.. it's very well worth it to have" just in case". One other tip: I would not leave it in a hot summer car as I think that also affects the ingredients to some degree. The name of the product is White Mountain Insect Repellent. There are no harsh chemicals in the product. A few drops of this will last a long time before you'd have to reapply it. The odor is not bad either, it smells mostly like Cedar.

Blackflies are somewhat local, that is you find them mostly in areas of places where there is a small streams/running water as they like to hang around and read in those areas. But I've also seen them areas quite far from water so might be good to be prepared.

[Hollis]

BTW, Here is someone's YOUTUBE comments about it,...its very amateur but I think the young man is sincere. You probably could make the stuff yourself as it has simple ingredients but a 5 buck bottle lasts me for a season,..not worth it to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klTt_2ulgAY

[v-bay gord]

Thanks for the info.......I might try it out this summer. I wonder if it works for the "ankle biting flies" that get you out in the boat? So far the only thing that works on them is leather boots.

[houndog]

Bath and Body Works sells a skin product called Warm Sweet Vanilla. It''s a spray on like perfume. This stuff reminds you of something strippers wear BUT IT WORKS on GNATS! It doesn't kill them but it does keep them away! Just spray it on the bill of your hat and on the band around your ears. Try it on the ankles, I'll bet it works!

Another product that works reasonably well is Absorbine Jr. Folks around here have used it for years. Good ol listerine works just as well and costs far less.

I've never any of this stuff north to try on black flies but all three are worth a shot!

The best is the warm sweet vanilla, Just make sure your wife knows where you've picked up the scent!!!!!

[outdoorsron]

Hey houndog: Where are the strippers at that use it ? Maybe I could borrow some from them to see if it works for me. Good Luck this season. O - R

[Hollis]

V-bay gord

No I don't think it does for those (stable flies) They have pushed me off a lake at times. I don't know anything that works for those,..DEET products certainly don't. At least the ones around here. Maybe someone has found something (Someone said to spray RAID around your boat,)..frankly I'd rather go home instead and fight another day.