BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: ranger1
Date: 25 Jun 05 - 10:03 AM

If they bite large chunks out of you, then yes, probably the same beasties. They also lurk near the beaches around here.

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: gnu
Date: 25 Jun 05 - 09:57 AM

Thank you kindly, ranger1. I shall search for these post haste. DEET gives me a sore throat... or maybe it's the White Owl cigars? or the loud yelling that accompanies a trout fly stuck in the back of the head.

Them green headed buggers... haven't seen any for a while. I recall shovelling and mixing fresh horseshit in my neighbour's garden every spring when I was a lad and being inundated with them. I wonder if they are the same you speak of?

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: ranger1
Date: 25 Jun 05 - 09:49 AM

You forgot greenhead flies. They make deer flies look like wusses. I am allergic to DEET (causes a nasty rash and breathing issues), but I found two great all-natural bug repellants that actually work and are sold commercially. One is called Buzz-Away, the other is called Buzz-Off. If you can't get them up your way, Gnu, PM me and I'll send you some.

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: gnu
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 07:22 PM

"but"? "but"? Why are these keys so close together? Oh yeah, so I don't have to go looking too far.

slightlyinebriatedgnu

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 06:55 PM

Cut and paste from that other thread source code:

Skeeter repellant from the Dirt Doctor:

Vanilla home remedy for personal use:
8 oz water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp. orange oil
Spray on liberally.

For site use:
Spray garlic tea over the entire problem area and for even more control, broadcast dry minced garlic at 5-10 lbs per 1000 sq ft.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: gnu
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 06:08 PM

Hehehehehe!!! Now, if they offered a "first one free", I would try it. I mean, c'mon, if they really did work, wouldn't that be worth it for them? Think I'd rather but a lotto ticket with my money.

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: Metchosin
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 05:49 PM

Cool. I wonder if you can do that with duct tape? Course with my luck I'd get my hair stuck in it somehow, sure managed to walk into a lot of sticky fly tape once upon a time.

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 05:01 PM

Have you tried the Lee Valley Tools Deer Fly patch
?

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: jpk
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 04:43 PM

na most don't bite me so no bother[guess i'm to sour]it's the white socks drive me nuts,in twix the eye balls an glasses,just bouncin back an forth don't bite but we'llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll..

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: Metchosin
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 04:37 PM

Interesting to find that they do work, gnu. In truth I was considering it, not for us, but the pony, now that he no longer has his friend to stand head to tail with for mutual fly brushing.....but the price tag is still a hurdle.

I'll see how sorry I feel for him when the bugs finally get really bad here. So far it has been so windy here lately that we've been pretty bug free.

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: gnu
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 04:04 PM

SHITE!! Snow-Skeeters!! We're srcewed!!!

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: Ebbie
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 03:58 PM

Alaska is notorious for its flying buggers. In Juneau, the no see-ums are what drive me buggy. Mosquitoes are a small nuisance compared with them.

In my experience, a no see-um bite doesn't really itch until the next day and then it will fair drive you crazy until you have scratched the bite open and drained the venom. I have scars on my arms and ankles using this method.

We also have blackfly and deer flies (once I was playing at an outdoor wedding standing to the left of the fiddle player. The FP had his white shirt sleeve rolled up. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a big blob of blood drop from his arm and splatter on the ground. The deer fly.) and sand fleas and white sox (Are they different from the blackfly?); we try to always keep a baseball bat handy.

Speaking of Alaska's skeeters, they're different from Oregon's mosquitoes. In Oregon, a mosquito will sneak up behind you and the first indication is the high whine in your ear. Swat at it and it will go away for a few minutes and then you'll hear it in the other ear.

An Alaskan mosquito, on the other hand, will galumph directly up to you, in your face. It is big and slow and dumb and doesn't mind dyin'. However, if you don't do something about it, it calls for the cavalry and the first thing you know your head is surrounded by the black eqivalent of a dandelion gone to seed and through the crowd you see more of them come zinging at you. All is not lost, however: If you duck down and run a few feet away, they stay back there, still circling where you were. It takes them a moment or two to realize that you have left.

I just came back from farther north and was amazed at the sheer numbers of mosquitoes I ran into. MUCH worse than anywhere I have been in Juneau and I got many, many bites. At a book store, I bought a 'new' product- later I'll go hunt up the name - that I carried in my backpack. It's a spray, smelling strongly of citrus, that is supposed to act like Avon's Soft Skin- the skeeter supposedly will hover but not land or bite. You spray your exposed skin and your clothes alike. It is true that the first time I used it, the one place I didn't spray (my left elbow( was the only place I became aware of a bite.

Last year, Alaska supposedly had a winter that encouraged the breeding of many insects.

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: gnu
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 03:55 PM

Rap... dry ice... well, your neighbour, and you, would have a real skeeter problem

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: GUEST,gnu
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 03:42 PM

Okay... bear with me on this one. I swear it's true. For deer flies and the like, try this. You know how they circle around your head, right? Elbows at your sides, hands outstretched to left and right, palms up. Slowly at first, raise your hands and speed up the movement until you clap your hands at the fastest pace possible directly over your head. You may not get the acceleration or speed just right the first time, but, keep trying. I swear, you can kill them this way.

Of course, when there are several hundred circling you, this particular method has it's drawbacks.

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: Rapparee
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 03:41 PM

So, then, if I tossed a bunch of dry ice into the neighbor's yard....

1500 square feet isn't very much, just an area about the size of an average house.

I've always liked bug zappers. Entertaining as all hell after you've had enough beer.

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: GUEST,gnu
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 03:34 PM

Re the Skeeter Magnet... does anyone else find it odd that a couple of years after this machine was patented, West Nile Virus became a big issue?

Metch... they WORK! My cousin lives beside a brook that empties into the salt water marshes of the Petitcodiac River. There's a large pond upstream of the culvert under the road, adjacent to his property. I have been there before the "magnet". UN-F***ING-REAL. These buggers are about a half inch long and they can fly in a twenty MPH wind. Eat you alive! Magnet>>> BBQ and sit out all day and not a skeeter around. However, he IS beside the marshes, so, after dark, if there is no wind... well, he's screwed. But there is usually a breeze and it's tolerable.

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: Alba
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 03:29 PM

Ive got the same nasty buggers flying about looking for flesh here in the Backwoods as yirself Gnu. Let's not forget the Deer Ticks and mozzies to add to the list. Bloody no see ums, wakening up with nibbles out of my arm agghhh
It can get real miserable at times.
Deer Flies and Horse Flies here to. Buzzin around my head when I am walking or riding along, driving me crazy then...strike...chunk, blood..pain!!!!
Tomorrow though, I am dreading it... it's gonna be too hot, too Humid and because of that there will be too many flying hungry blood seekers out and about..!!!
Good Luck Gnu ma dear.:>) We can exchange type of bites received and numbers on Sunday when the cooler front comes though!lol
Jude

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: GUEST,Metchosin
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 03:24 PM

oops 3:23 was me.

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 03:23 PM

Gnu, I was in Costco yesterday and they have this machine in there that converts propane to CO2 and will attract and capture mosquitoes, no-see-ums and black flies and supposedly clear an area of 1500 square feet of the buggers in no time flat....well it said you had to wait 2 weeks to see the difference......and it costs about 300 bucks and....come to think of it you can buy a lot of deet for that kind of money....and see immediate results.

Now horse flies and I don't get along too well anymore....the last time one took a chunk out of me, my leg swoll up and fell over the top of my sock......of course that was in Alberta, we don't have any really nasty bugs out here on this coast.........yeah, right.

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: GUEST,gnu
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 03:20 PM

I just heard a loud noise from the north of me... I think the fly convension saw your bug suit, Rap.

Sorcha, twas I enquired about where you get the deer fly bites.

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: GUEST,Rapaire
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 03:15 PM

Pretty much the same things. Only, I have found the best bug-proof suit ! Add a headnet and you are GOLDEN!!

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 03:15 PM

Now... where do you get deer fly bites? I thought you was in the big city... of course, I say that by going from the only memory I have, which, well, you know, I think...

Subject: RE: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: Sorcha
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 03:12 PM

Horse flies and deer flies! Deer fly bites HURT! And they can hang on to you!

Subject: BS: I hate flies... blackflies, skeeters, bl
From: GUEST,gnu
Date: 24 Jun 05 - 03:07 PM

SRS posted a recipe for home made bug dope and it got me ta thinkin'.

I haven't been up to (my) Camp Blackwater in Kent County, New Brunswick, Canada since the slice and dice. Almost don't want to go now that the real fly season has started. Oh, we've had blackflies and skeeters for a while, but, with the temperature going to 35C tomorrow, there's a few more types on the go.

Bite-em-no-see-ums make it miserable to sleep because regular window screens won't keep them out.

And, the Moose Flies (Blow flies or Stouts) aren't bothered by the heat in the middle of the day. Them bastards can bite through a tee shirt (bigger than a horsefly). And, unless you crank the ATV up to 40kph, they fly past you and come back at you. Like little suicide bombers, they'll nail you in the face or arms... any skin that's exposed.

And the flies that were introduced about twenty years ago by some genius biologist to eat the Spruce Budworm consider fly dope a marinade (a bit bigger than a house fly, with circular markings on the wings.) They are slow. Half the time, you can swat them before they bite, but when you've got a trout on the line and can't let go, they'll take a goodly chunk of skin when they leave.

Then, ya got yer deer flies. Shiny green or blue. Same kinda bite as them "budworm" flies, but fast. They land, bite, chew, digest, read the newspaper, and shit before ya can swat 'em.

And then there's the damn sand flees. No sense puttin yer pants inside yer socks. These little ****'s will burrow through socks... and your hair and your beard if you lay down.

Last year, I even seen a fly I'd only ever seen in Labrador. An inch long, yellow, with a two-pronged tail, both of which prongs are stingers. This little pup can pack the wallop of a wasp. Don't know the name, except I call it, "SOB!!! Get the f*** away from me!!!"

There's a few more kinds, but you get the idea. I HATE flies.

I've got bug jackets and DEET up the arse... I've even got White Owl Invincibles (big, nasty stogies). But, I still get my ass bit bad every time I go up country in July.

Got a big trip planned next weekend. Anybody wanna come with?

What kinda nasty buggers ye got where ye live?