Black Flies

They're out in hefty numbers and biting here in Southern NH. With the volume of moving water up in the Whites this could be a nasty year!

How do you handle it?....bug net, grease on a hat, Bens?

This will be my first real spring hiking this year...my plan is to use bug spray/liquid, net/hat and long pants and sleeves. I hope this is enought to allow me to enjoy myself.

In the Adk High Peaks, there isn't a bug in the air, nor will there be for at least another 2-3 weeks.

When they come out, I go with long sleeves, headnets, 100% deet, etc. Deet does not seem to deter deerflies, which have a much more painful bite than blackflies. Thankfully, there are only a few areas where these are prevalent. I just avoid those areas in bug season. If it gets bad enough, I abandon ship and go to the gunks.

I've seen one mosquito last week during those warm days in the Whites and no black flies yet. As long as the temperatures remain cool it keeps the population down. The only repellent I know that works is a headnet and gloves. The locals say when the flies get bad, it's time to go inside the house. The average date of hatching in the Northern Whites is around May 10-12. Of course your mileage my vary.

Jim lombard said:

How do you handle it?....bug net, grease on a hat, Bens?

Click to expand...

I usually treat clothing with permethrin before going out (lasts 2 weeks). Also protects against ticks.

On the trail, just keeping moving is generally good enough. When it becomes time to resort to chemical warfare, DEET on skin does the trick. Headnet in camp if they are really bad. (Haven't used the headnet in many years...)

Doug

i just picked up a hat that was treated with permethin (supposed to last 25 washings)

http://www.exofficio.com/buzzoff/default.aspx

dolladoj said:

i just picked up a hat that was treated with permethin (supposed to last 25 washings)

Click to expand...

You can also buy a pump spray bottle of same. REI carries it, presumably other outdoor stores do too.

Doug

I had me first encounter with them a few weeks ago while trout fishing in central Saratoga County, NY. As for avoiding them, I like using the Lemon Eucalyptus repellant. When all else fails, I just hike faster, I've noticed that they can't keep up with you if you hike around 2mph or more.

After a google search and a few hours reading, I believe I'll stay with the head net. Here is why I decided:

www.permetherin-repellent.com & www.safe2use.com/poisons-pesticides/pesticides/permethrin/cox-report/cox.htm

Jim lombard said:

How do you handle it?....bug net, grease on a hat, Bens?

Click to expand...

I feed them.

http://mudhead.uottawa.ca/~pete/blackf.html

Pete,
That must explain the avitar. BUG CONTROL

Permethrin is an "insecticide," while DEET is an "insect repellent." Big difference! Insecticides are designed to poison and kill, whereas repellants are designed to confuse and repel (by mimicing compounds in the flies neural system).

While DEET may also have some neurotoxic action, I put DEET on my skin and I have not suffered any effects. I am not going to start putting permethrin, a specifically designed neurotoxin, on my skin or my clothes.

Be careful with some products, as they contain mixtures and are not clearly labeled. A friend of mine, who has horses, was using a product called Equicare Flysect Super 7 on her skin. It is marketed as a "fly repellant" for horses, but it contains both repellants (citronella) and insecticides (permethrin and pyrethrins). I pointed out the toxicity of this product to her; I think she has stopped using it.

More accurately, permetherin is a contact insecticide. It is sprayed on clothing and allowed to dry before wearing. It is inactivated by contact with skin, so there is no point in applying it to skin.

DEET acts as a smell "blinding" agent--it blocks the chemical sensors used by mosquitoes to home in on you. DEET has been established to both be effective and safe when used properly.

Abstract:
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content...4982956791_6411&FIRSTINDEX=0&journalcode=nejm

Full article:
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content...IRSTINDEX=0&journalcode=nejm&journalcode=nejm
Note comments on safety near the end.

Excerpt:
"Despite the substantial attention paid by the lay press every year to
the safety of DEET, this repellent has been subjected to more
scientific and toxicologic scrutiny than any other repellent
substance. The extensive accumulated toxicologic data on DEET have
been reviewed elsewhere. DEET has a remarkable safety profile after 40
years of use and nearly 8 billion human applications. Fewer than 50
cases of serious toxic effects have been documented in the medical
literature since 1960, and three quarters of them resolved without
sequelae. Many of these cases of toxic effects involved long-term,
heavy, frequent, or whole-body application of DEET. No correlation has
been found between the concentration of DEET used and the risk of
toxic effects. As part of the Reregistration Eligibility Decision on
DEET, released in 1998, the Environmental Protection Agency reviewed
the accumulated data on the toxicity of DEET and concluded that
"normal use of DEET does not present a health concern to the general
U.S. population." When applied with common sense, DEET-based
repellents can be expected to provide a safe as well as a long-lasting
repellent effect. Until a better repellent becomes available,
DEET-based repellents remain the gold standard of protection under
circumstances in which it is crucial to be protected against arthropod
bites that might transmit disease."

Doug

Deet

Yeah, I use DEET, too. But don't get it anywhere near your good plastic gear--like fly line. It dissolves the stuff!

Took a memorable trip on the Allagash many, many years ago. At one meal in particular I remember lifting the headnet just long enough to stick a spoonful of food into my mouth and still getting zillions of black flies. That was in the days before DEET was generally available, so we used the infamous Swisher Sweets technique much of the time.

Black Flies in southern NH today were UNBEARABLE!!!!

Mad Townie said:

Yeah, I use DEET, too. But don't get it anywhere near your good plastic gear--like fly line. It dissolves the stuff!

Click to expand...

DEET is an organic solvent that dissoves some plastics. Note that many popular fabrics (ie nylon, polyester, and polypropolene) are plastics or have plastic coatings. (I think nylon and polyester are DEET safe, not sure about polypropolene.) Lower percentage formulations do less damage to plastics than 100% DEET.

Doug

Black Flies in southern NH today were UNBEARABLE!!!!

Click to expand...

All you have to do is hold your hand up above your head as they will swarm to the highest point of your body.....of course this could get tiring and then your hand would look like Pete's face from that picture!

SJ I found a $3 head net that goes over your hat, works pretty good when I work in the yard.

Jim lombard said:

All you have to do is hold your hand up above your head as they will swarm to the highest point of your body....

Click to expand...

The Concord Monitor had an article 6 or 7 years ago about deerflies & someone on their staff had taken a baseball cap, glued a blue plastic cup upside down on top of the baseball cap, and put this sticky stuff (Tanglefoot?) onto the cup. Looked weird as hell but they said it worked wonders on the deerflies. Wonder if something similar would work on blackflies.

Pete Hickey's comments reminded me of a Canadian animated film I saw back in college, it was a scream & one of these days I need to obtain a copy.
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/cmarchive/vol20no5/vid281blackfly.html

Skin So Soft from avon or one of those stink- pretty companies works well for blackflies. If nothing else you end up with softer bite marks.