Any studies on which bug dope works best with Black Flies?

[griffin]

After having provideded lunch (and dinner, and afternoon tea..) to the black flies on Chocorua this weekend, I was wondering if anyone knew of studies comparing the effectiveness of various bug repellents against black flies.

I've seen the ones for mosquitoes, but figured it was worth checking to see if different pests responded to different dope.

 

[David Metsky]

Long sleeves and fast hiking.

 

[TCD]

Search for several lengthy threads on this.

 

[Nutsosa]

Long sleeves and fast hiking.

Black flies really help me get into shape during the early summer hiking season. They're great motivators

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Short answer is - choose products with DEET. Nothing else works reliably. Brand doesn't matter much, and the DEET concentration needs to be around 25% - stronger than that doesn't necessarily mean it's more effective or lasts longer.

Use it sparingly, especially on little people. It dissolves some types of fabrics, so carry it in protective Ziplocks.

 

[Maddy]

This one was recommended to me yesterday by an avid mountaineer who works at the Mountain Goat in NOHO.
CUTTER ADVANCED, WITH PICARIDIN.
(fragrance free)
reapply every 3-4 hrs/ not to be used more than 3x/day
He told me that it dries really fast once you spray it on and he swears by it's effectiveness.
I will be trying it out in VT over the next two weeks. Should be a good test, but Ben's is coming along just in case.

 

[marty]

You might want to try Sawyer Broad Spectrum: Sawyer Broad Spectrum . It is a DEET composite, working with other ingredients, such as R-326, to supposedly provide a better black fly repellant. I have used 30% DEET and the flies kept swarming. I switched to Broad Spectrum and they stopped.

Here is a URL with some comparative reviews of the Sawyer products. BackpackGearTest - Sawyer products The testers seemed to really like the Broad Spectrum product for black flies.

WARNING: the pump spray can stain some polypro fabrics!

Regards,
Marty

 

[Dugan]

This one was recommended to me yesterday by an avid mountaineer who works at the Mountain Goat in NOHO.
CUTTER ADVANCED, WITH PICARIDIN.

Hah! That's what I was using to no avail on Mendon in VT last Sunday. Finally I gave up reapplying it and used some of Amicus' DEET (Off, I think). It worked a little better but not much. Or perhaps that's just because we'd hiked into a different area.

I do prefer the Picardin in that it doesn't sting when you reapply while hot and sweaty. Also, it doesn't taste as bad when you inadvertantly get some in your mouth.

 

[NYBRAD]

My wife seems to be the best black fly repellant for me. They love her, and seem to leave me alone when we hike together.

She didn’t find it funny when I mentioned renting her out a few weeks in the spring to my hiking friends.

 

[griffin]

I was using a picardin-based product on Saturday, I still got chomped on. Of course, there's no way to tell how much worse it would have been had I not been using it...

Thanks to whoever bumped the other thread

 

[grouseking]

I find that DEET works best for me...nothing like a little poison to keep the bugs away! Though I have also noticed that DEET only works really well on mosquitoes, and I haven't truly found anything that has taken the bite out of black flies. Maybe I've just been in some bad locations and not wearing enough bug dope, but I find that you kind of have to just deal with black flies until they aren't around anymore.

grouseking

 

[roadtripper]

I'm not sure which magazine it was (Backpacker? Men's Journal? Adventurer?), but 3M's "Ultrathon" was just rated the best in some article I was reading last month. It's expensive, though.

ultrathon

 

[roadtripper]

Another suggestion is to just bring a friend who the black flies find more delicious

 

[rhihn]

Here are some links about black flies that might be of interest to some people:

http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/128/11/931
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/chemicals/deet.htm
http://www.blackfly.org.uk/
http://www.roberth.u-net.com/blackflies.htm
http://sci.agr.ca/ecorc/diptera/bf11-dp11_e.htm
http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/blackfly/cwp/view.asp?a=3&Q=505536

 

[Enapai]

Bug Off!

BACKPACKER, I know some forum members don't like the mag, tested out a bunch of bug products which wa published for the June 2007 issue (page 86 if you have the mag).

Results:

Sawyer MAXI-DEET (98% DEET - $5.95 for 2 oz) and 3M Ultrathon (34% DEET - $10.50 for 2 oz) both provided more than 360 minutes worth of protection until the first bite. Sawyer goes for $5.95 and Ultrathon $10.95. Repel Lemon Eucalyptus (40% oil of lemon eucalyptus) gave about 240 minutes - $7.25 for 4 oz, with Ben's Wilderness (30% DEET - $10.50 for 1.5 oz), Avon Skin-so-soft Bug Guard (15% IR3535 - $12 for 4 oz), and Sawyer Controlled Release (20% DEET - $5.25 for 2 oz) gave 180 minutes or so of protection. Cutter Advanced Outdoorsman (15% picaridin - $5 for 5.5 oz) was the only other notable at 120 minutes. The others tested all provided an hour of less of effective treatment.

FYI, Enapai