Black fly reports for your area?

[paul ron]

It'll be interesting to see how the black flys are blooming this year.

Harrimen, Sabago Lake area, is in full bloom.

They were relentless even biting eachother this weekend, my bites have bites.

 

[rup]

Zip in N NJ

 

[Peakbagr]

They're back in the Catskills, and with the rainy weather and warmer temps, should be in a hungry mood from now on.

 

[1ADAM12]

Here in PA they are out a little. I went fishing over the weekend and had a few bites. This was in the PA GRAND CANYON

 

[rhihn]

Though I think I ingested most of them, there were still plenty of black flies to go around in Lake George (Cat & Thomas Mtns.) this past Saturday. I used DEET, got a few bites, but not too bad. One in our group was new to these critters and they drove him insane, even with DEET and a headnet.

Of course, reports could vary widely from day to day and location to location, given the weather, wind, temps, etc.

 

[Stan]

I would expect that if we could represent black flies, or anything else seasonal, on a dynamic map it would look a lot like a weather map with a storm moving towards the northeast. Such a map would probably correllate strongly with maps of other natural phenomena, like blooming of rhododendrums perhaps.

As much as a discussion here may be helpful to a few hiking decisions, I more strongly feel that close personal observation in search of those correllations would be more useful and enjoyable over time. It is an antidote to that "nature deficit disorder" so I propose we get away from the keyboards and touchpads and into nature itself. It is, after all, how our ancestors survived and, electronic gadgets notwithstanding, how we will survive.

 

[paul ron]

I was sort of thinkin the same way when I posted this. I once met a birder on thetrails n he said the black flys are perfectly coordinated with the migration of the warblers as they head north, as their major food source. So as a curiosity this year I am looking at the fly way map n seeing just how true this is; except there is no fly way map of the black fly.

.

 

[peakbagger]

Heard from a fly fisherman one day (who doesnt use bug dope as it fouls the lures), "Black flies is trout food".

They alledgedly only breed in clean water and are usually a good indication of good water quality. The Sugarloaf golf course when opened discovered that it may be the top rated course in Maine but it doesnt get a lot of use in the early season due to swarms of flies. They got "research" permits to research the use of BT pesticide in the carabasset and some feeder streams and it made a big difference in the black flies. Unfortunately for them, after about the third year of "research" the state wouldnt issue them any more permits as the research proved that BT was effective, so no more "research was needed" (No reports on BT's impact to other organisms in the stream)

 

[paul ron]

Amazing how everything is such a delcate balance. I also made a correlation... Black flys need blood, they seem to be coordinated with the migration of hikers n campers, a major food source in the back country.

 

[TDawg]

Swarming pretty brutally in the Ossipees today (Shaw, Black Snout, Big Ball.) Not many bites, though. Each of us picked a couple ticks off ourselves.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Starting to bite in the ADKs today, but not bad yet, did not feel the need to use bug dope.

 

[Ed'n Lauky]

I just came off of Pleasant Mt. this morning. They were wicked bad. If you stopped for just a moment the air seemed to turn black. I used two types of repellent and it did help to keep them away from my head.

In the end despite the quantity of those critters I don't think I ended up with any bites.

It's interesting though how your lungs don't like ingesting those things. Makes for some good coughing fits.

 

[Elizabeth]

All of a sudden the black flies have taken over. Last week in my area (Lyme, NH) they were not so bad. Yesterday (May 25) they were out in force and no amount of bug dope was keeping them at bay.

I HATE black flies! Must keep reminding myself that they are important pollenators of blueberries.

Like vampires (to whom they are related) they seem not to like full sunlight. Unfortunately, we haven't seen a lot of that around here lately.

 

[John in NH]

Clear in Concord, Bites in the Whites

If looking for something where black flies are past peak, south central new hampshire might be a good bet. They were ferocious mid late April, but now are fewer in number, though mosquitoes are out.

In the Whites, Zealand Notch area they were out and would have been biting if not for my DEET.

 

[nartreb]

When it wasn't raining, the black flies were pretty thick in the Whites over the long weekend. Far from the worst I've seen, tolerable with bug spray or if you just keep moving really fast, but numerous enough to get into eyes, nose and mouth.

Great, now I'm all itchy again...

 

[Elizabeth]

Black flies and mosquitos are both out in large numbers in the Upper Valley, and they are HUNGRY. Deer flies are just beginning to come out. Ticks are still around, though not in as large numbers as in mid-May.

 

[Creag Nan Drochaid]

Clouds on a sunny day

Or any day for that matter. Last Friday we peeled the bark off spruce blowdowns so as to use them to replace old steps and waterbars after black fly season on the West Ridge Trail of Mt Cardigan. Over the weekend I hiked all the trails up Mt Kearsarge. The only way I can do that is long pants/gaiters, long sleeve white shirt, and Army surplus wide-brim boonie hat and noseeum headnet. There were at least a few dozen swarming around my head all the time, but no bites and I had a break on the summit in a steady breeze.
This Saturday is Level 2 (building rock steps, waterbars, revetting, ditches) on the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway just north of Lovewell Mtn, in Washington NH (meet Washington 0830h). I'll spray my trousers with Permethrin the day before to ward off ticks. Ahh, Spring in New Hampshire...
Now I have to wonder if the crashing bat population used to eat blackflies, or is this just normal? Seems normal to me.

 

[Jim lombard]

Just terrible around Squam Lake on Monday. At home in Southern NH, they are mostly gone. Deerflies are coming soon.

 

[Brien]

Just spent the weekend in the northern Lake George region - about 20 minutes south of Ticonderoga. We were outside all night Thursday and then all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning before departing - hardly anything. Here and there they would come out (Black Flies) but nothing that would make you want to go inside. Hardly saw any mosquitoes as well.

 

[Ed'n Lauky]

I saw dragon flies in my back yard for the first time today. That usually is the beginning of the end for the black flies.