Deer flies have dissipated!

[marty]

I went trail running earlier this week near my home in Boxford, MA (aka, deer fly capital of the world). This was the FIRST time since mid-June that I wasn't tortured by numerous deer flies. In fact, I encountered none at all. I also remember not noticing any since early August in Western Maine and in the White Mountains.

Could it be that deer fly season is over??

 

[Artex]

I think you're right. It's been about two weeks since any have buzzed around my head while running or hiking.

Life is good.

 

[lumberzac]

I had a few buzzing around me last weekend in the central Adirondacks, but there wasn’t very many.

 

[truepatriot09]

Fall Is Coming! Fall Is Coming! Fall Is Coming!

 

[frytz]

Deer Flies

I think you're right. It's been about two weeks since any have buzzed around my head while running or hiking.

Life is good.

They seem to have diappeared in Northen New Jersey in the past two weeks! In fact, they diappeared the day the deer fly patches I ordered arrived!

Fred

 

[Artex]

I think the buggers are at their peak. Dozens were flying around each of our heads during my group's trail run last night. They didn't bite them, but this morning in the woods behind my house, holy crap, they showed no mercy!

I haven't been up to the Whites in a few weeks, have they been bad up there recently?

More importantly, is it fall yet?

 

[Klutz]

I think the buggers are at their peak. Dozens were flying around each of our heads during my group's trail run last night. They didn't bite them, but this morning in the woods behind my house, holy crap, they showed no mercy!

I haven't been up to the Whites in a few weeks, have they been bad up there recently?

More importantly, is it fall yet?

Yeah, just a few weeks ago when we finially swam in the pond, they(deer flies) practically drowned us.... Man, the biggest gripe I've got about summer is the black flies, deer flies, and the biggest(or smallest) of all is NE's smallest bird, the mosquitoes .....

Twice this year I got bit on my eyelid by, I think were the small nats...and it made my eyelid swell on me....couldn't believe it....never had that happen to me before, swelling like that. It was really weird, should'a seen it, looked really funky. I can't wait for the cooler temps to kill 'em off...... Bring on the cold!!! Snow too......

 

[Jim lombard]

In Southern NH, they're still buzzing but not as aggressively as the past two weeks. I hate them, they're evil.

 

[TCD]

Still at full power in the Hammond Pond Wild Forest (adks) last week. DEET bath did not deter blood bath. Ugly.

 

[Tim Seaver]

Dissing the dissipation

No shortage of deerflies in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness (ADK)!

They look a little different than the 'local" deerflies - darker, not as yellow, with a big honkin' wolf-snout. Pretty quick with their bite, too! They were biting THROUGH a fresh thick layer of Ultrathon repellent AS I applied it!

( I could have sworn I heard them say "Yum! Frosting")

 

[Doc McPeak]

I haven't been up to the Whites in a few weeks, have they been bad up there recently?

Only a couple deer fly bites over the last week .... but nibbled on by the last of the black flies, many mozzies, and the no-see-ums are still going strong down low morning and night. Worst are those bloody gnats! At least all the others don't fly into your eyes while in contacts.

 

[GBKDalton]

They're not gone. Here in southern Vermont they've been making trail riding a torture and drive my horse into a frenzy. They bite her right through her fly net and sting my arms as well. They're even on the road. There were none on Sunday morning, but it was pretty cool that day.

 

[Davehiker]

Plenty of them left here in south-central Mass. I got buzzed last night, with a couple of painful bites to show for it, one on my lower lip. I HATE 'em!

 

[marty]

Artex, thanks for resurrecting this old thread. Yeah, they surely have not dissipated this year. They are out in force in Northeastern Massachusetts. I have hung up the trail runners for a while, as they are just too annoying. I also have to wear a hat to get the newspaper in the AM. The longest distance I have gotten without a dive bomb is about 10 steps.

They are also out in the Rangeley, ME area with no signs of letting up. Can't wait until I declare that they have dissipated this year.

Marty

 

[Dugan]

Stepped outside this morning, had my first deerfly kill within 10 seconds.

 

[WalksWithBlackflies]

Deerflies don't dissipate, they merely regroup.

 

[Adk_dib]

Did duck hole in the ADK's last wednesday and was doing the adirondack wave the last 7 miles to my car. if i had web fingers i could have flown back to the parking lot.

 

[Quietman]

Here's a previous thread that includes a few practical and unpractical ways to combat deer flies.

Deer Flies

 

[Mr. X]

Sweet, I actually purposely avoid hiking when the bugs are bad. No I can get off my ass.

 

[hikerfast]

last thursday here in Concord NH, I found some new trails to run on. After about 30 seconds they were landing on my head. I ran and ran for an hour and a half(I wanted to learn the route, and thought I could outrun them) and when I looked up, there were about 25 of them around my head, and just bouncing off my head. I kept waving my arms, and the trail map around my head for the entire 90 minutes. I have NEVER seen anything like this. Monday I went back and ran with a mosquito headnet on. It wasn't so bad at all this way, though you can't see as good thru the netting, especially if you get sun glare. A couple times they got inside the netting, and i squished em while i ran. Another couple bit my scalp thru the netting when It was against my head flush. When I got back to the car, I realized there were about 20(!) inside the netting, though for some reason they didn't seem to have bitten me. I think they stayed on the netting. This is a bit crazy, I wonder what caused so many of them. Usually when I trail run, I don't bother with bug spray, because mosquitoes and black flies don't chase me.