How do you deal with blackflies?

I have done many many hours in the woods and most times my concerns aren't bears or wolves....they are bugs...in this case blackflies.
Last year i did a pretty hardcore trip with my buddy and my head resembled an atom with all the blackflies around me.

I recently had a photographer friend tell me a trick that he used while shooting a naked girl out in the woods in blackfly country.
Eat garlic the day before going out.
I also had another friend tell me to use Vics vapour rub because they hate that stuff.
Doublesided tape on your hat etc....give me something ats.

Does anyone have any good ways of dealing with deerflies,blackflies etc etc??

We call them Midges here in the UK, I go camping in Scotland when I can and they can be a real problem but a Scottish dude told be about Bog Myrtle products and I use this www.stopbite.com... in spray form and it works wonders.
I always have it in my pack.

Avoid using perfumes/colognes and scented deodorants. In addition to the bog myrtle boymonkey mentioned, many people swearing by other herbs like the various mints (catnip, peppermint, lemon balm), basil, and even lavender. I've not tried those, so I won't vouch for their effectiveness.

reply to post by FatherStacks


I have mint,lemonbalm and basil growing in my garden....thats what i mean...is it a myth or does it actually work???

Boymonkey....thanks for the post even though we have had our issues.

If you eat a lot of citrus fruit, any insect that feeds on blood won't want your blood. Works for mosquitos, ticks, etc.

Should work for black flies as well. Although we don't have too many in these parts, so take it for what you will.

In the summer time I try and eat a small amount of citrus every day. It has gotten to where I love to eat limes raw.

reply to post by JayinAR


I have also heard that you can toss a few citrus peels in the dryer with the clothes you plan to wear, and run it on LOW heat for 10-15 minutes it will impregnate the clothing with citrus oils. Never tried it myself, but it certainly seems plausible.

reply to post by madmac5150


It should work. They don't want blood that is high in citric acid. I mean, it won't kill them, cuz you'll still have problems with them, but it won't be near as bad. This I know.

They're stubborn little SOB's...



You're pretty much screwed unless you slather yourself in DEET or some kind of essential oil like lemon eucalyptus around the clock... but both have detrimental effects of varying kinds on your skin and lungs when used constantly.

Heavy clothing from head to toe and hats with nets on them is basically the only way to avoid having yourself "picked to the bone" without the use of irritating topicals.

Natural repellants not only don't last long, but eventually through the course of the day, the little suckers get used to the stuff anyways. They're very adaptive, unfortunately.

reply to post by DrumsRfun


Sorry. I've never been bothered much by insects when in the woods (the exception are the damned gnats), not nearly as much as the people I'm with. Maybe I'm lucky, or maybe the fact I am in contact with my mints a lot has somewhat of an effect. Again, sorry for not being much help.

They do make clothing designed for these trips, impregnated with permertherin. They repel all of the biting and stinging stuff out in the woods- like mosquitoes, black flies, ticks, and no see-ums. I know the long distance hikers rely on a combination of those clothes, deet and a headnet, when they get really bad. You can do the impregnation with permertherin to your own clothes- there are solutions out there made to do just that. It lasts through many washings, and from those I have chatted with about it, seems to be quite effective. Just look online and check out various hiker sites. They usually offer the most help with outdoor treks. My favorite is one called www.whiteblaze.net... It is an Appalacian trail long and short distance hiker site with a plethora of information about all things backpacker/hiker.

Peace!
SK

Originally posted by JayinAR
reply to post by madmac5150

 

It should work. They don't want blood that is high in citric acid. I mean, it won't kill them, cuz you'll still have problems with them, but it won't be near as bad. This I know.

True enough, and yes citric acid does work to a degree, as does vinegar, Listerine (mixed with water in a spray bottle sprayed on your skin/clothes), etc... But the problem with this is that they still come along and bite you first only to find out they don't like the taste of your blood.

So... 6,000 bugs later and a 100 bites later, they eventually spread the word to the rest of their buddies that your blood tastes like crap.

Doesn't really keep them from still trying to "pick your bones" though.

reply to post by DrumsRfun


Have we? just because we may disagree on certain things doesn't mean I will not help you out...

reply to post by DrumsRfun


Citronella is derived from various members of the lemongrass family. We don't have lots of blackflies around here, but lemongrass and lemon balm definitely work wonders on mosquitoes, both in my yard and when out camping. We eat it and crush the leaves before rubbing them on our arms, faces, whatever-else-shows.

reply to post by DrumsRfun


I wear long clothes so they can't bite me. I wear a hat to avoid them getting in my ears. For the face, well, I do my best and I duck alot.

Originally posted by DrumsRfun
reply to post by FatherStacks

 

I have mint,lemonbalm and basil growing in my garden....thats what i mean...is it a myth or does it actually work???

Boymonkey....thanks for the post even though we have had our issues.

No black flies here, but plenty of other blood and sweat sucking flying nuisances...

I have used peppermint, and catnip on the trail and it does help... crush the leaves to release the oils, rub on the exposed skin and I hang the plant from my hat....

It's not going to protect you for hours, (at lest in my case), but it's definitely and option I use if I get caught outdoors with commercial protection..

My normal protective posture is a commercial deet on the shoes, hat, cuffs to keep the ticks chiggers at bay, and a smoke to keep away the gnats and noseeums and skeeters... don't smoke, you can use those foot long citronella punks (looks like incense), that does the same job as the smoke...

One method I heard of but cannot confirm, was the native Americans used to dip the tip of a long feather in beef suet, attached it to a headband so the feather was vertical, and the gnats / noseeums would hover around the tip , and avoid annoying or biting the person... THat one might be worth trying with something other than a feather, but I haven't had the nerve to walk around with an 18 inch dowel rod tipped in beef suet duct taped to my skull..

This might sound kind of silly to some people but, try using Skin So Soft from Avon.

Not only does it keep the buggers at bay but it also is good for your skin.

When the blackflies are real hungry. nothing seems to work. Thank god that is very rare. I have good luck with WD40 for bugs.

A good trick I use against those big ass deer flies is a bounce dryer sheet ! Just stick it out the back of your baseball cap or pin it to your jacket .

We actually put a little vinegar in our horse feed. So, when the horses sweat, it helps repel flies.

For people, if going in the woods for a time, take along some Deep Woods OFF! If really averse to the spray, eat a meal heavy in garlic before, and something citrus for dessert. The orange or lemon peels in the dryer trick works, though make sure they are really peeled, so you don't get juice, etc. on your clothes. We only go that far when mosquitoes are really bad somewhere though, like in a swamp or something. I often do the Bounce dryer sheet thing when I do paintball. I put on in pockets all over the place.

reply to post by JacKatMtn


The feather trick would probably work. I once watched an episode of Man vs. Wild and that crazy SOB dispatched a gator in the swamps with his pocket knife, cut a big chunk of meat off its tail and slathered the fat all over himself. No mosquitos.

Another trick for blood suckers would be flea and tick collars worn around the ankles on the outside of your pants.

The old timer land surveyors used to do this with success.