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Deer Flies!

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Fargin_icehole

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5/29/12 11:53 AM CST

It's getting to be deer/horse fly season and I can NOT tell you how much I hate those things. They take the fun right out of camping or hiking. So I did some research and found a study by the U of Florida. It states that no repellant spray works on them, and they are immune to Raid and Black Flag type sprays. There is also no effective way to eliminate their eggs. The ONLY way to fight them is to take a blue hat (they are attracted to bright blue) and smear Tanglefoot on it. They also sell some tack strips for your hat. Everyone raves about this method. I'm to the point where I don't care what it looks like, I'm wearing a giant blue, goo slathered, flower pot on my head!

goju

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10/13/12 10:13 PM CST

Try Bounce dryer sheets. Haven't tried them on Blackflies, but they work on horse and deer flies. You just look like your making a bad Beau Geste remake.

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1cast-away

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7/17/12 8:26 PM CST

Ah yes..the one thing that is going to put a smudge on my fishing trip this week..them black flies. Hopefully I can befriend a dragonfly or two haha.

There's a couple gravel roads by me where you can actually see the swarm of deer flies following your truck in your mirrors. Watched a guy in a doorless jeep go down one a few weeks ago..bet he had fun.

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Frozenman

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7/17/12 7:32 PM CST

DJH, 18% DEET doesn't even work on those ankle biters! I keep a fly swatter in the boat.

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POPPER

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7/5/12 10:39 AM CST

love how these darn things will actually wait for me to surface from underwater in the pool........persistent

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lakeshiner

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7/5/12 8:26 AM CST

I tried the deer fly tape stuff and it was a waste of money for me. Since they are essentially duct tape, when I got sweaty from working the tape would not hold and just fall off my hat. I guess if you are not sweating it may help, but they didn't work good for me. Deep Woods Off was just fine though and kept them away from me, I was just hoping to avoid the smell of it.

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Fargin_icehole

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6/23/12 1:23 PM CST

I made some home made deer fly patches. I took blue duct tape and "Tanglefoot" - ($9 and hard to find) and smeared it on the tape which was stuck on the backing from a sticker. Then folded so you can pack them in your tackle box or backpack and use later. I finally found the Tanglefoot at Ace Hardware in Brookfield. I plan on making a ton of these!

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Fargin_icehole

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6/18/12 1:02 PM CST

Deer flies eat cobras for lunch! Yeah, the blue strips work great! I cut them in half so you have a hole on the top to hang it from your hat with a safety pin and same with the bottom. I've been using them around my pond since Memorial Day weekend and no complaints. On youtube, a guy spread Tanglefoot on a blue hard hat and mowed the lawn and when he came back it was FULL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIOgAYbDGHg&feature=related

[This post was last edited on 6/18/12 at 1:18 PM]

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JethroBodine

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6/16/12 2:28 PM CST

Flies are the honey badger of the bug world- they don't care.

A netting hat and loose clthing are the only defense I've found effective.

I've never worn flystips though.

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DJH

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6/15/12 9:11 AM CST

icehole,

Have you done your experiments with the blue strips? Doing a week long canoe trip on the Manotowish river come July. Really interested in hearing your results.

Do you think they will work for the black flies that eat up your ankles while in the boat?

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Fargin_icehole

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6/2/12 8:54 PM CST

Yes, they work very well from what I've read. I think I'm going to experiment with thrip sticky traps. You can get them at most garden stores, and they're blue. Just cut them in half and pin them on your hat.

http://www.amazon.com/Thrip-Sticky-Traps/dp/B007RQSJ3U

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BigTymer

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6/2/12 5:24 PM CST

deerflypatches.com

not sure if they work, just saw them in midwest outdoors.

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HANGEYE

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6/1/12 5:31 PM CST

^^^^^ what he said ^^^^^

Too small for the shot gun, so ya gotta do somthing.

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