I am heading up to the Adirondacks this weekend and wanted to know if the Devil was still unleashed in the park? I will go even if they are still out, but hate to bathe in Deet! Anyone just come back? Thanks, Buzz
black flies
I’m headed that way also. My guess is that after the week to 10 days of rain we’ve had being followed by warm muggy weather is going to make the bugs really bad. I wouldn’t go if I were you. I still plan on going but I’m bringing lots of Deet and a head net.
light styrofoam arms on top of head!
Grab a good net, but most come by themselves. If you don’t like a heavy cap(like me), cut the two thin arms that’ll cross…glue em’ together and attach top of net to them…giving yourself an inch or so spacing to keep bugs off the top of head.
A darker shade of mesh will reflect less glare. imho…It’s a lot easier to just watch your wrists/hands for bugs while wearing the mesh.
$.01
Not that bad
today but I only stopped along Carry Falls Reservoir enroute back from Ontario where there was snow June 7 followed by an immediate transition to summer…over 90 degrees by North Bay(about six hours from the Adirondacks).
The blackflies, mosquitoes and stableflies are all rejoicing and having a feast all at once. On humans. It was so bad in the tent that it sounded like it was hailing. Never seen them out all at the same time. The BF were delayed by the cold and you know how skeeters just love hot weather.
It was a good 15 degrees cooler in the Daks than Ontario soooo…the forecast is that when the warm finally does arrive your fashion options will be long pants tucked into sox and long sleeve shirts.
Bug jacket would be nice. I forgot to bring enough repellent and had to resort to other tactics. However one of the good benefits of the trip was that there is NO campsite competition!
never found DEET to work on …
Use long sleeves/pants and a head net if you want Personally, I don’t like nets on the head (wife does) so I use a bandanna draped over my ears. I have never found DEET to thwart black flies.
Usually DEET compounds work
on most people but sometimes ones body chemistry is particularly resistant to DEET working…so the physical barrier of long pants and sleeves is your best defense.
Also it makes less use of DEET necessary.
Temagami blackflies were incredibly attracted to black and second to blue. They absoultely swarmed my camp chair(black) so much there was an actual layer of flies. The tent (blue) had several thousand on it.
Green was less attractive and when I wore tan I could pretty much swear off the DEET which I would prefer to avoid as much as possible.
Better than Cube Death
– Last Updated: Jun-25-09 9:52 PM EST –
Well, you could worry about black flies and sit in your cubicle and watch your cholesterol rise with your blood pressure, OR
You could go paddling, accept bugs as part of the trip, and be immediately rewarded with the health benefits of sinking a paddle in the stream.
You choose.
Black Flies are yummy
in moderation. But they can drive you nuts. While I live in a lakeside cabin with blackflies in the woods, its different.
They wont come in the house.
There is less escape at a campsite.
no-see-ums
I paddled in the ADKs this weekend and the black flies were not bad at all, I don’t remember any of 'em and there were very few mosquitos as well. The deer flies were moderately bothersome. At dusk on Friday night the no-see-ums were terrible for a short time, I had to escape to the tent.
Unfortunately the poor weather didn’t keep the people away.
blackfly color preferences
Kayamedic got it right that Black Flies love black and dark blue. Working on water lines at Massawepie Scout Camp ( just a bit southeast of Carry Falls) i learned from our resident biology professor to wear tan and Khaki work clothes and not the dark blue company issue stuff. All bright colors, white, yellow, red, seem good and even green, but not the dark colors. Have to watch the color of the underside of the hat brim and bill.
The black flies were over, only saw a dozen or so all weekend. Mosquitoes were swarming day and evening. Deer and Horse Flies were present along with no-see-ums. All the bad bugs were easy to deter with DEET. And the dragonflies were taking care of the big flies, any horse fly buzzing your head for over 15 seconds got snagged by a dragonfly.
Bill
…got those colors right…
– Last Updated: Jun-29-09 11:16 PM EST –
...But why go to all the extremes to discourage one of God's mystical little creatures of the forest..?
LOL...LOL...LOL. The blackfly numbers in Maine can be menacing, but nothing like north of the border...and don't really bother me as much as mosquitoes or the minute reddish(chiggars?)... I'll never pitch camp near dried muddy flats in the heat of summer again...did once..*&%(&$(#"@)
we should encourage them
and to support them and their progeny buy some of this stuff
http://www.maineblackfly.org/sell.html
;-)…
They’re all here in Maine…
Original Bug Shirt
is a solution if you want to avoid DEET. I have a cotton model (they also have a polyester model) and I treat it with permethrin. I sure wish I had one of these the last time I was in Quebec in early June!
Jim
i saw 2 this weekend
more mosquitos this year