Black Flies: Our Current Scourge
By koopharper
@koopharper (7599)
Canada
May 26, 2016 7:58am CST
I'm writing right now because I got driven out of our backyard clearing by black flies. I'm trying clean up a plot so that we can plant potatoes before the season gets too much further along. I cut down most of the brush in that area last fall but still have to clean up quite a bit before digging it up. I work in short bursts. The bugs seem to forget about me after awhile. When they do I can tolerate working there for about thirty minutes at a time.
The season is just beginning. The mosquitoes are just starting to show. Soon enough I'll be fighting off deer flies, horse flies and the really scary looking moose flies.
6 people like this
7 responses
@koopharper (7599)
• Canada
26 May 16
Without a doubt. I really miss our decimated bat population.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7599)
• Canada
27 May 16
@JudyEv Something called white nose syndrome. It has been wiping out most of the North American bat population. We've lost 98 to 99 percent. I did spot one last summer so they aren't completely gone like some people here have suggested. They more than kept them down. We used to have hardly any mosquitoes and now have billions.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381815)
• Rockingham, Australia
27 May 16
@koopharper I didn't understand at first but I guess you mean the bats kept the insects down a bit. What happened to the bats?
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7599)
• Canada
26 May 16
@paigea Most of the marsh has been drained for agricultural purposes. There are a lot of wetlands between both fresh and salt water. We're up on the higher ground northwest of it all close the marshy source of the Tantramar.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7599)
• Canada
26 May 16
We live close to the largest saltwater marsh in Canada. The mosquitoes are coming.
@paigea (36143)
• Canada
26 May 16
@koopharper I thought they hang around less near salt water?
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
27 May 16
Different essential oils are supposed to repel them. I have good luck with lemongrass oil.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7599)
• Canada
27 May 16
I don't know where in the US you are but we are experiencing a devastating die off in the North American bat population. It started in the east and is spreading toward the west. I don't think it has reached the west coast yet. White nosed syndrome is wiping out in some cases more than ninety-five percent of the population. In this area they are almost all gone. The effect on insect populations is huge. In this area it is like night and day. If it hasn't already reached your area, it will.
@Marilynda1225 (91013)
• United States
26 May 16
Flies can definitely be a pain in the neck and it seems as if you have a wide variety to deal with. Mostly we just have those annoying black flies which sneak into the house and drive me crazy
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7599)
• Canada
26 May 16
We don't have too much trouble with the black flies getting the house. The mosquitoes are far worse for that.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (91013)
• United States
27 May 16
@koopharper any insects can be annoying 
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@acelawrites (19272)
• Philippines
26 May 16
Can insect repellents drive them away? You can't really work well if such insects are pestering you.I don't know about moose flies.
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@koopharper (7599)
• Canada
26 May 16
Insect repellent will work however you will need to use an awful lot of it. It's also toxic and there are a lot of sensitive people in the family. I'd rather save the expense and the trouble if at all possible.
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
26 May 16
That sounds like an endless bug battle. How do you cope with it?
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7599)
• Canada
26 May 16
We sleep under mosquito netting at night when it gets bad. Otherwise we wouldn't get much sleep.
