I'm starting to understand why they thought flies came from spoiled meat...

[wcd]

The normal house fly has a total lifespan of something like 28 days, so...

Ah not in our house more like 5 minutes or less. Can’t stand flys. Outside ok fine in the house no way in ****

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

He's a baaad mutha..

 

[LEaSH]

The normal house fly has a total lifespan of something like 28 days, so...

In my little house a fly has a lifespan of about 28 seconds.

Guillermo the Cat calls them "Sky Raisins".

 

[Cameramonkey]

Ah not in our house more like 5 minutes or less. Can’t stand flys. Outside ok fine in the house no way in ****

I hear ya. We just got back from a week on Pelee Island. That place is famous for black (biting) flies due to its marshy areas. They look like houseflies but dayum. They hurt! Not quite as bad as our Horseflies, but its not pleasant.

And they are brutal. They will swarm and chase you. And all 30% deet does is make them not bite. Much. One day in one of our early trips, I went to the lighthouse to scope out whether it was safe for the little kids. Its 150 yards through the woods past the marsh, then another 100 along the beach. Also next to a marsh. I got 25 yards in, and was swarmed. Even with my hooded sweatshirt and long pants they were still like a horror movie. I finally said "screw it" and ran back to the car. I could literally feel them bouncing off the back of my head as they flew after me like a swarm of killer bees. It was nuts.

Now we have learned to time our visits to certain parts of the island based on wind direction. Wind off the lake=good. Wind toward the lake=flies. If you go to the east public beach when the wind is out of the west, plan on not spending ANY time on shore and ALL your time on rafts >50' out in the lake. My wife has pictures of the adults in her group from when she was little, standing up to their waists drinking coffee because that was the only place that day that you were safe.

I have pictures from one year of about 50 of them hanging out on my long pants as I walked down the east beach because thats the one spot I didnt use bug spray.

 

[55fairlane]

I'm gonna show how simple I am....this sounds like more hassle then a "relaxing holiday " is.....so I would avoid it and stay at home.....

 

[wcd]

I hear ya. We just got back from a week on Pelee Island. That place is famous for black (biting) flies due to its marshy areas. They look like houseflies but dayum. They hurt! Not quite as bad as our Horseflies, but its not pleasant.

And they are brutal. They will swarm and chase you. And all 30% deet does is make them not bite. Much. One day in one of our early trips, I went to the lighthouse to scope out whether it was safe for the little kids. Its 150 yards through the woods past the marsh, then another 100 along the beach. Also next to a marsh. I got 25 yards in, and was swarmed. Even with my hooded sweatshirt and long pants they were still like a horror movie. I finally said "screw it" and ran back to the car. I could literally feel them bouncing off the back of my head as they flew after me like a swarm of killer bees. It was nuts.

Now we have learned to time our visits to certain parts of the island based on wind direction. Wind off the lake=good. Wind toward the lake=flies. If you go to the east public beach when the wind is out of the west, plan on not spending ANY time on shore and ALL your time on rafts >50' out in the lake. My wife has pictures of the adults in her group from when she was little, standing up to their waists drinking coffee because that was the only place that day that you were safe.

I have pictures from one year of about 50 of them hanging out on my long pants as I walked down the east beach because thats the one spot I didnt use bug spray.

Yeah horse flys, biting flys. I swear we have some that need a runway to land.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I'm gonna show how simple I am....this sounds like more hassle then a "relaxing holiday " is.....so I would avoid it and stay at home.....

Much like a visit to a big city, you just have to know where not to go when to stay out of trouble. By following the wind rule I mentioned, we saw one fly the entire week last week. And that was a house fly in the cottage.

The island is a WONDERFUL place. Already booked next year's trip. And wife is talking about taking a weekend in another month just to go back for a bit more.

And the black flies are only bad around the marshes. So really, three public areas in the whole island.

 

[55fairlane]

Much like a visit to a big city, you just have to know where not to go when to stay out of trouble. By following the wind rule I mentioned, we saw one fly the entire week last week. And that was a house fly in the cottage.

The island is a WONDERFUL place. Already booked next year's trip. And wife is talking about taking a weekend in another month just to go back for a bit more.

And the black flies are only bad around the marshes. So really, three public areas in the whole island.

I don't like big cities, and I'm not a water guy.....in fact I'm not big on taking holiday .....always turns into a disaster, I'm a miserable traveler, I don't sleep well in a foreign bed....I'm sorry if I'm being negative, part of my being simple.....

 

[Cameramonkey]

I don't like big cities, and I'm not a water guy.....in fact I'm not big on taking holiday .....always turns into a disaster, I'm a miserable traveler, I don't sleep well in a foreign bed....I'm sorry if I'm being negative, part of my being simple.....

No worries, you do you.

 

[Ark]

Ah not in our house more like 5 minutes or less. Can’t stand flys. Outside ok fine in the house no way in ****

Same.

bzzz bzzz bzzz bzzz oh no a .410 shell full of rock salt

 

[BehindBlueI's]

@BehindBlueI's Still does. Is there a problem with that?

 

[KLB]

Yeah horse flys, biting flys. I swear we have some that need a runway to land.

Good thing is those you can hear coming from a way off.

 

[Bstarkey_46947]

They probably were scum flies and not blow flies that you are commonly associating with eating carrion in the larval/adult stages of life.

I've had a couple battles with the scum variety over the past few years. Stagnant floor drains are a harborage also. If you have a floor drain in your garage, be sure to run fresh water in them occasionally if you see an uptick in fly activity. Treating them with cleaner/bacterial aid can also keep the organics down (which the scum flies consume.).

 

[Mgderf]

They probably were scum flies and not blow flies that you are commonly associating with eating carrion in the larval/adult stages of life.

I've had a couple battles with the scum variety over the past few years. Stagnant floor drains are a harborage also. If you have a floor drain in your garage, be sure to run fresh water in them occasionally if you see an uptick in fly activity. Treating them with cleaner/bacterial aid can also keep the organics down (which the scum flies consume.).

Use RV antifreeze in floor drains.
It will not evaporate like water and insects don't do well in the stuff.

 

[wcd]

Good thing is those you can hear coming from a way off.

Indeed!