Ways to keep misquitoes and other bugs away from you while running

I'm definitely going to try the dryer sheet one. The areas I live/run in are a tad on the swampy side, and the black flies are just horrific for several weeks, usually around the end of June, beginning of July. I'm talking swarms of 40-50 flies, landing in your hair, on your face, neck, chest, back, bumping into you and biting you once in a while... I have to avoid certain trails for those couple of weeks because they're long and straight and surrounded by thick woods and swamp. When I do have to run them, I have to get all zen master on myself to keep my cool, because they are really, really persistent and annoying.

If the dryer sheets work, I would be just about the happiest guy in the world.

And if it doesn't work, I'll try the vinegar, as much as I'd rather not smell like rotten apple cider. Maybe wear a shirt and just put a few dabs of it on your back and neck?

OFF! didn't work for me either, so one time I tried ON!

BIG mistake.

I get a paper towel, usually 2 sheets connected, spray that with Cutter or Deep Woods off (deer flies where I live), and put the edge of it under a baseball cap so the paper towel hangs down French Foreign Legion style, covering the back of my neck and the top of my back. I also spray my baseball cap.

Try to keep sprays with DEET off your skin (always wear a shirt). You lose IQ points every time that stuff is absorbed by your skin.

Are mosquitoes really that bad in Texas? I've lived most of my life in Alabama and Louisiana (currently live in New Orleans), and I have never really had a problem with them. I mean, they may be a bit of a pain sometimes when I am stretching or doing drills, but never when I'm running. Yellow flies, on the other hand, can be a pain while running on wooded trails sometimes (in Alabama...there obviously aren't any trails in New Orleans.

i dont know about mosquitoes but flies can get moderately annoying here. A lot of times i just put my shirt on my head like the collar around my head with it flapping down my back. it keeps them away but we dont have clouds of flies or anything like that just usually 3-4 buzzing around throughout the run or a different 3-4 maybe heh.

Andre wrote:

Are mosquitoes really that bad in Texas? I've lived most of my life in Alabama and Louisiana (currently live in New Orleans), and I have never really had a problem with them. I mean, they may be a bit of a pain sometimes when I am stretching or doing drills, but never when I'm running. Yellow flies, on the other hand, can be a pain while running on wooded trails sometimes (in Alabama...there obviously aren't any trails in New Orleans.

Mosquitos are terrible here. Last night one was in our house and I swear it was the size of a bird. Okay, maybe not quite that big, but it was pretty massive. My swatted it about ten times and it was still kicking. I told her she'd be more successful with a shotgun haha. Once the mosquito was stunned a bit, we flushed it down the toilet.

AdamLocked wrote:

... So far this summer I've swallowed two bugs. Yuck! I do most of my runs in a State Park here, and it seems to be at random when the bugs are out. I had four runs last week, two of them were perfect, barley any bugs. The other two were awful, they were bumping into my face and bouncing off my chest as I ran. So there's got to be some sort of pattern to their madness.

I run in a park in Indiana too. Deer flies are the culprit. They seem to be the worst at the edge of wooded areas after mid day. Early morning runs seem better bug wise. I use Off. I spray it on my hair and on the shoulders and back of my shirt. If they still attack I snap off a 2 foot branch with leaves on it. I swat with the branch every few strides when the attacks are bad. No way would I try to run in the woods without these items. 4 or 5 deer fly bites hurt like heck!