running with horseflies (a.k.a. little bastards)

I've heard this works really well.

http://www.biconet.com/traps/deerflyPatch.html

Baldy wrote:

Here is my solution, which is FUN because you actually kill the buggers (and can do a tally after each run):

Take a 3x5 notecard and color it blue (attracts the flies). Pin it to an old hat. Cover the note card with Tanglefoot,a sticky insect trapping gel.

http://www.tanglefoot.com/products/ttcoating.htm

Your hat with a single application of gel will last weeks. My 1 pint container of Tanglefoot has lasted 3 years and is less than 1/2 used.

Deerflies are predators which are attracted to your moving head. Using the above homemade trap, I once caught 93 (ninety-three) of these bastards on a single 11 mile run. Usually I will snag 3 or 4 each mile.

Also, I think if you do it often enough you might even thin out the local population enough to make a difference.

...let me get this right.

You think it's a good idea to put stuff on your hat that ATTRACTS them, so you can catch a few with some sticky stuff on that hat, while the others that came your way because they were also attracted by the product are chewing through your neck and the rest of your body.

Idiot. They are going to go for your head anyway - once they do, you want to attract them to the trap, not, say,your neck or some other tasty area. Make sense?

Try this:

-Run very early in the morning

-Wear a yellow shirt with a high neck, maybe try a lance shirt

-Put on insect repellent and make sure it is in your hair and on your shirt, but not on the front of your shirt because you will be breathing it the entire run if you do

-Wear a desert hat with a couple small sheets of fly paper on it, a blue notecard with tanglefoot on it, and a neck cover

-Put a stuffed dryer sheet in your hat and shorts

-Put whine vinegar all over your body, neck, head ears, and sprinkle it on your hat, you might smeel like coleslaw

-Occasionally sprint to lose them

-If you need to stop running and be perfectly still and they will go away

-If one lands on you slap him silly, their population will decrease with time, you may get bug guts on you though

-Try not to breath out carbon dioxide

-Carry cinnamon ferns and swat the flies with them while you run

I guarantee you that if you do all of this you will solve your problem of horseflies.

Glad to see we finally found a good use for that livestrong crap.

Baldy wrote:

Idiot. They are going to go for your head anyway - once they do, you want to attract them to the trap, not, say,your neck or some other tasty area. Make sense?

Make sense to add extra attractant to you so even more come your way than would have to begin with? Not really.

Sigh. Let me explain this in simple terms: The hat trap makes no difference in the number of flies that will jump out of the bushes toward your moving head. Once they are circling your head though, it's nice to have the trap there, once they land problem solved.

Maybe you prefer to have deer flies circle & land repeatedly on your head for 5 minutes trying to get a good bite; I can tell you from experience that the traps do a great job, typically you will hear a fly once then it is gone (stuck to the trap). As a bonus any fly your catch won't be there the next day.

It's important to know that DEET, which is in products like Deep Woods Off and Cutter, kills brain cells. Might not bother you now, but when you get older you might want some of those brain cells back so you can kill them with alcohol.

Also, DEET used with children can cause seizures. It's toxic to developing children.

Something to be aware of.

I wear a hat and just spray my hat. That seems to work for me. I'm going to try the white vinegar though.

Also to the OP, most places only have deer flies for part of the summer. In Michigan where I am, it is generally just July and August, then they are gone until next year. Knowing this can help keep you from getting discouraged.

Have fun tearing up the beautiful trails where you live.

The dryer sheets work really well on repelling biting flies.

I have a pack of foxhounds and the flies were eating on the hounds ears to the point that they were bleeding. I work with a lady that has a horse farm and I asked her what to use to repel and or kill biting flies. She told me about the dryer sheets so i tied one around each dogs collar where it would be between their ears. I tied them nearby them also and changed the ones on their collars every few days and in a week their ears had healed up. We also tie them on their dog houses and on limbs hanging near them.

If one is having a problem with the biting flies and doesn't have the sticky stuff yet I would for sure put a couple dryers sheet around my head and neck somehow. Just thought I would share this with the dog owner runners. BC

Thanks everyone! I am excited to try some of your tricks. My sister and I have been plagued by deer/horse flies for years and now I seemed to have moved into their breeding grounds.

I’ll let you know what works. I am now a Let’s Run junky. You were all very entertaining. This site is one of my husband’s favs but now it seems that he and I will be competing for screen time. Some of you are as vicious as the flies:) So Dumb. And others, hilarious! Truth. Thanks again everyone!

P.S. Have you ever tried passing a fly to a running partner??? Simply bend down lower than your mate, stop a second and then sprint away. The fly will seek them out as the higher/moving target. It’s sure to keep you entertained for miles. It’s also a great way to run a fartlek workout! What do think about that So Dumb:) ?

Yes you are def not a lone. Recently moved to the countryside. I’ve been running for years and never had an incident with horse flies until recently. Dang thing stayed with me the last half of my 3rd mile. It kept zipping all around my head. Barely made it back to my house without it landing on me. Just went for a jog today and the same thing happened. I sprayed so much deet bug spray and lemon grass essential oil and the bugger still came out.

why would anyone wanna put deep woods on the front side of their "sh1t"? and hopefully you're talking about in an external state...

Run with someone slower than you. They'll go after the weak link.

New book on ultrarunning ... Running with the Horseflies.

a guy wrote:

I've found that a dryer sheet in a hat or stuffed in my shorts has helped. There is something about the scent that the damn things hate.

That's correct.

Get a box of regular Bounce dryer sheets.

Open the sheet up all the way and safety pin it to the back of a running hat, so it hangs down over your neck and shoulder area. You can also put one on the back waistband of your shorts.

I've had numerous times where one comes flying at me I can hear it.. he makes one circle around me and then leaves and never returns.