Horse fly chased me for almost 2 miles today

This happened to me a lot when I did runsin wooded areas (in north Florida). Bug spray usually worked, but they still went after me sometimes. They don't attack as much when it's dryer out I believe (no sight of them during fall/winter). Maybe just avoid the forest when it's wet from rain.

Based on your pace, what could the horsefly do for a 5K?

deep woods off keeps them away for the most part

Budyaver seen an elephant fly?

Horse flys can fly around 90mph so gonne be pretty tough to outrun! Not sure they can sustain that for 5K though :)

As a resident of North Florida for the last 24 years, I can assure you that you were chased not by a horsefly, but by a deerfly (also called yellow fly). Not that it makes your situation any better. They can't fly 90 miles per hour (more like 20ish, but that's plenty fast enough to keep up with a distance runner). They're attracted to movement and dark colors, hence it attacking your head. Unfortunately, they are omnipresent in all wooded areas between May and September.

Wearing bug spray might work, but it feels like you're wearing a sticky, tight, full-body shirt. I always feel a little ill if I try to run while wearing bug spray. Your best bet is to either avoid the woods or run with other people. You can't really outrun them, though they usually give up after biting you a couple times over a quarter mile. Another option is to carry a t-shirt and swat your back and shoulders like a horse swishing its tail. Bottom line: they suck and make running in the woods miserable during the summer.

You must have no hand eye coordination. Swat that fool.

I used to deal with those F'ers up in MD. Was a great trail to run on except for those things.

coco2 wrote:

I used to deal with those F'ers up in MD. Was a great trail to run on except for those things.

Same deal around here. Get a white hat - maybe one with the flaps in the back that hang over your neck.

Add a t-shirt, or long sleeve shirt if you can handle the heat.

Then just get used to the buzzing. They are a huge pain.

up here in PA I notice they only go after you when you start sweating. so just dont sweat.

Canuckster wrote:

Same deal around here. Get a white hat - maybe one with the flaps in the back that hang over your neck.

I have the same problem here in the summer. A simple running hat made a huge difference for me. Those damn things can get relentless and really ruin a good trail run.

Those little pricks hurt like a mother - they must secret some type of anesthetic saliva or something, because you don't feel the little f***ers on your back until they're pulling out and it's too late.

I've managed to smash one after it's filled its belly with my blood, only to have my blood smatter all over me along with smushed deer fly.

2 miles seems like a long way to fly without stopping.

I thought they landed often.

X-Runner wrote:

2 miles seems like a long way to fly without stopping.

I thought they landed often.

They will land often - on your head. Two miles is nothing for those things. They will stay with your for an hour run - or be replaced by others along the way.

I live in Mississippi and I have been tormented by horse flies and deer flies for well over five years and it's not just when I go outside to walk. Six months out of the year I pull into my driveway and turn my car off at the end of the day. As I am getting my things together to go inside, I hear pecks on the windows around the outside of my car. Guess who? They wait for me to get out and head for the house and swarm me every time. Same thing happens in the mornings. I don't live in a wet swampy area and there aren't and horses or livestock for at least a mile in any direction.

Humidity undoubtedly doesn't play a role in their activity either as we have not had any rain for about two weeks and the current humidity is 30%. Very unusual for Mississippi. I bring that up because I was just chased an hour ago during my walk in a local city park. Of course they were bouncing off my car windows when I got back home too and nearly got indoors with me. My neighbors probably think I'm a lunatic with my arms flailing in the air between the car and the front door.

I came across a .pdf file on horse flies and deer flies that I thought was helpful. I am yet to try the methods for getting rid of them.

http://www.tennessee.gov/environment/tn_consv/archive/flies.pdf

Those things are so much faster than regular flies. I had the same problem in the mountains of Washington one summer. They would lock on and annoy me for at least a mile every time. There wasn't much I could do about them. I just would swat around if I ever heard them stop buzzing or felt them land on me.

The best way to avoid the little buggers from getting into your hair is to shave your head or at least get a crew cut.

They always say those things like dung and sugar, and I doubt your sugar.

I was chased by a pheasant on my trail run Saturday. It scared the sh*t out of me.