Definitely the hat with neck flaps and some trednot so they stick if they land on the hat. Works really well. The tanglefoot prob works the same.
Definitely the hat with neck flaps and some trednot so they stick if they land on the hat. Works really well. The tanglefoot prob works the same.
Reminds me of my first run at Jamestown VA a few Junes ago. The road alternates between forest and open swamp - the open areas were OK, the forested ones were miserable. I ran with my arms flailing like a helicopter\'s rotor blades. Changed routes after that experience!
Horse flies...just another reason the East Coast sucks. Here in the SF Bay area there basically are no bugs...no need for screens on the windows. And bug spray? I'm not even sure if they sell it here...again, no need.
Carry some chopsticks.
What I've found to work is to stop, raise one hand above your head, wait for the stupid thing to land, and then swat it dead. For some reason they like to land on the highest point of your body (hence often your head), so they sometimes will go for a raised hand. Sounds (and looks) stupid, but it often works.
On holiday in Spain, I viewed distant hills through binoculars and saw some excellent trails up and down them.
Couldn’t make out what those tiny white dots along side some of them were though.
When I reached there and was running between them, I found the ‘dots’ were beehives!
As someone else mentioned, I ran on through them with my arms waving like helicopter rotor blades, but Spanish bees are very aggressive.
Turned out to be a godsend as the first person I met getting back to the hotel was a very attractive Czechoslovakian tourist, I’d been dying to get acquainted with.
She laid me on a sun-bed and spent an hour or so, plucking the bee stings from all over my body - and as I discovered - what a perfect way to become introduced to a concerned and compassionate, stunningly available female.
Rid yourself of fragrances. You may even have to take a shower before you run. Dont use soap, shaving cream, hair oil, under arm deoderent, etc. etc.
For some reason, this year is the worst one for Horseflies in the last ten that I've lived in the South!!! The mosquitoes aren't that bad right now but there are at least five times as many noticeable biting flies as usual. Maybe because it is hot earlier than usual this year???
Wearing a hat with flaps helps and so does DEET but neither totally prevents them from getting to you. I stay out of the woods during peak times.
Horseflies are extremely satisfying to kill. They go for your head or calves and are stupid--although with incredible instincts. The best way I've found to lure them in is to slow down, continue on your vector while slowly rotating 180 degrees. When you almost come to a complete stop, they will take that as an invitation to land. SLAP! You got them except a direct hit may or may not actually phase them. Those buggers are TOUGH!
Alternatively, if you have a buddy to run with (that you feel comfortable slapping and who you trust not to take advantage of doing so, ha!), you can take turns picking them off each other while running. This doesn't work if they are thick since you'll get bitten while you're in "hunt" mode.
My kid's trampoline is a great horsefly catcher. For some reason, they fly into the net, get stuck halfway though then we have fun plucking the wings and torturing them instead of the other way around.
Bizzare.....
The first time i can remember in YEARS it's happened to me on last 2 runs in upstate NY..!!!
Covered 2.5 miles before i let the little shit land and i smacked him.[he'd bitten me twice already]
From a distance i'm sure i looked liked a runner possessed swinging my hands over my head every 2 sec..ughhhh.
those bastards are pesky. Deal with them all the time on the trails. They are like little dive bombers. I've had one stay with me for an entire 6 mile loop before, no joke. They are huge, aggressive and I hate them. One time one of the smaller guys in our group got carried off by one. I made that last part up. But the rest is true.
I run in upstate new york and they suck between mid-june and august. I run a lot on a very shaded bike path or trails near by and they can be pretty bad. Personally what drives me crazy is that you have one flying around your head for a few miles and then you slap at your back relentlessly for the next few miles as you are almost certain you felt it land. Pace changes dont really help, I did a progression run last week and I had 2 all over me and by the end ran an 11:00 2-mile and they still were right with me. I have found the best way to avoid them is that they dont like sunlight (if you leave the heavily wooded areas they will leave you alone) and they also are worse in the early morning and evening.
Up in Connecticut I was chased for a quarter mile or so by one fly while out cycling. It had no trouble keeping up with me at 16mph, which is sub 4 pace.
So much hate here. They're just there to help you run faster and get the most out of your training.
I run under a few low branches if possible and it seems to lose them.
Bring war, not whining, you pansy.
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You are a horses ass
I've recently started to encounter deerflies (or whatever they are) during my runs through the woods here in Mississippi. They piss me off. But usually there's just one that sticks with you. One way to deal with them is to directly confront them. Stop and spin to face the fly that's pursuing you. Start thinking like a martial artist out for the kill. Let your reflexes become laser-sharp. Spin, turn, slap, SEE the fly. Then strike out with both hands and clap/slap the f--ker dead.
I killed two big flies like that yesterday. One of them I only got with one hand but he was stunned and rolled into the dirt. I stomped him before he could regain his footing. I slapped a third fly away and he never came back.
There's nothing more satisfying them striking back with the force of God and letting them know who's boss!
I run in the woods around Thacker mountain in Oxford, Mississippi, and would MUCH rather have the flies come after me than the ticks--a tick bite put me in the hospital last year for a week. The same night they moved me to ICU a guy in the next room died from Rocky Mountain Spotted fever. All it takes is one bite from an infected tick.
kudzurunner wrote:
I've recently started to encounter deerflies (or whatever they are) during my runs through the woods here in Mississippi.
Thanks to mosquitos, I ran my fastest 5k ever.
My brother and I went out for a 10k in the Rouge Valley Park outside Toronto. We went 5k by the river, and stopped for a second to talk about how great the run was, when we got swarmed by a cloud of mosquitos. The sun had just gone down.
We ran about 200m, and found that we were still surrounded--maybe not by the same ones. They were EVERYWHERE. Running at our "normal" pace didn't help at all--they were still able to land. We floored it back to the car--it was GREAT! Fastest 5k I ever ran.
local man wrote:
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).
I'm curious, local man. I am a 30 year resident of north florida and I wonder how you can assure this person that he was not chased by a horsefly and was instead chased by a deerfly. He never said it was yellow. I've been bitten by both more times than I can count. I've been pursued by both many times.