Everyone has this problem.. right??

[mandelyn]

I eat too much garlic to be bothered by bugs.

We have the biting flies here too, but they pretty well leave me alone. I must not smell right to them! I started eating more garlic for mosquito control, cheaper than spraying half a bottle of poison all over myself just to step foot outside. Scrambled eggs get cheddar cheese and garlic, any noodle dish gets garlic, chili gets garlic... I was avoiding using the garlic dose hidden by peanut butter to see if just adding it to meals would help enough... it did. No bug wants me now!

 

[Q9]

Ugh. I HATE biting flies. Creepy thing happened once - I felt something on my shoulder, looked, and saw a HUGE fly of some sort chewing through my shirt. As in, I could see its mouth moving.

 

[Alicia G]

Oh I don't like those biting flies one bit! We have Deer flies, Moose flies, Mosquitoes, Black flies, No-see-ums, Ticks, well lets just say if it bites, we probably have it! And I LOVE my garlic, cook with all the time, doesn't do a thing! Maybe these bugs like garlic favored blood.

But where I live, there are a type of hornet that eat the bigger flies (moose flies and deer flies many) and they are some slick about it. I have a nest of these hornets (we call them bald hornets) and they are the only wasp/bee/hornet I am happy to have around. They do have the capability to sting, but there much more docile then the other types of hornets and they are pretty interesting to watch. Plus they will kill any other type other wasps nests around, so I don't really have to worry bout being stung all that much!

 

[Blackbird]

Thanks for the input everyone!

I use a baking soda and vinegar rinse for my hair, so shampoo isn't a problem.
I've been making laundry detergent for about two years and I'm also not big on applying sprays/lotions/ etc for health reasons, all the chemicals and so on. But thanks for those ideas..

I do, however, have lavender EO, so thanks for that idea!!

And yes E4S, Barry White. Ah huh..

 

[Chicky Monkey]

Quote:

Oh, man, I hope no one takes that seriously in THIS heat! Would love to see someone actually do this if it was cooler (one of those 'I dare ya' things).

 

[GableBabble]

I covered my whole head in vasiline once...ONCE.... took me a couple months to get my hair back to normal after that. Someone at my kids school had lice.

We have those deer fly things, gawd how I loathe them! We also have horseflies the cows bring up when they have small calves this time of year and stay near the barn.

After reading the first post I wondered if anyone ever noticed how they never seem to dislike anything. The flies I mean.

 

[annageckos]

Quote:
This works. I use mostly lavender and cedar oils mixed with water in a pump spray bottle. I am going to try out some new combos and see how they work (and smell). Thought I don't use as much oils as Chicky Monkey, I use about ten drops of each oil. I spray the mix on people and animals. Yesterday we took a walk into the woods, mosquitoes everywhere, didn't get bit once. And two ticks between three dogs and two people. I don't use any flea/tick chemicals on my dogs. I do feed them garlic. I have also heard one of the B vitamins is suppose to keep biting bugs away.

I just want to list some of oils for repelling bugs, anybody know of any others?

Lavender (I have been using this for years, works great. Also helps to sooth bites and rashes)
Cedar
eucalyptus
geranium
citronella
Lemon grass
Tea Tree (careful with this on and around cats, it can damage the liver if ingested. I am unsure of how much must be ingested to be toxic)
Catnip and other mints
Yarrow
Rosemary
Orange and lemon

I haven't tried all of there out yet. I can vouch for lavender and cedar. And garlic.

 

[rebel-rousing-at-night]

I've about had it out of those mean biting flies. It hurts terribly when they bite.

I bought some "natural" non deet CVS insect spray. It says you can spray your clothes and you have to do something cause I think those evil flies could bite me with a stainless steel armor suit.

Well anyway I sprayed myself the other night clothes and all. I could tell a huge improvement.

If the fly landed on me it got off quickly.

I thought I'm winning this battle now and can finally get some work done.

Well,I guess about everyone is in this heat wave now and we're no exception. After I had worked for an hour or so in this humidity with my " stinky NON DEET spray", I thought I would die from the over powering smell of that spray. My sweat must have made that spray 180 proof.

It was like someone had put me in a closed jar and sprayed me with that stinky stuff. It got so bad I had to peel my clothes off. I didn't want those stinky clothes in the house so I put them on the deck. I could smell them for days every time I opened the door.

Gotta get a new plan. Lowe's has a bug light that says it get those biting flies. I really didn't want to spend the money but I can't take those fumes from that spray so I plan to check on getting one.

BTW I had tried a couple of different EO and they didn't stop those evil flies.

 

[Keltara]

I'm pretty sure that the deer fly you're referring to are these?

Deer flies are painful biters that attack humans sometimes four or five at a time: their bites literally knife through the skin, and when done feeding, they can leave a bleeding wound as a calling card. And though there is no foolproof way to repel these vicious creatures, you CAN do something to "catch them' while on the attack and baymule was not too far off! If you have ever noticed, they tend to attack our heads like blackbird relayed. They are the most active and relentless on hot days with no wind. Well I'm here to tell you that there IS something you can do!!

This guy is hysterical and he's found a method!!
Go to this link: http://www.instructables.com/id/Deer-Fly-Traps/

Good Luck Merle!!!

 

[AhBee01]

I think this is the fly referred by the OP
STABLE FLY (Stomoxys calcitrans)

The stable fly is a about ¼-inch long and gray with four dark stripes on its thorax (behind the head). This fly looks like a house fly, except for the pointed proboscis beneath its head through which it sucks blood. They are most abundant in late summer and fall, and will fly several miles to bite livestock (hence the name), pets and people. They typically bite in early morning or late afternoon and often attack the ankles, inflicting a sharp, stabbing pain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stable_fly

We have them by the thousands right now, and didn't have so many till the neighbor spread out her manure! Can hardly swim in the afternoon, they are so bad!
We get them, but it has never been this bad!