Blackflies

[Alligator]

I would describe deer flies the same way gravityman does. Though I would include that their wings form a triangle, similar to those biting flies in the UP, while horse and house flies wings are more rounded forming a squished upside-down heart shape.

The triangle to the wings is a good description.

Besides the skeeters and blackflies, Maine also has deer flies. Many the day I would work in my garden and those bas&*&^ds would zero in on me. Once attracted, they also would not relent. They could even bite through my shirt!The best way to kill them was to stay still and wait for them to land. As they tipped up to bite that's when I would kill them. Too soon, and they would fly away. As a joke, I started called some of the largest ones "Moose flies".

Darn skeeters could bite through denim jeans.

But I love Maine and would move back there if only I could.

[Moon Monster]

This site shows pics of blackflies and horse/deer flies, among others.
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05582.pdf

This site shows a couple better photos of blackflies.
http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/livestock/bfly.htm

This site shows the difference between horse and deer flies.
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2115.html

Basically, deer are patterned. The deer flies I saw in Maine last July were green and usually went for the back of my neck, but they were very easy to feel and kill before they bit.

[tlbj6142]

Sure go out and find a picture and ruin our fun at trying to come up with the perfect descritpion of these buggars.

[3oz]

I hiked SOBO last year. I started June 10th and got killed by Blackflies. Blackflies need the standing water to be cool. Once the water get's warmer they can not hatch anymore, which is why you don't see them in the heat of the summer. I definately recomend hiking SOBO, but maybe start in July.

[attroll]

Yes this is pretty much what I thought. But I beg to differ with you DebW. I sure can feel a black fly when it bites me.

[chief]

black flies, horse flies, deer flies, biting gnats - all bite and all leave you itching, but none compare to pain suffered and welt resulting when bitten by the gulf coast's YELLOW FLY.

[steve hiker]

What about killer bees? I hear if you go out in the desert they congregate at water sources ansd will get you.

[Smooth03]

The bitch of it all with Blackflies is that as the season gets warmer they head for higher ground. So you wont have any problems with them at lower elevations but they'll run you off the peaks.
As someone put it: Blackflies work it 9-5 but Mosquitoes pimp it 24/7

[Icicle]

This is all well and good (scratching my arms and legs after reading these posts), but can you use DEET to deter them?

[Blue Jay]

This is all well and good (scratching my arms and legs after reading these posts), but can you use DEET to deter them?

It depends upon your body chemistry. Deet is like ketchup on a hot dog to Black Flies the few times I tried it.

[snowshoe]

Anything that flies and bits I can not stand. Thats why I prefere winter hiking. No bugs. Black flies are just nasty but at least they are not around all summer and the are only found farther North or at High Elevations. Deer flies or what I call shadow flies are around from mid summer on. They can get really bad in the Kittatinny mts and they have a really nasty bite but easy to kill. Horse flies I dont mind bacause it is usually only one that hangs around. Unlike the deer and Black fly were you ca get 20 or more at one time. House flies are just like gnats they dont bit but they dont go away either. Hope this cold weather sticks around. All this fly talk has got me itching and not looking forwad to summer.

[Blue Jay]

One good thing is that after about a thousand mosquito bites they no longer bother you. So if you get all of them in the spring you get the entire summer off. I'm not joking. I found this out while hiking in Mosquito Hell. I was so tired I sat dow at a shelter with my pack still on and fell asleep. I woke up covered in mosquitoes. This won't work with black flies because a thousand bites from them would kill you.