Flies?

How are the flies up around Howitt lately ?

[icefest]

It's not freezing anymore, therefore there will be flies if the weather is warm.

Like every year.

I spoke to a ranger who said they were awful this year.

My usual rule in this respect is to not go walking if temp mins are 5C or above. I'd rather lick a cheese grater than spend a week amongst horse flies.

[north-north-west]

I spoke to a ranger who said they were awful this year.

My usual rule in this respect is to not go walking if temp mins are 5C or above. I'd rather lick a cheese grater than spend a week amongst horse flies.

As long as you keep all your skin covered and don't stop moving (preferably doing a minimum speed of 10kmh) they aren't a problem.

[Strider]

10km/h is a fast trot!

[walkerchris77]

I had a friend tell me there were to many flies where we were camping. I asked him how many did he think was an acceptable amount.

[north-north-west]

10km/h is a fast trot!

Yep. They're at their worst in the evening of a warm day. You have to jog to keep the buggers from settling on you. Or hide.

[vicrev]

Never seen them as bad this early ....... ..........I might try walking backwards might confuse them ...

Yeh vicrev, they've caught me out. I normally walk fly-free in early Nov but surprise surprise, cumulative carbon emissions and an El Nino combine to give us a taste of our future.

We should've gone walking earlier this year, we need to change. Next year I'll be considering early October.

I know soon I'll not be bushwalking any longer.

[walkon]

Yeah I don't go into the Bush when there are flies either or birds cause they wake me up in the morning or trees cause they make noise in the wind or places where the track isn't ashphalted and there aren't any tent platforms cause I don't want to get my gear dirty. .....

should rename website
Www.bushwalkwhennofliesareout.com

[wildlight]

Does anybody wear a head net these days? Mine's a standard inclusion on every walk, it also provides a bit of a neutral-density tint to the world in bright conditions. I carry a little spray can of DEET, haven't had to use it in years.

Cheers
WildLight

[neilmny]

Yeh vicrev, they've caught me out. I normally walk fly-free in early Nov but surprise surprise, cumulative carbon emissions and an El Nino combine to give us a taste of our future.

We should've gone walking earlier this year, we need to change. Next year I'll be considering early October.

I know soon I'll not be bushwalking any longer.

Sad reason for chucking it in, maybe a fly net?........if they bother you that much.
I don't quite understand the connection between cumulative carbon emissions, El Nino and fly numbers.
There was millions of the buggers around in the 60's when I was kid and always has been.

[Xplora]

We use a natural product which you can buy at most horse supplies and some camping stores. It now comes in a roll on for people. The camping store in Bright sells it and it does reduce the numbers around your face but it is not perfect. The little bush flies are more of a problem when you flail your arms around to get rid of them. Let them settle and they are happy. Walking on windy days helps. Have not had any March flies as yet. DEET is dangerous BTW. Have you seen what it does to plastic and read the warnings on the bottle. Also does nothing to repel flies. Once the the sun goes down the mozzies come out and you can melt them and yourself with the DEET.

[Strider]

We use a natural product which you can buy at most horse supplies and some camping stores. It now comes in a roll on for people.

What is it called?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Well Walkon you lot can enjoy your horsefies; there'll be plenty for you this year.

Wilight I find the incessant heavy buzzing as the buggers cut laps around you the most tiring aspect.

Neilmny as the mean temperature increases the frequency of warm nights increases and the frequency of days with horse flies increases. I've found over the decades that if I confine my walking to periods when temp mins are less than 5C then the days are absent of horse flies. Instant relief.

Anyhow I'll stick to licking my cheese grater at home instead of spending days amongst that buzzing insanity for the time being. Enjoy your flies.

Strange how a simple question can prompt such emotional replies. I wonder why?

[icefest]

Strange how a simple question can prompt such emotional replies. I wonder why?

You wonder why?
Well. You asked a question, got a couple of answers, and then told us that you already had the answer and that you just want to teach us a lesson.

I've found over the decades that if I confine my walking to periods when temp mins are less than 5C then the days are absent of horse flies. Instant relief.

Why ask the question when you already know the answer?
If it's a discussion you want, then ask: "Has anyone else found that the horseflies in the high country only really start getting bad when the daily min is above 5C? I personally just stay at home then to avoid their buzzing."

[Xplora]

Strider - I had to go up to the car the get it otherwise I would have named it. Sorry. It is called Nature's Botanical and it is Rosemary and Cedarwood oils. We use it on the horses in a cream form. Had to put some on this morning when we went out for a bunny shoot. It is not 100% but it does reduce the swarming. It would be great if someone put it in a sunscreen as well. Ozzy made too. Wish I had some yesterday on BHP. Forgot to take it. Hate it when the buggers get caught between your eye and your sunglass lens and they are not very tasty either.

Oh, that's how you manage 3470 posts.

Strange how a simple question can prompt such emotional replies. I wonder why?

You wonder why?
Well. You asked a question, got a couple of answers, and then told us that you already had the answer and that you just want to teach us a lesson.

I've found over the decades that if I confine my walking to periods when temp mins are less than 5C then the days are absent of horse flies. Instant relief.

Why ask the question when you already know the answer?
If it's a discussion you want, then ask: "Has anyone else found that the horseflies in the high country only really start getting bad when the daily min is above 5C? I personally just stay at home then to avoid their buzzing."

[neilmny]

wshane,
Where do you walk?
I was in the Vic Alps on Monday and didn't even see a horse fly.
The odd blowy and various other flying critters but no horse flies.
Please note there is zero of emotion in this reply or any previous, I really couldn't give a rats if you chuck it in.
Just thought I'd offer an idea to keep you walking.

[icefest]

I never realised there were so many name for all these flies. Apparently (wiki says so at least) the march (not marsh) fly is the same as a Horse fly (at least in Australia). Blow flies are any flies whose larvae infect animal carcasses.

Anyway, I can now say that I saw a couple of horse/march flies on Howitt last weekend (and craploads of house flies). They dissappear in the wind and at night though.

[neilmny]

I never realised there were so many name for all these flies. Apparently (wiki says so at least) the march (not marsh) fly is the same as a Horse fly (at least in Australia). Blow flies are any flies whose larvae infect animal carcasses.

Anyway, I can now say that I saw a couple of horse/march flies on Howitt last weekend (and craploads of house flies). They dissappear in the wind and at night though.

Being an OF I've always known them as March flies.......ever since being attacked on Rye Back beach as a little tacker anyway.
Just thought it was easier to follow suit on the horse flies with my comments.
At least they are slow to fly off and easy to smack............some kind of Kharma for there nastiness perhaps

[MickyB]

I always thought horse flies were the small buggers that formed gangs containing hundreds of them are are nearly always seen on farms.

[neilmny]

I always thought horse flies were the small buggers that formed gangs containing hundreds of them are are nearly always seen on farms.

Since I was a kid I've known those ones as bush flies........

Last edited by neilmny on Thu 12 Nov, 2015 9:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Travis22]

Almost no flies out over cup weekend in the Viking wilderness area.

The torrential rain might have helped keep them at bay

Heard a pack if wild dogs howling in the middle of the day in the gully between Howitt and the Cross Cut and saw a large wild dog coming back out to the carpark on the Monday afternoon.

Travis.

[Travis22]

It is called Nature's Botanical and it is Rosemary and Cedarwood oils.

We use this stuff too, and usually take a bottle of Vanilla Mozi for the bubs.

Travis.

[north-north-west]

I never realised there were so many name for all these flies. Apparently (wiki says so at least) the march (not marsh) fly is the same as a Horse fly (at least in Australia).

Well, wiki is not entirely right.
The generic colloquial name is 'March Fly'. This is a corruption of 'Marsh Fly', and it covers two major types of large bloodsucking flies: the smaller, faster, darker, leaner and nastier Marsh Fly (which, as its name suggests, prefers to hang around damper areas), and the larger, slower and far more prevalent Horse Fly.
Both are to be avoided as though they were mobile scoparia.

[Happy Pirate]

DEET is dangerous BTW. Have you seen what it does to plastic and read the warnings on the bottle.

Actually it's not the DEET that dissolves plastic but the alcohol base the DEET is mixed in. No more dangerous than hand sanitiser.

[icefest]

DEET is dangerous BTW. Have you seen what it does to plastic and read the warnings on the bottle.

Actually it's not the DEET that dissolves plastic but the alcohol base the DEET is mixed in. No more dangerous than hand sanitiser.

Actually it is the DEET that is a solvent. It's a similar molecule to toluene.
http://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/chemical/20199

N,N-DIETHYL-M-TOLUAMIDE is incompatible with strong acids, strong bases and strong oxidizing agents. It hydrolyzes slowly in the presence of water. It has a solvent effect on most plastics, paints, and varnishes. It is also incompatible with rayon, acetate or dynel clothing. (NTP, 1992)

[GPSGuided]

Question. Where do flies go at night? I want to ambush their nest.

[MartyGwynne]

They usually go to my bedroom and buzz around for hours till I get sick of them and then take drastic action against them.