I'm a PA hiker headed to the Daks for the last week of June. Will the black flies still be out in force at that point in time? I recall those verocious little buggers on one trip in the past, and I want to be better prepared this time.
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Last edited by bigkelt12; 06-11-2006, 05:57 AM. -
Welcome to the forum, bigkelt12! It's really anyone's guess as to when the flies end. Typically (though flies have been known to defy tradition) they ease up during the first week in July, so I would come prepared. Weather on any given day can make all the difference. -
Extremes in weather sometimes makes their stay a short one. Maybe all this rain will help. Normally, rain makes them worse for the short term, but this much rain should work to our benefit. Last year there were hardly any black flies in the Eastern Region....it was also very wet. We'll see.Comment
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I've spent many a trip going down the Oswegatchie 4th of July week when they were horrible. Typically I figure by the second week in July it is hot enough that you wont notice the black flies anymore, maybe because they've died, but can't really tell because the deer flies are so bad by then.Originally posted by bigkelt12
Honestly I would never count on the black flies being gone before well into July."Now I see the secret of making the best person, it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth." -Walt WhitmanComment
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I have a worse time fending off those darn deer flies than the blackflies
....those suckers are extremely diligent and don`t give up bombing you...also, repellants don`t seem to work on them either...cause they fly around you at a distance then jump you when you are not paying attention...quite annoying...I`ve seen a cloud of them around my nephew when we were way back in a beaver dam flow one late June!!! 
He remained calm and did`nt let them bother him...hes a great guy 
.I would have to take some swings at them...never seen that many around somebody before...kinda scary!!! .......they usually start arriving in earnest the first good heatwave....I saw quite a few this past friday....Oh....I gotta mention a really strange thing...Upon reaching my truck at the end of my day friday....one side of my silver truck was covered with good-sized horseflies....not deerflies...they were just sitting all over the rightside of the truck...kind of like absorbing heat from the sun or somethin`....but,there was sun out .....anyway,I was able to go around to the drivers side and get in without disturbing them and catching wind of my stinky,sweaty body... 
When I started the truck they took off ...kind of reminded me of the ol` movie "The Birds"!!! 
Wb"Get your mind off trout,if you can.I know they`ve got you.I can see it. Every fraternity of sufferers knows its brothers.Trout hook men;men don`t hook trout.Better try and throw the hook while you can.By the time you`re a grown man there probably won`t be a pure trout healthy enough to fiddle with"... Quote from Emerson in the book "The Earth Is Enough"by Harry MiddletonComment
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I agree, WB. Deer flies and mosquitoes are much bigger pains in my opinion.Comment
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I'd take 5 leeches over one Deerfly. Or 10 Blackfly for one Horsefly. Mosquitoes are pesky, but they do respond well to repellant.Comment
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I'm impressed that you have calculated the pest exchange rate. would you trade a week of Giardia for a lifetime without bugbites?He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen came into his dreams.Comment
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I`ll answer that one if you don`t mind... "Never!!!!" 
"Get your mind off trout,if you can.I know they`ve got you.I can see it. Every fraternity of sufferers knows its brothers.Trout hook men;men don`t hook trout.Better try and throw the hook while you can.By the time you`re a grown man there probably won`t be a pure trout healthy enough to fiddle with"... Quote from Emerson in the book "The Earth Is Enough"by Harry MiddletonComment
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Yes.Originally posted by hobbitling-Rob
There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot. - Steven WrightComment
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Excellent question. A Lifetime without bugbites. Wow. I've not experienced Giardia directly, but have witnessed its effects. Also other nasty intestinal stuff. Giardia is not terribly long-term, but sure is ugly. If I could have that week, say, someplace nice, with easy access to plenty of water and bathroom, it would be seriously tempting as a fair trade.Originally posted by hobbitling
This should be a poll question.Comment
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A buddy of mine came out for a June trip a number of years ago. We started at ADK Loj, through Indian Pass, up Calamity brook to Lake Colden. Climbed Haystack, Marcy, Colden and some others. Great trip.Originally posted by bigkelt12
Where ever we went, he had about 50 times more blackflies around him than the rest of us. He even hiked with a headnet. They seemed to sense they were driving him nuts and gave him special attention. He never returned to the Daks, even for a fall trip. His wife claims he still has nightmares about them sometimes. HA!
I guess in his case, blackfly season NEVER ends!Comment
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My daughter and I hiked up Round Mtn. late last June on a very humid morning...bugs were every where .....for me,that is ....I was the pace setter...and she kept telling me Dad,don`t stop ,because theres a huge swarm of bugs right behind you!!! 
...when I stopped for a water break...I was swarmed ...she laughed...cause very few bothered her....very similar story as yours...it was even worse on the way down....every bug was up with the temp. rising in late morning... deer flies,mosquitos and blackflies...she laughed all the way down as I kicked it into high gear...I could feel them breathing down my neck...I started drinking the platypus I had in my daypack, and drinking from the extended tube allowed me to keep moving along at a fast pace...might`ve been what I hate or drank the night before... 
Wb"Get your mind off trout,if you can.I know they`ve got you.I can see it. Every fraternity of sufferers knows its brothers.Trout hook men;men don`t hook trout.Better try and throw the hook while you can.By the time you`re a grown man there probably won`t be a pure trout healthy enough to fiddle with"... Quote from Emerson in the book "The Earth Is Enough"by Harry MiddletonComment
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What is the life span of a blackfly? I hear less than 72 hours.But this seems irrelevent when they swarm around you! My sons seem to think a small bonfire at campgrounds that have a firepit and allow campfires helps keep them at a distance.My husband wants to de-leg the critters and watch them suffer as we have had too! ps Bugs are here to stay.... LooncryComment
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