we are new great lakes sailors (lake Erie) how do we deal with all the flies that bite like a bunch of zombies? insect repellant- two kinds - are totally inefective. They can totally ruin a great time sailing.
great lakes flies
- Thread starter gbrian
- Start date
We've taken to keeping a fly swatter in the cockpit, but there has to be a better way!
Sail faster perhaps!
Sail faster perhaps!
my recipe: flys like color, i were all white. long sleave white shirt, painters pants white socks, soaked in deet, white sun hat. no purfume, ever. i always carry yard guard and fog the side of the boat as well. during a race they can by a huge distraction to concentration. there seams to be a season to them. some years they are awful while other years you don't see them at all. i've seen them turn white sails black. buy fly swatters by the dozens.
also mayflys can show up in the billions.
i easily have 20 swatters on the boat, every body gets one when they are bad. fogging the sides of the boat and transom with raid.
also mayflys can show up in the billions.
i easily have 20 swatters on the boat, every body gets one when they are bad. fogging the sides of the boat and transom with raid.
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About once a year about this time, we have this discussion normally using the term "black flies". Last year, we titled it "Lake Superior sailors". Give it a search, but there are no answers there. The short version (TL;DR) - there is nothing to repel them, but a fly swatter will kill them. They seem to be worst in the spring when the females are looking for a blood meal to give them enough protein for egg laying, so it will get better. They do not fly fast, so sailing in higher winds should deter them. Get your feet out of the cockpit and stay out of non-screened cabins too as they congregate in low-wind areas. I've used the fogger-type of bug spray when at anchor, but it blows away quickly so useless when moving.
Deet is just a fly attractant. I have heard catnip oil is suppose to be effective. I tried some last year and it seemed to work OK but doesn't last long so you have to re-apply every 30 minutes or so. Fly swatter is essential equipment. This winter I found a 'salt gun' which is a pump action air gun that shoots a blast of table salt. It has a short effective range of about 6 inches but does work. Catnip oil (see local pet store) is good because if you ingest some, no big deal. Only side effect is you may start licking the back of your hand and rubbing your ears. The salt gun isn't dangerous. You can shoot yourself in the hand point blank and all you get is a mild sting of the salt bouncing off your hand. If you get some in some food or drink, no big deal.
Had the Black flies hit us in the Mills Race this year in western Lake Erie. The first time I've encountered them in 30 years of sailing the race. Skin Sensations with Deet works o'k. One of the crew had Burts Bees herbal insect repellent that worked well on my ankles. Black flies seem to proliferate in light air and in the cockpit. They will bite through cotton and wool but not nylon. Jeans, poylester long sleeve shirts, nylon socks, leather shoes all work to help you from being bitten.
i have a formula ocean racer for the calm days and they come aboard that boat as well. yard guard, white clothes, one swatter per hand is the best i have come up with. no perfume. no fabric softener
the best i have ever achieved is seven in one swat. i know a fellow that got eleven in one swat but he made up a sugar water solution to get them to congregate. i saw that as cheating
Forgot about the "Mexican Flytrap" solution for the cabin (Not really a flytrap). Learned about these doing the Chicago Mac race. Works in cabin daylight hours. I thought it was a joke when I first saw them but they do work. You take 2 clear baggies and fill them 2/3rd full with water. You tie a string around them and hang one each from an interior handrail at the height of the cabin port light. There is some science behind this. http://lifehacker.com/5308039/repel-flies-with-a-bag-of-water
I was highly skeptical but it does work in the cabin.
I was highly skeptical but it does work in the cabin.
the worst place for biting black flys is off harbor beach michigan when the wind is out of the west. someone once said they have a suger beet processing plant there that made them worse.
once on a chicago mac race in the middle and once near chambers island in green bay were my worst encounters ever. but every time we sailed past harbor beach it was bad. that is in the summer
once on a chicago mac race in the middle and once near chambers island in green bay were my worst encounters ever. but every time we sailed past harbor beach it was bad. that is in the summer
......... oh yeah, then when you go up to the north channel / georian bay the mosquitos at dusk are truely unbearable. then you take a walk on a nice wilderness beach up there and it chiggers like you have never imagined. healthy biology in the wild ain't always fun
"Lord in his wisdom made the fly, and then forgot to tell us why" Ogdan Nash
Mao, leader of china, had a fly eradication program that work so well, but all sorts of new problems that were worst developed. they clean up the dead things
Mao, leader of china, had a fly eradication program that work so well, but all sorts of new problems that were worst developed. they clean up the dead things
Though not a remedy, this has worked for us in the right conditions. Lake Ontario also has the crazy flies, on one crossing my wife and I wanted to eat our lunch, but we were the lunch! With Auto-pilot on and sailing in very nice winds, I went to the bow and....no flies. None, even though the cockpit had hundreds. We ate lunch under the headsail and never saw a fly. We have done this a couple of times now...most crossings are fly-free but it is nasty when they are around. What do they live on 10 miles from any shoreline......and how do they find us???
Cheers
Cheers
someone reported here before, scope mouthwash half and half with water. in mist bottle. i tried this year and it worked!!!!!!
they would land on legs and ankles but would fly away!
mike
they would land on legs and ankles but would fly away!
mike
Those flies are cannibals! They smell the blood of the dead ones accumulating in the cockpit and come in to feed on the corpses! Unfortunately they cant differentiate dead buddies from human flesh. They only attack your ankles when both hands are occupied doing something urgent on the boat.
( my theory and I'm sticking to it)
( my theory and I'm sticking to it)
Come on, this can't be true. Are you people trying to keep us from sailing up there? 'Cause I'd like to, but you're scaring me.