Help with getting rid of Deer flys

[MossflowerWoods]

Mossflower, when we bought, our property was mostly Alder, Cedar Bog, and blackberrys. Clearing a flight path for the birds, down the center about 20 yards wide was the first thing we did... At dusk, it is great to watch all the bats flying around, and eating everything that they can find before expanding out to find more prey. Spent many an eve, sitting in the back yard watching them eating all the mosseys, instead of them eating me...

Pete,

That is really nice.

I get bats and a good amount of birds at the house, but not so much up at the pasture. The long easment gravel drive is narrow and heavily treed. and I am surrounded by treed acreage on all other sides.

Seems I need to widen the clearings around the driveway to get more birds up there...

I also need to find the good cheap bat house plans.

Thanks,
David

 

[rswyan]

I also need to find the good cheap bat house plans.

Ask and you shall receive :

Bat Conservation International: Free Bat House Plans

 

[deezler]

UmbrellaGirl, are you still following this thread? I'd love to see an update on your blog about fly catches since July 6th!

You say on your blog that the deer fly "season" is typically about 8 weeks? Meaning every year it has rather consistently ended 8 weeks after it began, or is that more of an average value? Does the season end more when cooler temps come in (say, early September)? So, might the earlier start this year lead to a longer overall season?

Hoping for an end to this insanity soon! I mean, the blue cup hat is still working, but what a PIA. I need to get a team of volunteers helping me out on my land for fence and pole barn installation ASAP, and the thought of everyone having to don a silly cup hat just to stay un-eaten is rather silly.

 

[tuerdon]

I use an electric fly swatter for the little buggers. The "Eliminator" packs a punch and is quite effective at keeping them at bay.

 

[UmbrellaGirl]

Hello deezler: Yep, I'm still following this thread. Been having problems logging in, but now I'm in.

I'll be updating my blog soon, but I'll tell you now that I've trapped an additional 3,000 deer flies since July 6, making the total so far this season 12,500. The deer fly season in our part of Michigan typically runs mid-late June to mid-late August. It got started a bit early, so I expect it will end a bit early .... for a total of 8 weeks. The 8 weeks is darn consistent from one year to another, regardless of how many deer flies or when exactly they start appearing. The numbers are certainly already on the decline, as this past week I have "only" trapped 150-250 deer flies each day. I, too, am looking forward to the end of this madness. Hopefully for sure by August 1.

 

[deezler]

Great, thanks!

How many years have you been living in the woods of Livingston county, and collecting data now?

I wonder if the recent rains will rejuvenate your local populations.

I will note also, as anecdotal info, that my last venture out onto my property last Saturday, with a blue-solo cup hat, caught noticeably fewer flies than in late June.

Cheers to our impending outdoor freedom :drink:

 

[rekees4300]

caught noticeably fewer flies than in late June.

Same here in SE Indiana. The season seems to be ending. Past few days have gone unprotected (used the last patch) and only bitten once. See very few and they seem sluggish. Will postpone purchase of Tanglefoot and more patches until next year. :umbrella-guy:

 

[tuerdon]

Make them pay

 

[UmbrellaGirl]

How many years have you been living in the woods of Livingston county, and collecting data now?

We've been living here for 22 years and have always had deer flies. This is the first year that I've been serious about trapping them. I put the umbrella trap together late in the deer fly season of 2010. I used it only a few times in 2011. But this year I decided to be serious, so it's the first year I'm going out there every day and collecting real data. I will be doing this for now on and will continue to collect data each year. I'm wondering if my efforts will affect the number of deer flies in future years around here. I kind of doubt it, but it will be interesting to see. I will let the data speak for itself.

 

[UmbrellaGirl]

:umbrella-guy:

Nice smiley icon!!!! I'll have to start using that!!