Forums >General Running>Anyone have any good strategies for dealing with horse flies?
#artbydmcbride
pet gecko?
Runners run
I am 100% serious on the dryer sheets by the way. In Wisconsin, July trail running is nasty with horse flies. If I forget they can follow me for a mile. If I remember to pin a dryer sheet they still fly around me a bit... but they don't get close enough to bite.
it works.
enlist a squadron of horse guard wasps to accompany you on your runs.
they're the horse fly's arch-enemy.
My leg won't stop mooing.
i think i've got a calf injury.
Doesn't seem to help up here in New Hampshire; I eat copious quantities of garlic (I ate some of my Lemon Garlic Pasta last night which has like four or five raw crushed cloves per serving), doesn't faze the little bastards a bit.
Maybe it wasn't the garlic that did it for me then. Maybe it was just me that they didn't like!
Running the 2016 Boston Marathon for Children's Hospital
not bad for mile 25
Slip of the eye. I saw pit gecko.
A gecko in your pits?
No, silly, like a pit bull, a pit gecko is a ferocious and tenacious lizard that unrelentingly consumes horse flies before you're even aware they're in your bubble. Not that a pit bull does that, exactly.
Get a horse (classic deflection).
tomatolover
those buggers are RELENTLESS and PERSONAL (i.e. repetitive strikes on the 1st person they bite) I still have horsefly nightmares from a camping trip 15 years ago.
Labrat
I get a REALLY bad reaction to horse fly bites (haven't been hospitalized yet, but it has been close a few times), thankfully they aren't that common round here.
I used to use Tea Tree oil in the UK, when it was more of an issue for me. It wasn't 100% but enough to send them to folks around me rather than me. I'll take that.
5K 20:23 (Vdot 48.7) 9/9/17
10K 44:06 (Vdot 46.3) 3/11/17
HM 1:33:48 (Vdot 48.6) 11/11/17
FM 4:13:43 (Vdot 35.4) 3/4/18
Buzz Off treated hats and running shirts.
http://www.treehugger.com/style/catch-a-buzzzzz-insect-proof-clothing-off-the-rack.html
It helps to wear bright colored clothing. Bugs will spot large moving dark or mid-toned objects, but seem to not notice bright orange stuff. It helps cut down the numbers.
Proboscis Colossus
I had typed up a longer reply, but for some reason, it didn't post.
Long and short of it was:
Thanks for the replies, everyone!
I've been wearing a hat, but it gets slick with sweat, which seems to make it even more tasty.
Dive-bombing...second-worst part. Worst part is when you suddenly don't see them and you know they've landed and are about to sting.
"God guides us on our journey, but careful with those feet." - David Lee Roth, of all people
I am 100% serious on the dryer sheets by the way. In Wisconsin, July trail running is nasty with horse flies. If I forget they can follow me for a mile. If I remember to pin a dryer sheet they still fly around me a bit... but they don't get close enough to bite. it works.
sorry if i missed something but is there a brand that works better...what brand are you using?
In order to see the truth, sometimes you have to loose an eye.
http://www.runningahead.com/groups/Utri/
Prince of Fatness
Have not had issues with horseflies while running, but used to in my old golfing days. I used to keep a thing of Skin So Soft roll on in my golf bag. It worked pretty good. As a side benefit I smelled pretty.
I think that Avon actually makes a Skin So Soft bug repellant now.
Not at it at all.