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Welcome to “Bug Season” in Maine. Other times of the year we suffer mosquitoes, deerflies, and no-see-ums, but all those pale in comparison to the ferociousness and overwhelming annoyance of the blackfly. You can argue that a buzzing mosquito trapped in a bedroom in the heat of a summer night can drive a person literally nuts. True, but not nearly as expediently as a squadron of blackflies crawling into your eyes and ears and burrowing into your scalp—while you are tying on a fishing lure or just mowing your lawn.
A mosquito will daintily siphon off a few microliters while blackflies travel in packs and savage you like a school of piranhas. I have noticed one chink in their otherwise truculent personality. They hate to be confined. When you go inside the house or get into your vehicle the inexorable mass of blackflies extricate themselves from your head and fly madly against the windows trying to escape. Enjoy the satisfaction as you pop them against the glass even if it is your blood you need to wash off later.
Little kids take the greatest brunt of the misery. My daughters were simply ravaged. We would slather them in Avon Skin So Soft, the accepted child blackfly deterrent back in the day, with dubious results. Most times they would come inside with puffy eyelids, bleeding ears, and blackflies still feasting on their little necks—leaving a crop of welts they would scratch for weeks. The adult version of Operation Blackfly was to smear on anything containing near-lethal amounts of the chemical DEET. Who cares if it melted your synthetic gunstocks, fly line, your wife’s newly manicured nails, or anything else plastic? It was that or become certifiably insane.
Many friends I fish with keep a big stinking cigar lit the whole time they are fishing. They puff and puff so there is a constant cloud of smoke around their heads that keeps the flies at bay. Unfortunately, I can’t stomach cigars. Whenever there is a breeze, that smoke ends up around my head and I end up retching over the side of the boat while they happily fish.
One more thing: Ever notice how when relaxing after a day fishing or doing garden work you can still hear the buzzing of all the winged tormentors that had plagued you all day long?
I’ve tried most every blackfly deterrent on the market, from eco-friendly natural concoctions to major brand sprays. Most of them stink like cheap perfume or roofing tar, last about two minutes, and generally make you want to run back into the house and take a shower. There is now outdoor clothing available with bug deterrent infused right into the fabric. My gut tells me that despite claims to the contrary after a couple washings that stuff just isn’t gonna stand up to the hordes of blackflies encountered on a canoe trip through the Allagash.
For serious outdoor activities, the only thing I’ve found that reliably keeps blackflies from eating me alive are still products containing at least 95% DEET. (Politically incorrect, I know.) I use it on my hands, wrists, and ankles in combination with a head net. A few years back I found some particularly well-made head nets at the Augusta Sportsman Show. They are made of fine black mesh with a stretch cord sewn into the bottom that can be pulled down under your armpits. With a ball cap underneath to keep the mesh away from my eyes, I can see a gobbler coming in or net a trout, as long as I part the sea of flies hovering in front of my face.
Along with camo mesh clothing for the sportsman, you can find complete bug netting outfits that cover a person from head to toe, in child sizes, too. They must work, because I see little bug-net kids running around these days instead of shiny little kids reeking of Avon Skin So Soft.
Brad Eden is an artist, writer, Registered Maine Master Guide, and owner/editor of the online magazine www.uplandjournal.com.
A mosquito will daintily siphon off a few microliters while blackflies travel in packs and savage you like a school of piranhas. I have noticed one chink in their otherwise truculent personality. They hate to be confined. When you go inside the house or get into your vehicle the inexorable mass of blackflies extricate themselves from your head and fly madly against the windows trying to escape. Enjoy the satisfaction as you pop them against the glass even if it is your blood you need to wash off later.
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Little kids take the greatest brunt of the misery. My daughters were simply ravaged. We would slather them in Avon Skin So Soft, the accepted child blackfly deterrent back in the day, with dubious results. Most times they would come inside with puffy eyelids, bleeding ears, and blackflies still feasting on their little necks—leaving a crop of welts they would scratch for weeks. The adult version of Operation Blackfly was to smear on anything containing near-lethal amounts of the chemical DEET. Who cares if it melted your synthetic gunstocks, fly line, your wife’s newly manicured nails, or anything else plastic? It was that or become certifiably insane.
Many friends I fish with keep a big stinking cigar lit the whole time they are fishing. They puff and puff so there is a constant cloud of smoke around their heads that keeps the flies at bay. Unfortunately, I can’t stomach cigars. Whenever there is a breeze, that smoke ends up around my head and I end up retching over the side of the boat while they happily fish.
One more thing: Ever notice how when relaxing after a day fishing or doing garden work you can still hear the buzzing of all the winged tormentors that had plagued you all day long?
I’ve tried most every blackfly deterrent on the market, from eco-friendly natural concoctions to major brand sprays. Most of them stink like cheap perfume or roofing tar, last about two minutes, and generally make you want to run back into the house and take a shower. There is now outdoor clothing available with bug deterrent infused right into the fabric. My gut tells me that despite claims to the contrary after a couple washings that stuff just isn’t gonna stand up to the hordes of blackflies encountered on a canoe trip through the Allagash.
For serious outdoor activities, the only thing I’ve found that reliably keeps blackflies from eating me alive are still products containing at least 95% DEET. (Politically incorrect, I know.) I use it on my hands, wrists, and ankles in combination with a head net. A few years back I found some particularly well-made head nets at the Augusta Sportsman Show. They are made of fine black mesh with a stretch cord sewn into the bottom that can be pulled down under your armpits. With a ball cap underneath to keep the mesh away from my eyes, I can see a gobbler coming in or net a trout, as long as I part the sea of flies hovering in front of my face.
Along with camo mesh clothing for the sportsman, you can find complete bug netting outfits that cover a person from head to toe, in child sizes, too. They must work, because I see little bug-net kids running around these days instead of shiny little kids reeking of Avon Skin So Soft.
Brad Eden is an artist, writer, Registered Maine Master Guide, and owner/editor of the online magazine www.uplandjournal.com.
