As long as you keep all your skin covered and don't stop moving (preferably doing a minimum speed of 10kmh) they aren't a problem.wshane wrote:I spoke to a ranger who said they were awful this year.
My usual rule in this respect is to not go walking if temp mins are 5C or above. I'd rather lick a cheese grater than spend a week amongst horse flies.
Strider wrote:10km/h is a fast trot!
wshane wrote:Yeh vicrev, they've caught me out. I normally walk fly-free in early Nov but surprise surprise, cumulative carbon emissions and an El Nino combine to give us a taste of our future.
We should've gone walking earlier this year, we need to change. Next year I'll be considering early October.
I know soon I'll not be bushwalking any longer.
Xplora wrote:We use a natural product which you can buy at most horse supplies and some camping stores. It now comes in a roll on for people.
wshane wrote: Strange how a simple question can prompt such emotional replies. I wonder why?
wshane wrote: I've found over the decades that if I confine my walking to periods when temp mins are less than 5C then the days are absent of horse flies. Instant relief.
icefest wrote:wshane wrote: Strange how a simple question can prompt such emotional replies. I wonder why?
You wonder why?
Well. You asked a question, got a couple of answers, and then told us that you already had the answer and that you just want to teach us a lesson.wshane wrote: I've found over the decades that if I confine my walking to periods when temp mins are less than 5C then the days are absent of horse flies. Instant relief.
Why ask the question when you already know the answer?
If it's a discussion you want, then ask: "Has anyone else found that the horseflies in the high country only really start getting bad when the daily min is above 5C? I personally just stay at home then to avoid their buzzing."
icefest wrote:I never realised there were so many name for all these flies. Apparently (wiki says so at least) the march (not marsh) fly is the same as a Horse fly (at least in Australia). Blow flies are any flies whose larvae infect animal carcasses.
Anyway, I can now say that I saw a couple of horse/march flies on Howitt last weekend (and craploads of house flies). They dissappear in the wind and at night though.
MickyB wrote:I always thought horse flies were the small buggers that formed gangs containing hundreds of them are are nearly always seen on farms.
Xplora wrote: It is called Nature's Botanical and it is Rosemary and Cedarwood oils.
icefest wrote:I never realised there were so many name for all these flies. Apparently (wiki says so at least) the march (not marsh) fly is the same as a Horse fly (at least in Australia).
Xplora wrote: DEET is dangerous BTW. Have you seen what it does to plastic and read the warnings on the bottle.
Happy Pirate wrote:Xplora wrote: DEET is dangerous BTW. Have you seen what it does to plastic and read the warnings on the bottle.
Actually it's not the DEET that dissolves plastic but the alcohol base the DEET is mixed in. No more dangerous than hand sanitiser.
N,N-DIETHYL-M-TOLUAMIDE is incompatible with strong acids, strong bases and strong oxidizing agents. It hydrolyzes slowly in the presence of water. It has a solvent effect on most plastics, paints, and varnishes. It is also incompatible with rayon, acetate or dynel clothing. (NTP, 1992)
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