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zarathustra
Jun 23, 2005, 9:57 PM
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Hey all, planning a Rumney trip for later this year but I've been warned to stay away during 'Black Fly Season.' When is this? And more importantly: can it really be that bad? Thanks!
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shiva523
Jun 23, 2005, 10:14 PM
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Usually, black fly season for us New Englander's begins around Mother's day and ends around Father's day. Buddy, you don't know bug bites until you get black fly bites. Once bitten, it's an experience you will not forget. These seemingly innocuous little critters will leave an innocent bite, that will, swell to alarming proportions. Black flies are cunning and deceptive SOB's. And of course, because these poor guys missed the christmas season, they feel the need to share their wealth. The worst part about these bastards is that they swarm in clouds around your head (attracted by the CO2 excreted by your body), causing complete distraction. Always in your ears. Always in your nose. Always in your eyes. They never leave. They never get a clue. It's like the child in the supermarket you want to run over with the grocery cart because he's just taken the last bag of lay's potato chips. Going for the crux of the hardest route and....o wait...is that a tickle in your nose? Were those the wings of a black fly your eyelids just closed upon? Maine had about 4 weeks of straight rain this past month. Alllll that stagnant water, just begging to be breeded upon. Black flies are in all their glory. Good luck.
P.S. Black flies are attracted to dark hues. Wear pale colors.
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zarathustra
Jun 23, 2005, 10:42 PM
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Now I'm convinced! is it safe to assume that i'll be ok between mid-july and late august?
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shiva523
Jun 24, 2005, 7:52 AM
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Yes. They should be gone by then. However, if you travel to northern Maine or Canada, the black flies come out when the snow melts and they don't leave until the snow comes back again.
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snoangel
Jun 24, 2005, 7:59 AM
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Now I'm scared. I'm heading out there this next week (June 26-30). I'm assuming the flies will still be there. So what do you do to ward them off? Does deet work?
Thanks!
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edge
Jun 24, 2005, 8:02 AM
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DEET works, but it is hell on nylon. I never wear anything, and Rumney has never been intolerable. Pawtuckaway, on the other hand is unbearable right now.
I was at Rumney last weekend and the bugs were not bad at all.
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taualum23
Jun 24, 2005, 8:04 AM
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In reply to: Now I'm scared. I'm heading out there this next week (June 26-30). I'm assuming the flies will still be there. So what do you do to ward them off? Does deet work? Thanks!
Deet is like A-1 steaksauce to New england blackflies. Peremthin treated clothes will kill them on contact. Smoke works nicely, as do headnets.
If you are caught in a NE balckfly swarm, the only think I have found that works is moving or going inside.
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shear
Jun 24, 2005, 8:08 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: Now I'm scared. I'm heading out there this next week (June 26-30). I'm assuming the flies will still be there. So what do you do to ward them off? Does deet work? Thanks! Deet is like A-1 steaksauce to New england blackflies. Peremthin treated clothes will kill them on contact. Smoke works nicely, as do headnets. If you are caught in a NE balckfly swarm, the only think I have found that works is moving or going inside.
Ben's 100% deet is like poison to them. Permetherin is a good thing to use as well...treat your clothes with it and it'll work greatly. be careful with deet though...like he said, it'll kill nylon (your rope if you didnt follow)...
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soulsurfer
Jun 24, 2005, 8:12 AM
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Man, you guys are hard core out there on the east coast. I freak out when I see a June bug flying around. The only thing I like seeing fly in the air are airplanes. We do have Mosquitos from time to time out here though.
'Just say no to Bugs'
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snoangel
Jun 24, 2005, 8:14 AM
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Thanks for the tips. I'll let you all know whether or not I end up eaten alive. :)
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blueeyedclimber
Jun 24, 2005, 9:11 AM
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In reply to: And more importantly: can it really be that bad? Thanks!
It also depends who you are. They definitely have preferences towards certain people. They never seem to bother me too much, but my wife seems to anger them. She was climbing the Whitney-Gilman ridge on Cannon once and got eaten the whole way up. She came home looking like pinhead from Hellraiser. She asked how she looked, I said "Great, Honey." Poor thing.
Josh
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wonderwoman
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Jun 24, 2005, 9:17 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: And more importantly: can it really be that bad? Thanks! It also depends who you are. They definitely have preferences towards certain people. They never seem to bother me too much, but my wife seems to anger them. She was climbing the Whitney-Gilman ridge on Cannon once and got eaten the whole way up. She came home looking like pinhead from Hellraiser. She asked how she looked, I said "Great, Honey." Poor thing. Josh
:evil: Pinhead from Hellraiser??? :evil: So, the truth finally comes out, eh?
Thanks a lot!
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shear
Jun 24, 2005, 9:25 AM
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^lol^
same here...was climbing one day with my girlfriend...mosquitos weren't bothering me, she was seconding all day and by the time we were ready to rap down all of her bites had meshed into one uberbite...seriously, she had this one bulge on her forehead the size of my fist, another on her stomach, and one on the top of her foot from slipping off her shoes while belaying each pitch. i felt so bad for her...shes tough though.... :twisted:
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blueeyedclimber
Jun 24, 2005, 9:29 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: In reply to: And more importantly: can it really be that bad? Thanks! It also depends who you are. They definitely have preferences towards certain people. They never seem to bother me too much, but my wife seems to anger them. She was climbing the Whitney-Gilman ridge on Cannon once and got eaten the whole way up. She came home looking like pinhead from Hellraiser. She asked how she looked, I said "Great, Honey." Poor thing. Josh :evil: Pinhead from Hellraiser??? :evil: So, the truth finally comes out, eh? Thanks a lot!
Sorry, honey. I certainly couldn't tell you then. Compared to any other girl who had about 50,000 black fly bites on them, you DID look great.
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altaesque
Jun 25, 2005, 6:40 AM
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A former New Englander, i was reminded by this thread of why i moved to Utah! Anyway, when i did llive there some friends and i had the opportunity to test the effects of DEET on nylon (Wild Things had a machince which could break/test bar tacking) What we found was that sunshine is more detrimental to nylon than DEET...prolly to your skin too. Anyway, don't worry if a bit of DEET gets on your draws, slings and or rope, but as with most things just use it in moderation.
I'm returning to visit my family on June 28 and it sounds like i'll be a treat for some of those munching black flies...oh well, at least it will be raining.
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redpoint73
Jun 30, 2005, 8:09 PM
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Gone after Fathers Day? Those F-ckers don't let up until after Memorial Day at least!
If you have never experienced them, they are much worse then mosquitoes. Once mosquitoes get there blood meal, they leave you alone. Black flies just keep biting you over and over. And they inject a toxin that irritates the wound site.
The black flies will be particularly bad this year, because of a very wet spring. But don't let it stop you from going to Rumney. Just bring plenty of bug repellent with DEET and keep reapplying every couple hours. Stay away from low/dark/moist areas where they love to hide.
DEET will not weaken your nylon gear, thats a myth. The type of nylon that climbing gear os constructed of is not particularly vulnerable to DEET. You basically have to soak your rope in a tub of DEET to see any effect on strength, and even then its not all that drastic. You actually do more damage to your rope with a Sharpie of rope marking pen then with DEET. But don't let DEET get on other plastic surface (watch faces, sunglasses), DEET likes to melt those.
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mgr
Jun 30, 2005, 9:35 PM
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Well I just got back from a trip to Maine where I experienced black flies for the first time. They are horrible. My legs and neck are covered with bites. Bug repellent didn't seem to work to well for me. If you sweat a lot, you need to keep reapplying it.
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sbaclimber
Jul 2, 2005, 3:46 PM
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another tip: cover as much skin as possible. Unlike mosquitoes, black flies cannot bite through cloth. They do love to bite along the edges of tight cloth though (i.e. just above tops of socks), so loose clothing is the best.
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snoangel
Jul 6, 2005, 2:38 PM
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Well, I just got back from Rumney and here's the bug report...
Black flies - saw a couple and they didn't bother any of us.
Mosquitos - TONS of them!!! Most of the people I was with used DEET and still got bit a lot. I used Repel Lemon Eucalyptus lotion and had the fewest bites of anyone. Yipee!
Overall, the bugs were tolerable, but the humidity (which apparently was unusually high) was gruesome. Thankfully the afternoon rains cooled it off a bit.
In any case, Rumney is a pretty sweet place & I totally want to head back in the fall when both the weather & the bugs are better. :D
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