So now that the Dog Fly plane is gone, what now?

Coincidental? John R, that was downright serendipitous.

...I can't wait to go to Publix and answer random questions from tourists about flies. Bzzzzzzz!

Hopefully, floridagirl directed the tourists to the Fly Swatter section of Publix.

Hopefully, floridagirl directed the tourists to the Fly Swatter section of Publix.

...thanks for the reminder. Will put on my list. I can also use it to swat off pesky tourists asking inane questions in the frozen food aisle, or, your fav...aisle blockers!

Swmc

Florida girl would you please get your facts correct since you are running for the office of the mosquito control.

1. The South Walton Mosquito Control has NEVER been in charge of the dog fly program. It has assisted the state in monitoring dog flies on the beach that is the extent of its responsibility. They have not been directed to find any alternative program. The mission of the South Walton Mosquito Control is to control disease carrying insects the dog flies are considered a nuisance insect and are not covered under its responsibilities.

2. The state of Florida has funded the dog fly program. In the past last year the board of county commissioners decided not to have the dog fly plane fly over our county. This started a domino effect by the state to do away with a dog fly program.

3. The age of the plane was one of the deciding factors and the fact that the governor had asked for all departments to reduce spending. This program came under the Department of Agriculture and by doing away with this program was able to say some of their jobs in Tallahassee.

4. The only time dog flies are on the beach is when there is a north wind blowing down from Alabama and Georgia, when you have a south wind you have no problems.

5. The only effective way of controlling the dog flies is by aerial spraying which South Walton Mosquito Control has no aerial spraying program.

6. Any kind of program will now have to be funded by the taxpayers of Walton County through the board of county commissioners.

7. If you have a problem with dog flies call your Walton County Commissioners or the Tourist Development since they are in charge of the beaches.

Food for thought, when this issue was being debated in Tallahassee the Walton County Board of commissioners and Chamber of Commerce and Tourist Development were asked to give their opinions on whether to continue this program. None of the above organizations responded to the request of Tallahassee.

In addition, Deet, Skin So Soft is not the answer to dog flies. They are a nuisance they do not carry disease they bight so the only solution is to wear long sleeved shirts pants or stay off the beach.

I hope this clears up this issue unfortunately; we are stuck with the nuisance.

I'll take nuisance over poison any day.

What I advocate, and I am sure FG must agree, is spraying tourists. That way there will be nothing here but locals and we will be forced to diversify the local economy.

John Magee, thanks for the response, but why do you suggest calling TDC or BCC to complain about biting insects, just because they "govern" the beach? The BCC also governs all parts of the County, but we don't call them when the squirrels in our yard become a nuisance, eating all of the bird food. Jelly Fish are also considered a nuisance by some, but the Sea Turtles love to eat them. Surely, we wouldn't try to control the Jelly Fish by poisoning our waters, just so the tourists can swim, would we? I hope not, but that was essentially what was being done by blanket-spraying poisons from planes to try and kill Dog Flies.

how coincidental.

Really!

Florida girl would you please get your facts correct since you are running for the office of the mosquito control.

1. The South Walton Mosquito Control has NEVER been in charge of the dog fly program. It has assisted the state in monitoring dog flies on the beach that is the extent of its responsibility. They have not been directed to find any alternative program. The mission of the South Walton Mosquito Control is to control disease carrying insects the dog flies are considered a nuisance insect and are not covered under its responsibilities.

2. The state of Florida has funded the dog fly program. In the past last year the board of county commissioners decided not to have the dog fly plane fly over our county. This started a domino effect by the state to do away with a dog fly program.

3. The age of the plane was one of the deciding factors and the fact that the governor had asked for all departments to reduce spending. This program came under the Department of Agriculture and by doing away with this program was able to say some of their jobs in Tallahassee.

4. The only time dog flies are on the beach is when there is a north wind blowing down from Alabama and Georgia, when you have a south wind you have no problems.

5. The only effective way of controlling the dog flies is by aerial spraying which South Walton Mosquito Control has no aerial spraying program.

6. Any kind of program will now have to be funded by the taxpayers of Walton County through the board of county commissioners.

7. If you have a problem with dog flies call your Walton County Commissioners or the Tourist Development since they are in charge of the beaches.

Food for thought, when this issue was being debated in Tallahassee the Walton County Board of commissioners and Chamber of Commerce and Tourist Development were asked to give their opinions on whether to continue this program. None of the above organizations responded to the request of Tallahassee.

In addition, Deet, Skin So Soft is not the answer to dog flies. They are a nuisance they do not carry disease they bight so the only solution is to wear long sleeved shirts pants or stay off the beach.

I hope this clears up this issue unfortunately; we are stuck with the nuisance.

Common Sense Vote

Re-Elect
John J. Magee Seat 1 SWMC

Re-Elect
James Crawford seat 2 SWMC​

I'm sorry; I don't accept the "nothing can be done, live with it" opinion. I've seen too many things change, and this issue will have to be dealt with if we want to continue to live and work here. Passing the buck to some other organization is not the solution either. I got interested in running for the SWMC board because I got tired of the "nothing can be done" attitude. The Mosquito Control Board is exactly who needs to deal with these issues, they are most interested and qualified. Regardless of what the BCC has done, and who has authority, we, as citizens still have a voice to speak. The board has the contacts and access to research available to seek out solutions. Too many things have been able to be done without hardly more than a mention from the board. Look at JD Miller road, for an example; the boards answer was for the citizen to contact the Code Enforcement office. I think the boards answer should be, we?ll investigate this thoroughly, and come up with a resolution. With the support of the community, we?ll get this matter changed! The Mosquito Control was founded to deal with the nuisance insects, and solve the problem. What other agency has the resources to deal with it? It isn?t the job of the BCC! If the state program hadn?t been founded, Florida wouldn?t be the tourist state it is! That was the point! Florida is going through some major problems, if we eliminate tourism, what other industry should we encourage? What would you tell Disney and the multiple other destinations tourists flock too?

What I advocate, and I am sure FG must agree, is spraying tourists. That way there will be nothing here but locals and we will be forced to diversify the local economy.

When I am seriously injured from falling off the couch laughing at you, I'm gonna send you the doctor bill.

This is an excerpt from Time Magazine:

Is Florida the Sunset State?
By Michael Grunwald/Miami Thursday, Jul. 10, 2008

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1821648,00.html

Florida was once a swampy rural backwater, the poorest and emptiest state in the South. But in the 20th century, air-conditioning, bug spray and the miracle of water control helped transform it into a migration destination for the restless masses of Brooklyn and Cleveland, Havana and Port-au-Prince. Florida developed its own ventricle at the heart of the American Dream--not only as an affordable playground and comfortable retirement home with no income tax but also as a state of escape and opportunity, a Magic Kingdom for tourists, a Fountain of Youth for seniors, a Cape Canaveral for Northerners looking to launch their second acts. Even the soggy Everglades, once considered a God-forsaken hellhole, became a national treasure.

SJ is right...they are only bad when the wind is blowing from the north...Cowboy was getting attacked so badly the other day, he was crying and we had to RUN for the car....the lifeguard suggested Bullfrog which has insect repellent and sunscreen...

1) Someone told me that the most effective way to control dogflies was to treat them at their point of origin - as they breed/come from somewhere in another state.

2) I've spent years in Sowal and only been annoyed by dogflies a handful of times (and my tolerance level for buggy pests is quite low). A slight change of plans or mild inconvenience is not enough to justify me, my daily environment, water, and food being regularly sprayed with poisons.

1) Someone told me that the most effective way to control dogflies was to treat them at their point of origin - as they breed/come from somewhere in another state.

Scooter, why does this make such sense to us and no sense to the people with all the poison?

Scooter, why does this make such sense to us and no sense to the people with all the poison?

Poison makes you crazy.

That 'splains a lot. I once had a pesticide license in two states.

The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: 'what good is it?' If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not. ~ Leopold

Some Interesting (?) Reading On The Issue

From http://www.blogthebeach.com/2008/environmental/flies-florida-panhandles-unwelcome-beach-guests

We stepped out onto Grayton Beach on a beautiful October morning. The sand was as white as fresh snow, and felt like coarse sugar under our feet. The water, as you can see from the photo above, was crystal clear and a comfortable 78 degrees Fahrenheit.


But we quickly realized that something was very wrong. Despite a fairly consistent north breeze, we were being swarmed by biting flies. Ouch!
Now, I?ve lived in Florida my whole life and have, from time to time, encountered an occasional biting fly on the beach. I?ve been driven from the beach by no-see-ums (aka sand gnats), but they are only active at dawn and dusk now and then.


These flies on Grayton Beach drew blood and they didn?t give up. We headed straight for the water, which provided considerable relief, as very few of the flies ventured out over the water. Everyone was swatting flies and heading for cover.


When we tried to sit in a beach chair under our umbrella to relax, the flies swarmed us again. We had to leave. I was dumbfounded. Why had I not heard of this? After all, I am the ?Beach Expert.?


I questioned a few people who told me that the flies are brought down on the north wind with the first cold front, and that they are only a problem for a few days each year. Lucky us, I thought.


Fortunately by later in the day the wind turned southerly and greatly alleviated the fly problem.


I?ve done some research and have managed to find a couple of resources on the internet that shed some light on the fly problem, but I still have more questions, so I?m continuing my research. I?ll give you an executive summary and provide links to the articles I found.
Fly season in the Florida panhandle is generally from August through October.
The flies are ?stable flies? or ?dog flies.? They lay their eggs in the farm country of Alabama on manure or rotting vegetation such as might be found in a farm environment. Apparently, winds bring them south to the panhandle beaches.
The flies are blood suckers, and prefer the blood of cows and pigs, but clearly do not turn away from humans when available.
The panhandle, from Gulf County to Escambia County, has had a spray program in place since the 1970?s, funded by state dollars. The state funding was cut off in 2008. In Panama City Beach, the Mosquito Control program is trying to take up the slack.
Of course the spray program has its own controversy. Not everyone is happy with insecticides being sprayed on the beaches, even if it helps ward off the tourist-chasing flies.
We talked to several locals about how they deal with the flies. One helpful gentleman said that he uses something he called ?Cactus spray,? which is apparently a natural insect repellant product. We never did find any of that in the local stores, but we did find a repellent called ?Bug Band? with time-released ?geraniol? as an active ingredient. It does not contain DEET. Photo below.

We cannot vouch for its effectiveness personally with regard to the flies, since after the first day, we were not bothered by the flies. But it does work with mosquitoes. We encountered some mosquitoes at Eden Garden State Park late in the afternoon. Sue had used the Bug Band and I had not. The mosquitoes had a feast on me but left her alone.
Florida panhandle beaches are absolutely gorgeous, so the purpose of this blog post is NOT to scare people away. But bring your insect repellent along with your sunscreen, just in case?
For further reading on Florida panhandle ?dog flies?:
Skeeter Patrol Says ?Shoo Fly Shoo?
Ugh?Dog Flies Are Here
If you have any info or personal stories about these irksome critters, send an email to beachhunter [at] beachhunter.net

From
We talked to several locals about how they deal with the flies. One helpful gentleman said that he uses something he called ?Cactus spray,? which is apparently a natural insect repellant product. We never did find any of that in the local stores, but we did find a repellent called ?Bug Band? with time-released ?geraniol? as an active ingredient. It does not contain DEET. Photo below.

We use bug band its good for skeeters and no seeums
but no good for dog flies they drink it
Up to hubby he say raid the buggers

Cactus Juice is supposed to be better for the doggy flies
Only place I know of is Ace Hardware on 98

Now where is my magnifiying glass that will teach em

Scooter, why does this make such sense to us and no sense to the people with all the poison?

Because they have spent all that taxpayer money to buy the stuff and now they have to use it because the manufacturer doesn't want to take it back.

how about?

I would like to see the Mosquito Control do some PR. How about maybe teaching the public on things they can do to control mosquitos around their homes, or remedies that can be used to keep the little boogers from biting you? Prevention always seems like the easiest solution, even though i know we can't "prevent" them from being here.

Like I said before, I think dealing with the little boogers for the short time period they are here are a small price to pay for all the other wonderful things we have in our paradise!

For the Health of It has cactus juice.

For the Health of It has cactus juice.

Cactus juice is what the ole' timers have always said worked for dog flies. It really does work, used it this weekend!

1) Someone told me that the most effective way to control dogflies was to treat them at their point of origin - as they breed/come from somewhere in another state.

2) I've spent years in Sowal and only been annoyed by dogflies a handful of times (and my tolerance level for buggy pests is quite low). A slight change of plans or mild inconvenience is not enough to justify me, my daily environment, water, and food being regularly sprayed with poisons.

If we could control what goes on in Alabama, or where ever the dog flies breed, I'm sure we would. A major point to remember is that they have been spraying for dog flies since when exactly? The SWMC was formed in 1964, and I'm sure the spraying begun soon after. Do you actually know what will happen without any kind of deterent? No, we don't. What gets me is that they eleminated the dog fly program, but didn't replace it with anything, not even spraying garlic juice!!! So, what do you expect? The dog flies to just magically disappear?

If we could control what goes on in Alabama, or where ever the dog flies breed, I'm sure we would. A major point to remember is that they have been spraying for dog flies since when exactly? The SWMC was formed in 1964, and I'm sure the spraying begun soon after. Do you actually know what will happen without any kind of deterent? No, we don't. What gets me is that they eleminated the dog fly program, but didn't replace it with anything, not even spraying garlic juice!!! So, what do you expect? The dog flies to just magically disappear?

1) Controlling anything...especially nature...is impossible.
2) SWMC doesn't have anything to do with the spraying as has been pointed out.
3) Were people dying from fly bites before the spraying started. I've never seen any history regarding dog flies and a plague of any kind.
4) If garlic juice works for you, spray it on yourself.
5) the flies do disappear eventually.



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