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Miss Kitty

Meow
Jun 10, 2005
47,017
1,131
69
:doh: Scooter, why does this make such sense to us and no sense to the people with all the poison?

Poison makes you crazy.
 

Romeosmydog

Beach Fanatic
Nov 6, 2007
458
314
here
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
 

HeyJude

Beach Comber
Oct 2, 2008
31
9
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.
?Dog Fly? Facts
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
 

Redd

Beach Fanatic
May 7, 2007
261
29
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
 

Andy A

Beach Fanatic
Feb 28, 2007
4,389
1,738
Blue Mountain Beach
:doh: 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.
 

waltonco lover

Beach Fanatic
Aug 18, 2008
261
26
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?:dunno: 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!
 

Romeosmydog

Beach Fanatic
Nov 6, 2007
458
314
here
For the Health of It has cactus juice.
 

florida girl

Beach Fanatic
Feb 3, 2006
1,453
67
Santa Rosa Beach
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. :dunno:

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?
 
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