Biting Flies

[Smiling JOe]

How about a battery powered VINEGAR MISTER? I'm smelling some patents here!!!

I hope you have a plan to get rid of the vinegar smell and still have the product work effectively before you spend too much money.

 

[Miss Kitty]

I hope you have a plan to get rid of the vinegar smell and still have the product work effectively before you spend too much money.

HA! At least it wouldn't clog up!!! Now about that smell.....

 

[Philip_Atlanta]

I was on the beach yesterday and didn't encounter any problems. However; Saturday, they drove us away from the beach. A waiter at Bud & Alley's suggested "Cactus Juice", didn't try it but if you are desperate - perhaps it will help..

 

[Smiling JOe]

I was on the beach yesterday and didn't encounter any problems. However; Saturday, they drove us away from the beach. A waiter at Bud & Alley's suggested "Cactus Juice", didn't try it but if you are desperate - perhaps it will help..

I've tried it without any positive results.

 

[ktschris]

I really think the key here is .....



the red speedo!!! :clap_1:

 

[Beach Runner]

Thanks to the biting flies, this was the weirdest beach trip ever! The new beach walkover that we built after Dennis in July was damaged by Katrina, so we couldn't walk to the beach. We couldn't sunbathe because the flies attacked us. Even in the pool, we had to submerge ourselves up to our necks to avoid getting attacked by the flies, and then we'd have to watch each other and give a "dunk warning" whenever the flies were about to attack our faces. Those flies really hurt when they bite - I must have been bitten 100 times. We've never experienced the flies in our 6 consecutive years of Labor Days at SoWal.

Yet in comparison to what the Katrina victims have experienced, I feel profoundly embarrassed for complaining.

Will they still be around in three weeks?

 

[WhiskeyRiver]

Not hurricane related.

They will be on the beach until the wind turns around and comes from offshore.

The only repellent is Smiling Joe's homebrew.

You don't sound ignorant because your from Arizona.

could I possibly get your home brew recipe? thanks from an "ignorant" West Tennessean

 

[wetwilly]

We just got back to Atlanta from SoWal and I must say that the weekend was great even though the flies were out. We used our secret recipe spray to keep them away---white vinegar. Yes, plain old white vinegar. We used some Heinz we had left over from our last trip and/or used to clean the hardwood floors but ran out and the Publix brand white vinegar worked even better.

Frequent reapplication and we were good to go. It really worked. We saw alot of people using expensive bug spray (OFF, Cutters etc) and they were constantly slapping, swatting and jumping around while being bit. Not our crew and the smell was not too bad, really.

 

[ksherman]

Just returned from Seagrove. The beaches still look a bit sad (just as they did earlier this year), but in many places along the beaches there is more sand. My only concern -- and it's a BIG one -- is that the FLIES were really bad! And if you don't know about the flies, oh my, oh my, oh my. My recommendation: take lots of bug spray -- the kind with 98%DEET. (The flies were so bad it was worth risking the stunted development of my children to keep them away!) Also, don't wait till you get down there to buy bug spray -- get it now and stock up! We had to drive 45 mintues into PC Beach to find a place that wasn't out. (Publix had to ship their supplies out to the gulf coast region hit by the hurricane.) Some locals told us over and over that the flies are only around for a day or so, but other locals told us it lasts a few weeks.

So for those of you who LOVE to stay on the beach all day, you're going to have to be flexible. Each day we'd head out to the beach (3 families with 7 kids) and pray that we caught the "good" hours. We probably only spent 2 hours at the most on the beach each day. And, the flies were so bad that they even visited our pool and got us while walking along sidewalks in Seaside! WOW -- it was CRAZY! (We even took a photograph of a fly on my friend's leg -- they made that much of an impact on our trip!)

Despite the flies, we had a great time and enjoyed the area just like alwasy!@

 

[WhiskeyRiver]

Wetwilly -- thanks for home brew. we are planning on leaving sunday a.m. i will definitely run to the store and get some white vinegar and a spray bottle. i had already packed the "off" and "cutters", but under your recommendation, will not even use that. I HATE THOSE FLIES! We have had them alot on our Sept trips to SoWal, but not as bad as people on the website seem to be reporting. Please tell me the "love bugs" aren't there, too?!?!?