Some folks are allergic to them. When I was teaching there was one little boy who always got giant welts, far worse than other kids. About 20 years ago DH had an episode where he had an anaphylactic reaction near the end of the season and now carries an epipen during black fly season. He says that a few bites over the season aren't too bad, but he really needs to limit his exposure to prevent a repeat as for him the effect is cumulative. He ends up doing a lot of indoor work during May and wears protective clothing (long sleeves over gloves, etc.) and bug dope when he needs to be outdoors for an extended time. So I would suggest that you also try to limit bites (clothing, bug nets and bug repellent with DEET) as a preventative since it could get worse. A side benefit is that with the bug repellent, he rarely gets ticks.

After hiking in NH twenty five years ago I came back with black fly bites that I have not forgotten. As you describe, welts that itched for at least two weeks.

May I make another suggestion in addition to NHB's above? If the itching is really unbearable go to your doctor. Not being able to sleep and the risk of infection from scratching is not a joke. You are not a wimp to want it to stop. Calamine lotion, oatmeal baths aren't going to touch it. Even if you sit in urgent care for a while I believe you'll be glad you did.

Hey Barb, do you remember Woodsman's Fly Dope?. That worked to keep both black flies and people at bay. I haven't even seen it for sale for years.

The whole month of May? Very sympathetic for anyone dealing with Black Flies. May is my favorite month, would hate to have to spend most of it indoors.

Yes, I remember Woodsman's Fly Dope, Marie! You're right, I haven't seen it recently, but it was a staple in my camping kit as a teen.

Yes, PM2, an entire 4 1/2 weeks! I used to love spring when I lived in Cleveland where the temperatures are consistently balmy, and a bazillion flowering trees are in bloom and there are no bugs! (We won't talk about July and August in Cleveland, however . . . sticky!) Between gypsy moths (not a problem for the last 10 years, but for a while they positively dripped off eaves, trees, etc. and spring was accompanied by the pitter patter of caterpillar frass raining down), ticks and black flies, followed by enthusiastic mosquitoes, it's a wonder I stayed in rural NH. DH has been laughing at my gardening outfit for the last few weeks: long pants tucked into my socks, a gross green hoody that's permeated with pyrethrins to discourage ticks and black flies, and my bug net over a hat when they are really bad. I am still finding ticks in odd places: the ceiling of my car as I drove down the interstate (probably from when I ran down to the shop to get wood shavings for mulch in the middle of gardening), tucked between the sock and the jeans, and on the door trim in the house. I do constant tick checks whenever I come into the house from the garden and still manage to miss a few to be found at bed time.

I'd never heard of it so of course I turned to Google. Behold, it's still available!
Ole Time Woodsman Fly Dope

Claire

NHBabs - I give you a lot of credit, not sure how tempted I'd be to get a new hobby….lol. I am spoiled living in the suburbs with no deer, no black fly. Just the winter moth caterpillars feasting on the Maples and some of the shrubs. Mosquitoes sure, but not a lot. It used to be we had a variety that would be out just in the shade and at night, but now we seem to have some kind of mosquito that's out in the sun too. But still, not so much I'd have to wear gear to go out. We do get ticks, but…we keep the lawn cut low and neat borders around it and our neighbors have lawn from lot line to lot line and mowed short, so that cuts down on the ticks.

But you do have that great scenery and space and many other benefits to make up for it I imagine. :-)

The Off battery operated gizmo actually works pretty good and helps with the black flies. If you do get bitten and get welts - take Benadyrl or Allegra. I remember my mom was allergic and if she got a bite near her eyes she would swell up like a boxer. She would pretty much stay on antihistamines for the full month of May.

I know I was away for a week so maybe I missed the worst of the black fly season. I haven't seen that many this year (too cold?). Of course, now it's hot. I've read that black flies pollinate blueberries which are blossoming right now. When my sister worked at 4-H camp in Bear Brook, some of the camp counselors from Europe really suffered. We eat lots of garlic so I wonder if it helps. Unfortunately, dh got his first deer tick on Friday so he has started an antibiotic regimen. Usually we get dog ticks but remove them before they latch on. I guess I've just gotten used to the bugs out there. Due to dry skin, I use a tea tree oil soap with very little fragrance and fragrance free skin lotion (also tea tree oil). We've been using homemade laundry soap. I think it helps not to wear anything with a flowery smell. When we went on a walking tour recently, the leader wore gaiters to keep ticks off his ankles and legs. I thought that was a good idea.

Defrost - what ingredients go into your homemade laundry soap? We are using Charlie's Soap Powder right now, but I'm curious about homemade. Is there a reason you don't feel any commercially available laundry detergent is acceptable?

Gaiters is a good idea, too.

Here is an article by an entomologist about how to eradicate deer flies from an area or to make a personal protection "hat". Essentially you coat at blue solo cup with Tanaglefoot and attach it to the top of a hat. The deer flies are attracted to the color for some reason and caught. It came to my attention when I was reading the reviews trying to figure out the difference between Tanglefoot and Tangletrap to make homemade yellow sticky traps and everyone was raving about this use. Good to know even though I haven't had a problem here in CT with them yet. They were a terror on the Cape in Truro last year.

http://nfrec.ifas.ufl.edu/MizellRF/deerfly_trap.htm

Are you using an insect repellent with DEET?

When I lived in the woods of western Massachusetts, I wore a netted hat something like this when gardening this time of year. For a month or so, the black fly would be insufferable and the netted hat was the only thing that made gardening in May possible.

Early on in the 9 years we lived there, my left arm got bit 3 or 4 times by black fly and the entire arm swelled up, painfully, to twice its size for a couple of days. After that, long sleeves and total cover only! Personally, I found DEET and other insect repellents only minimally effective for black fly; cloth offered the best protection. The black fly population would taper off in June, at which point the mosquitoes took over...

mrtulin, no, I don't use DEET. I never have tried it. Honestly, I'd rather wear the hat that catspa mentioned. I could always wear pants and long sleeves to cover my arms and legs, but the constant attack on my face and head was driving me crazy. I'm willing to wear a netted hat to keep them away, I didn't realize such a hat was so readily available. Amazon! It's going right into my wish list, catspa.