Black Flies

I was in the Whites on 5/4 and there were none and I'm hiking 5/18 so wondering if the beasts have arrived. Anyone have a status?

None today (cool and windy) on Mt. Martha. Actually I have not yet been bitten this year.

Not a sign of them while doing Liberty and Flume yesterday, 5-14-13

They're out there. The cold weather of the past several days has kept them quieter. Ticks also - check your legs carefully. Have only seen the big ones thus far.

SherpaTom said:

I was in the Whites on 5/4 and there were none and I'm hiking 5/18 so wondering if the beasts have arrived. Anyone have a status?

Click to expand...

This was taken on 5/11 on the Sawyer Pond Trail near Birch Hill. They weren't bad up high at all, but down low they were starting to!

View attachment 4519

As a follow-up: did a Squam lake traverse today - East Doublehead, Squam, Percival and Morgan. Even though I scraped ice off the windshield this morning, the black flies were out in force. In all fairness, the high point of this ridge is about 2,200' so I expect as you up 4 & 5K peaks you'll be above the 'bug zone'. In any case - bring DEET, just in case. Lots of ticks out too -

Totally agree with Kevin and others who know they are lurking..in Milan NH, when the sun shines and it warms up, they are starting to be pretty brutal...think it's going to be a rough year for them (for us!!) as they were insulated well this winter with the deep snow cover...

Here in southern NH (Henniker) the black flies have pretty much cancelled hiking in the woods for me. If you use DEET and keep moving fast you are OK but you won't stop to look at the views for long. Also, as mentioned here before, there are plenty of ticks out too. I have gotten two confirmed deer ticks. It seems that at least in this area, about 60% of the deer ticks carry Lyme Disease.

No flies or any flying bugs near saddleback Maine on Tuesday (5/14) but is was a fairly cold and windy day.

I was on Mt. Kearsarge (Warner) on 5/10. The black flies were out in force at the base and on the summit but they kept away when I was hiking. When I stopped they landed on me but did not bite -- very strange.

foreverpats said:

...When I stopped they landed on me but did not bite -- very strange.

Click to expand...

Was it a cold day? If it's below a certain temp, they don't bite.

Last Friday I was up on Pack Monadnock. The black flies were out in force. However, I will say that while swarming they weren't biting. I tried out three types of repellent. I tried a new Coleman product that's Deet free called Skin Smart. It is odorless. Best I could tell it had no effect at all on the flies. I had a 30% Deet spray that worked to a certain extent. I thought the Eucalyptus spray I tried seemed to be the most effective at keeping them at bay. Although, in terms of keeping them at bay I would say that it was effective for no more than an hour although that's hard to say with any certainty because if you were walking at a steady pace they weren't too much of a problem.

I watched the sunset from S. Pack tonight and I'm glad that it was windy, cause they were biting when they could land on you.

Black flies were out in gorham thursday evening, it was windy which helped but they were persistent

Pack Monadnock on May 4th two weeks ago had nothing. Parking lot and summit were both fine and perfect.

Last weekend I did Stinson Mountain in Rumney on Sunday May 12, and the parking lot the bugs immediately were fierce right after stepping out of the car. Had to drown myself in bug spray.

During that hike and at the summit, bugs were all gone. Perfect up top. Back down at the car they were relentless again and couldn't leave quick enough.

So some mixed results

Definitely out in Southern Vermont. There's been a cloud around my head when I'm out on my horse.

Barren Mountain on AT in 100 mile wilderness this morning and they were starting near the summit (only spot in the sun and warmer) but not enough to make it miserable. No need for spray yet.

Went up Moosilauke via Glencliff, down Benton, and back down the Tunnel Brook trail, and hardly saw a bug. College kids and Canadiens, heck yeah, but no bugs!

They were at the lower elevations on Tumbledown on 5/18. Nothing on the way up, but a few nuisance ones on the way out. They have been replaced by mosquitoes at my house already.

The ticks are fierce, however.

No prob with any bugs yesterday (5/23/13) on Pierce...........there was a nice little breeze though! I'm sure they will be here soon!