We all know about the various fun bugs that folks face as they venture into the Northwoods.  From mosquitoes to ticks to deer flies, what you use to protect yourself from bites can make the difference between a fun time or days of itching, swelling, or worse.

Today, we’re going to focus on the Deer Fly or Yellow Fly.  If mosquitoes are the B-2 Stealth Bombers that quietly and sneakily get to your skin, the Deer Fly is the noisy, obnoxious stunt plane that circles over and over again until it reaches its target, you!

So, let’s get into how different insects target their unsuspecting victims.

Mosquitoes rely on chemosensors in order to locate their targets, detecting the carbon dioxide and the warmth around it that we exhale. I’ve heard that breathing is pretty important, so it’s tough not to attract them when you’re out. However, this is why repellents with DEET, Oil of Eucalyptus, and other ingredients work well deter them.  These repellents place a barrier between them and you that they don’t want to cross as they can’t stand the smell.

But deer flies are different. Deer flies may also be attracted by carbon dioxide (research has been inconclusive), but their main sensory stimulus is seeing you with their big eyes (relatively speaking). They love things that move quickly, are dark-colored, and lit up by the sun or giving off heat.  Any or all of these trigger these little buggers to annoy the heck out of you and worse, bite you to get their target, blood.  Since they rely on sight first, most chemicals like DEET do little to deter or repel them.

While mosquitoes bite with what feels like a needle, the deer fly bites with a pair of old scissors.  Those that have been bit know what I am talking about.

So, what can you do to control these critters?  Well, since they rely on sight, going out earlier in the morning when it’s a bit darker and before the overhead blazing sun comes out helps.  Wearing lighter colored clothing may help as would wearing a light colored hat with all hair underneath it.  If anything else, the flies may be attracted to your friend who is wearing all black. 😊 More motion and swatting actually leads to more excitement for them, which is not good for you.

We try not to promote one product over another, but once in a while, we may share some products that we have used, that worked well in the real world and not in the somewhat suspicious “review world” of today.

We have tried a product made in Michigan that has worked well against deer flies that relies on a pretty simple concept.  We used Deer Fly patches from Tred-Not with great success.  These patches are 2″ by 6″ flesh-colored “traps” that attach to the back of the cap or hat. Deer flies target the patch and are quickly caught. They are then no longer a nuisance flying around your head or biting.

Yes, it’s a little gross being walking fly paper, but it beats a bite or two, for sure!

From our reading, these have been field tested by Ohio State University and the Michigan Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. They have no chemicals and no odor, nothing greasy to rub or spray on your skin.

We’ve included some photos of our informal testing, being outside for about an hour with each patch attached to the back of our hat.  They worked great and are inexpensive as well.

Deer Fly Patches on Amazon.com

Good luck in keeping these flying pests at bay this summer!  Let us know other things you have tried in the comments!