What is worse in your opinion?

Black flies, or Snow flies?

same here..don't know snow flys but black flys are the bane of canoe country.

Snow flies every winter.

i can see i have been bit by more than black flys here--------

FWIW, shnapps, wiskey, and burbon are all effective snow fly repellents.

I'd take black flies any day over moose flies or even sand flies (pretty much noseeums).

I'd MUCH rather have the snow than black flies. This morning was quite nice out. Mid-20's and absolutely no wind. Our snow mostly melted away on 12/26 ... just a few drift hold-outs.

Around here - maybe because we have the horses - we get way too many deer flies, generic deer fly-like biting flies (they are as big as deer flies, but no spotted wing), smaller house-fly-sized biting flies (they follow the horses mostly) and an accasional monsterous horse fly. We'll rarely get bit, except for the smaller flies - they love to bite at exposed legs when near the barn, but when those bigger ones bite ... OUCH!!

Luckily I've never been bitten by a horse fly. I would think that would hurt like the devil. Poor horses.

Ken

I'll take snow over flies anytime. Then again, deer flies don't much care for me, but I hate having them flying around me constantly.

I had a deer fly land on my hand last year in Florida. It took him almost two minutes to decide whether to bite me or not. I wanted to see what he would do, because I was doing a lot of vitamin B complex at the time and that notoriously makes me unpallatable to most insects. He finally chomped down, but I barely felt it. Then he flew over to a wall and landed. He made enough of a hole that I started to bleed, just barely. I went over to the wall and tried to shoo him off, and he wouldn't move. I finally swatted him. He didn't even try to escape. I dunno what it is about me and B complex, but I am always the last one to get bit at camp or at the ranch, if at all. Lucky me.

Working at the feed lots as a kid, I darn near would go insane from the flies buzzing around. I'd get in a closed room at the feed plant and grab a swatter and proceed to clear the room. Then I could finally kick back and take a nap.

I did get bit more often in Iraq, but not nearly as bad as most. I think I got bit half a dozen times there in the 9 months. Fortunately no sand fly bites.

I got bit by a horse fly once up in the Olympics mountains. Hurt like a wasp sting at first.

I'll take snow any day since I can at least move it out of the way. We've had very little snow so far this winter (a couple of dustings) so I'm still hankerin' for a good dump to brighten things up.

I'll take Snow Flies. I hate black flies in my eyes and ears.

I'd love some decent snow. Instead we get "wintry mix". I hate that stuff... Snow can be fun. Freezing rain is never fun.

Snow flies or snow fleas?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_flea

Yeah i'd go with the fly that doesn't actively eat you... =D

My roommate has a statue that says "snowflakes are angel kisses".

If so, I'm feeling rather harrased.

Sand fleas, or horse flies...

for all you guys down river and those who would like to test their gear in the cold here is a shot of the Mississippi River at South Minneapolis,just a short walk from my place,at TWELVE BELOW ZERO--


i'm putting a post together on how to survive that hour in a busted down car waiting for the tow or your wife to arrive and save you---

Wow, that's an amazing photo.

-12F/-24C is pretty darn serious weather.

Tell your wife -- "Even crazy canucks wear gloves in this sort of weather. It's not unmanly at all."

Hope that helps. ;-)

Nice picture.
I am not sure, but it looks like open water at what I assume is the north bank.
Is the water pretty fast there, or is it just an effect of the light?

I assume you are giving the temperature in Fahrenheit so that would be about -25 in Celsius.
Not real bad but still cold enough, especially if there is any wind at all.

I myself am a bit undecided on which is worse, the Black Flies or the Snow flies.
I hate the Black Flies with a passion. They are even worse than mosquitoes and will gnaw you to raw meat.
If you let them they will drive you to madness.
I am OK with winter generally, except for white outs or black ice conditions on the roads. When the snow gets real deep it can be a pain.

OK, I was making a pun about the snow flying when I posted the question, but I am real glad you meantioned the snow fleas.
There have been days when it was not quite spring that I have seen the snow just black with them. They really seem to like the sunny sides of the ski tracks or boot tracks.
It is always hard to convince people who have never seen them that they exist until they see them, and it is always worth seeing their expressions when they realize what they are seeing.

I don't mind cold until it's too cold. I'm good down to -10 before it seems unreasonable to me. (-40F windchill isn't unusual here) Have to say though I'd rather be too cold than have flies buzzing around my head. I must not taste too good to the biting variety though, rarely have to use bug dope of any sort and haven't had 5 mosquito bites in the last 5 years.

We Cajuns have found that when beer and cayenne pepper is part of your diet, the mosquitoes and flies tend to leave you alone because they evidently don't like the taste of our sweat/body oils! YMMV.

[quote=wildman800]We Cajuns have found that when beer and cayenne pepper is part of your diet, the mosquitoes and flies tend to leave you alone because they evidently don't like the taste of our sweat/body oils! YMMV. [/quote
Ill have to try that. Thanks.

Not meaning to be a smart-aleck, but I'd have to say:

"which ever one is bugging me at the time"....


I try to keep things in the "here and now"...

Black snow.

Did someone say that already?

Yeah, I know, I was just messin'. Most people just roll their eyes when I mention snow fleas.

Black flies en masse are pure hell. You are under personal siege by kamikaze-diving blood-sucking bugs. Mosquitoes are mild and polite by comparison. The more wind the better. Camp on a bald hill if you can.

A 'snow flies' day is variable. I don't mind a good winter storm, mostly. It depends on the wind chill, whether I need to drive in rush hour with crazy people, and whether I have the option of wearing two layers under my dress clothes. Better than black flies by a country mile.

But a 'snow flea' day is glorious. It's close to spring, the snow has consolidated so you can wear tiny snowshoes and tromp around, and the air temperature hovers around zero so you don't even need gloves. Pâté on crackers with a nice Malbec and pleasant female company. Ah, that's the life.

"But the black flies, the little black flies,
Always the black fly no matter where you go!
I'll die with the black fly a-picking my bones
In North Ontario-i-o
In North Ontario"

I have a good story 'bout snow snakes, but I'm not gonna tell it here...

LOL! (I always liked the NFB animation with the dancing skeleton ...)

I went camping with a guy who bought that cheap 'blue shampoo' you used to be able to get for a buck. The black flies went straight for him, massing in formation and then peeling off and diving straight at his head like Stukas. I thought it was funny as hell.

I just though of a trick my wife, who has a lot less time camping than I do, taught me to take care of most flying critters while camping, be they black flies, snow flies, meat bees, or whatever. Come dinnertime, open a can of the cheapest cat food you could buy, and put it 20 ft or so away from your eating area. Those nasty flying critters will swarm the cat food, leaving you pretty much in peace...