I've mentioned these already, but it's time to do a more formal review.
My last hike was at low elevations in the Adirondacks, in mid-August, the very worst of deerfly season. Unlike mosquitoes, deerflies are only moderately deterred by DEET. I find their bite to be quite painful, and the little cross shape that they saw into the skin bleeds, stains clothing and invites infection.
[IMG:http://www.deerflypatches.com/images/trednotdeerflypatches001002.jpg]
I happened to see on another forum a recommendation for Tred-Not® Deerfly Patches. These are a mechanical means of control. In effect, they're fly paper that goes on the back of your hat. I bought a bunch, not expecting very much, and tried them on a trip in the Adirondacks (three days hiking, one day canoe) in early August - the peak of deerfly season.
I was quite pleasantly surprised. On three days of hiking, I wore a boonie hat from Dorfman Pacific, and stuck one of the patches to the back of it each morning. I don´t think that there was a single evening that I didn't peel off the patch with fifty deerflies stuck to it (and no other kinds of bugs, just deerflies). And despite having that many flies about, I had not one deerfly bite. I wore the fourth strip from the 4-pack the next day for a short paddle, and found that they worked just as well on the water as they did on land.
For the limited testing I did, these puppies work.
The glue did stain the hat a little, but the hat was already stained with various substances, including spruce gum and balsam, which are even more persistent. A slightly dishevelled appearance is well worth the freedom from deer fly bites.
Some people might be annoyed by having their hat buzz with the trapped insects, which take a while to succumb. Instead, by the third day, the noise simply gave me a profound sense of schadenfreude. "Try for my blood, will you? You won't be trying that again!"
In addition to the manufacturer´s site, they're available at amazon.com. The manufacturer claims that Ace Hardware and Home Depot carry them, but I've not seen them locally.
Disclosure: I have no relationship with the manufacturer or any of its retailers other than as a satisfied customer.
My last hike was at low elevations in the Adirondacks, in mid-August, the very worst of deerfly season. Unlike mosquitoes, deerflies are only moderately deterred by DEET. I find their bite to be quite painful, and the little cross shape that they saw into the skin bleeds, stains clothing and invites infection.
[IMG:http://www.deerflypatches.com/images/trednotdeerflypatches001002.jpg]
I happened to see on another forum a recommendation for Tred-Not® Deerfly Patches. These are a mechanical means of control. In effect, they're fly paper that goes on the back of your hat. I bought a bunch, not expecting very much, and tried them on a trip in the Adirondacks (three days hiking, one day canoe) in early August - the peak of deerfly season.
I was quite pleasantly surprised. On three days of hiking, I wore a boonie hat from Dorfman Pacific, and stuck one of the patches to the back of it each morning. I don´t think that there was a single evening that I didn't peel off the patch with fifty deerflies stuck to it (and no other kinds of bugs, just deerflies). And despite having that many flies about, I had not one deerfly bite. I wore the fourth strip from the 4-pack the next day for a short paddle, and found that they worked just as well on the water as they did on land.
For the limited testing I did, these puppies work.
The glue did stain the hat a little, but the hat was already stained with various substances, including spruce gum and balsam, which are even more persistent. A slightly dishevelled appearance is well worth the freedom from deer fly bites.
Some people might be annoyed by having their hat buzz with the trapped insects, which take a while to succumb. Instead, by the third day, the noise simply gave me a profound sense of schadenfreude. "Try for my blood, will you? You won't be trying that again!"
In addition to the manufacturer´s site, they're available at amazon.com. The manufacturer claims that Ace Hardware and Home Depot carry them, but I've not seen them locally.
Disclosure: I have no relationship with the manufacturer or any of its retailers other than as a satisfied customer.
I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.