Mostly hot and muggy with widely scattered yellow flies.

Yeah, it is yellow fly season around here again. I have to say that we really hate those SOBs. Probably more than any other pest I can think of that we have to deal with. Makes doing anything outside not only NOT fun, but often rather painful. Connie really welts up badly from their bites. I don't welt up, but the bite is still rather sharp and painful.

Connie and I had planned on a trip out west the middle of this month, but with my car in the shop and other compounding sound reasons, we decided to cancel out. Had hoped to be away from here when the yellow flies were at their peak, but that isn't going to happen.

I've got four Mosquito Magnets set up with flashing lights and wind motion devices to try to take care of the bulk of them. Hopefully that will work. Has worked pretty well in the past, anyway, but there are always going to be some that get in a bite or three, no matter what.

We don't seem to have the yellow flies down here, but the love bugs are thick again and there's no rain to knock them down. Can barely see out of the windshield when you drive around. Saw 3 guys standing around their Harleys wondering what all the bugs are, since they trailered the bikes from up north to enjoy the Florida sun.

Yeah, I would bet more than one biker wished that they had a windshield on their bike when traveling through a cloud of love bugs.... :laugh: DON'T OPEN YOUR MOUTH WHILE RIDING!!

At least love bugs don't bite and are just a nuisance. If they bit like yellow flies do, I'm afraid I would have moved out of Florida long ago. Matter of fact, had Connie and I camped out on our land during yellow fly season when we first bought it , I'm not really sure we would be living here right now.

My daughter-in-law gave me one of those bug zappers that look like a badminton racket.
The deer flies were bothering me when I walked the dogs. It does the trick and I even used it on hornets. Works some of the time on mosquitos.

A while back I thought of mounting bug zappers on the buildings, but Connie vetoed that idea, worried that "her" lizards would get into them and get killed.

Snakes also need protection from pests and yellow flies. My friend also had so many yellow flies around his garden and not even that there were various types of bugs in his house. So, he went for professionals help for Pest Control CT and got rids of all the unwanted pests.

Well, who would ever have thought such a cheap device would provide so much fun, entertainment, and satisfaction?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/BLACK-FLAG-9-Watt-Battery-Powered-Bug-Zapper/1000687658

Just bought one today on a whim while Connie and I were in Lowe's, so later this evening when we were going to take a walk around, and feeling pretty apprehensive about the yellow flies, I put the two AA batteries in it figuring maybe it would kill one or two yellow flies. Well, let me tell you, it killed a LOT of them as they were flying around us. I was just swinging it randomly over our heads while holding down the button, and frequently heard the satisfying ZZZAPP! as a yellow fly contacted the electrified grid. Connie wanted to try her hand at it, and she was zapping them right and left as they came in trying to sink their teeth into us. Honestly, never seen that kind of "killer" look on her face before, as she was thoroughly enjoying the carnage.

I think I'm going to have to buy a few more of these bad boys. They proved to be quite a bit more effective than I had expected them to be. Especially for only $9.00.

Now if I can just figure out how to make one in the shape of full body armor..... :devil01:

That's similar to the one I take on my daily walk with the dog. It even gets most of the mosquitos. Deer flies are easy to hit as they usually buzz around your head. I have used mine on spiders too.

Heck, I've seen them before, but never gave them much thought. I always figured that if I could hit the fly or mosquito with something while it was airborne, what the heck did I need it to be electrified for? The swat itself would kill it. I didn't realize how satisfying the ZAP! is when it alerts you to a confirmed kill. Especially when you hear multiple ZAPS in succession confirming multiple kills.

I've had a fixed zapper in the past, but didn't care for it too much as there was too much collateral damage with them. I figured all it would take is for Connie to find a dead lizard underneath of it and it would be history around here anyway.

I'm just hoping this new toy doesn't zap a dragonfly or that will be all she wrote too. We like them flying around here.

I saw them at stores but figured they were another gimmick. My daughter-in-law got 4 of them to test from the company that makes them and all she had to do was write a review on them. I've used mine to swat mosquitoes with dragon fly's flying around, but they never got close to the device. My stationary zapper only killed moths and was a waste of time.

Well, actually these bug zappers work quite well on the yellow flies. I don't know how many of them we have killed, but it is a BUNCH of them. I'm actually getting used to the smell of cooked flies finally. I had to change the batteries today because I walked down to one of the bamboo groves, and the zapper was going off constantly, sometimes 3 and 4 flies at a time getting smacked down. I was thinking the zzzap was not as loud as usual afterwards, so I figured it was about time for new batteries. Yep, next flies that got zapped it was MUCH louder and the spark really darn bright.

We are going to buy some more of them tomorrow. We feel naked walking out of the house without one in hand now. Truth be known, it is actually fun zapping these little vampires. Yeah, we still get bit now and again as some will come in low and get our legs. But we are definitely putting a crimp in the next generation due next year.

I should take up tennis. My backhand from all this practice I am getting would be impressive. :laugh: I'm guessing anyone seeing us walking around the property from the road probably thinks we are some sort of tennis nuts anyway.

Don't know if you have love bugs there, but they are thick down here. The zapper will work quite well on them too. Probably wearing down my batteries but a guy has to have a little fun.

Twolunger said:

Don't know if you have love bugs there, but they are thick down here. The zapper will work quite well on them too. Probably wearing down my batteries but a guy has to have a little fun.

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Yeah we get them here too, but so far haven't seen all that many of them around. I think I would reserve the zapper for biting bugs and not so much those that are just bumbling around being a nuisance. Anything that wants to make a meal of my blood is fair game sort of thing. Of course I have zapped a couple of grasshoppers, but they were chewing on our fruit trees, so I guess they qualify for a zapping.

They swarm in the millions down here. Some of the windshields are so covered I don't know how the drivers can see. Since the females can lay up to 350 eggs I figure I saved the area from at least 50,000-100,000 new love bugs. LOL. One swipe from the zapper can take out 5 or more pairs. For some reason they were swarming all around my white truck in the driveway, so I got tennis elbow. LOL.

Twolunger said:

They swarm in the millions down here. Some of the windshields are so covered I don't know how the drivers can see. Since the females can lay up to 350 eggs I figure I saved the area from at least 50,000-100,000 new love bugs. LOL. One swipe from the zapper can take out 5 or more pairs. For some reason they were swarming all around my white truck in the driveway, so I got tennis elbow. LOL.

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Yeah, they do seem to be attracted to white objects for some reason. We often will first see them hanging around the local Publix store and also around gas station pumps.

Been seeing quite a few vehicles when we run errands with the fronts just covered with lovebug carcasses, so obviously somewhere nearby they are pretty thick. I probably need to put an extra coat of protectant on the front of the vehicles.

I got bit on the leg yesterday and found one of your missing yellow flies. First one I've seen in a long time. That one won't be back.

We've got plenty more around here if you want me to send you some. :laugh:

Seriously Connie and I have been killing them by the boatload. The hand held bug zappers are knocking the hell out of them. Literally. I think Connie actually enjoys the battle. In the past we always felt so helpless around here when they arrived each year, but this year we feel like we are able to effectively fight back and fight back HARD. I do have to admit that I am beginning to get sore wrists from waving the things around, but I guess that is being countered by the great cardio workout we get as a bonus.

Yeah a few will still land a bite now and again, and it still hurts, but it is darn satisfying when we see the flash of light on the bug zapper that indicates that there is one less yellow fly in the world to attack us. Kind of makes the bites bearable somewhat.

And the mosquito magnets are sucking down some too. Too add to the mayhem, I just recently purchased some spray on Tangle Foot adhesive that I am going to be apply to plant nursery buckets and hang them from trees using fishing line. Hopefully the lizards won't get on them, and I am using very fine line with the hopes that they won't be able to crawl down to the buckets.

So perhaps the one you found is one that realized that being around the Zuchowski place isn't a real healthy place to be if your are a yellow fly. :grin01:

Anyway, for each yellow fly we kill this year, that means even less (hopefully) to have to deal with in subsequent generations. Heck, I would be all for extinction for those damn monsters. If it were only within my power.... :devil01:

I grabbed one before it could do any real damage to the skin, but looks like another one bit my calf. We don't want any to come south of Tampa. We have enough bites from the no-see-ums.

Yeah, if you are going to smack them, the trick is to wait till they raise their butt up in the air as they prepare to bite. Apparently they get so preoccupied with the anticipated meal that they let their guard down. Wait too long to make the swat and you have blood spurted on your hand, however.

If you catch one, take a wing off and find the nearest fire ant mound and stir them up. Drop the fly and let nature takes its course while you enjoy the sight. Serves them right.