The Weather

[Refugee1]

And then there's the chiggers...

That may well have been what I was attacked by in the blackberry patch a few days ago.

 

[soundbrigade]

Evil little bastards. Overhere they cause Borrelia and TBE.

 

[Tubelab_com]

the bloodsuckers and backbiters have only two legs, and most of the day's foraging is for "mercenary" doughnuts in the various breakrooms.

We did "cookie quest" whoever spotted cookies or other "human bait" in a meeting or break room sent out a group call on our Nextel phones to our group of foragers. Part of my 41 year career at Motorola was spent designing those phones. As for the "bloodsuckers and backbiters," they were common. I stated early on that working in a corporate environment was exactly like TV reality shows like Survivor where tribal council met and voted someone off the island (constant layoffs) every week. You have to work together as a team, yet everyone on that team was competing for the same jobs.

Black widow?......Brown recluse?

Any spider I see gets smashed. I got bit by a brown recluse once. It was hiding in a pile of old wood. I cut the area off my hand with a pair of sharp wire cutters before the venom had spread much but the area still took months to heal.

Yellow Jackets?

These things are relentless. They will chase you down and sting for no reason.

I mean, seriously - what other profession allows you to go outside, act like a 12-year-old kid, and be paid for it?

I spent 41 years in one of several Motorola plants in south Florida.....all gone now. If there was an opportunity to go outside and "play" I took it. I even managed to get a few company paid "field trips" to Miami Dolphin or Florida Marlins games. The stadium was right next to all the south Florida TV transmitting towers and the upper deck was a "real life worse case RF test environment." My "surveying" experience was limited to a road trip to a remote cell tower or other similar site, a clip board, some test radios or phones, a portable RF spectrum analyzer, a laptop, and a clipboard........

Note to self. Never set the clipboard down. The cattle and horses won't bother you, the goats will not only eat all your freshly written paper, they will eat the clipboard too.

 

[Evenharmonics]

Any spider I see gets smashed. I got bit by a brown recluse once. It was hiding in a pile of old wood. I cut the area off my hand with a pair of sharp wire cutters before the venom had spread much but the area still took months to heal.

These things are relentless. They will chase you down and sting for no reason.

Environmentally friendly way to deal with them.

 

[PRR]

Yep, we had deer flies, horse flies and 2 or 3 other biting flies up in Temagami. All at once..... DEET and other repellants don't seem to work...

Soome insight in today's newspaper:

Summer’s biggest pests, deer flies and horse flies ‘slash their way into your skin’
By Aislinn Sarnacki, BDN Staff • August 20, 2019 6:00 am
Updated: August 20, 2019 1:12 pm

Emerging in full force mid-summer, deer flies and horse flies are among the most intimidating creatures in the Northeast. Their bites are painful, and once they’ve home in on a target, they’re nearly impossible to shake.

When pest experts talk about these types of flies, it sounds like they’re discussing monsters or aliens from a Hollywood thriller.

“Their mouthparts are described as knife-like or scissor-like,” said Jim Dill, a pest management specialist for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. “They basically slash their way in[to your skin]. They have a saliva that acts as an anticoagulant. And when you start bleeding from the wound, they lap it up.”

Dill is working on a project that involves capturing and identifying different deer flies and horse flies throughout Maine. So far, he has been fascinated by the variety he’s found.

The difference between a deer fly and horse fly

“Deer fly” and “horse fly” are common names used to describe hundreds of species in the Tabanidae family. In the United States and Canada, about 350 different species of these flies exist, and they vary greatly in size and appearance.

“Off the top of my head, I don’t know how many different species there are in Maine,” Dill said. “But there’s a lot, and some of them are kind of regional. For example, down on the coast, you hear of the ‘greenheads’ on the beaches.”

One of the species Dill found had yellow and black stripes, similar to yellowjacket. Another species is so big — about 1½ inches long — that Mainers often refer to it as a “moose fly.”

“One under each arm would carry you away,” Dill said.

Though the common names — deer fly, horse fly and moose fly — are sometimes used interchangeably, people generally use the term “deer fly” when describing species in the genus Chrysops, said Howard Russell, entomologist at Michigan State University. While “horse fly” is typically used to describe species in the genus Tabanus. Both genuses are in the Tabanidae family.

“What’s very cool about them is their incandescent eyes,” Russell said.

“I have at least 15 to 20 species where I live,” he added. “I think I’ve been bitten by them all.”

What makes these flies so formidable?

In addition to having a painful bite, deer flies and horseflies are fast, strong flyers. They are notably faster than mosquitoes or blackflies, making them a bane of runners and cyclists. And they don’t just follow you. These flies have a tendency to circle and ping off your head, a behavior that can be outright maddening.

“They’re very fast — among the fastest flying of all insects,” said Russell, though he does not know if their top speed has ever been recorded.

You can try to outrun them, but these flies hunt by sight and are attracted to movement. They are also attracted to dark colors, especially blue, according to instructions on how to make a deer fly trap by North Florida Research and Education Center.

“They can be quite territorial, too,” Dill said. “As you’re walking along, one fly can bounce around your head and after you’ve gone 10 to 15 feet, oftentimes it will leave you. But it won’t be long before you have another one.”

Unfortunately, insect repellent doesn’t seem to deter these flies much, Dill said. He believes one reason is because deer flies and horse flies often aim for people’s heads, where they wiggle under hair to find skin. And usually, people don’t thoroughly spray their scalp. Also, they do not use scent to find their hosts (as mosquitos do), therefore, it doesn’t matter if the repellent masks your scent.

Interestingly, it’s only the female flies that bite. The males feed on nectar and pollen, Dill said. And the larvae feed on aquatic predators, including mosquito larvae.

“In that way, they’re kind of a mixed blessing,” Russell said.

 

[rsavas]

You guy's and your guns ...

To *farm* blueberry you pick a dryer field, burn it, and burn again occasionally to keep competing species down

We went picking for blue berries in a burnt out area off hwy#17 around White River. The blueberries plants were large cones of pink flowers and berries, I was amazed that they could get that big and plentiful. Mom tripped over a fallen log and spilt her bucket on the ground. She was not happy but it took only a few minutes to replenish. Fresh blue berry pie, yum.
Funny how you guys got a reaction to the city slicker comment, all in good fun.

making them a bane of runners and cyclists. And they don’t just follow you. These flies have a tendency to circle and ping off your head, a behavior that can be outright maddening.

I remember the damn deer fly's would be following us in the boat with a motor, even when water skiing.
that one pictured is what we call a horse fly, they are slower and much easier to kill. The smaller ones with the green head are the evil ones. Your write up is bang on, more bugs 101.
Cheers

 

[Cal Weldon]

that one pictured is what we call a horse fly, they are lower and much easier to kill. The smaller ones with the green head are the evil ones.

Yes, without a doubt that's a horse fly. They are like transport planes. Big and cumbersome with large bodies and not such great flyers. Destructive yes but they rely on size not stealth.
The deer flyers are like you describe. They are the colourful delta wing fighters with precision, speed and mobility. They may not take such a big chunk out of you but you have trouble bringing the little darlings down.

 

[rsavas]

yeah the spotted winged delta fliers are them alright. As a kid, I used to cut the grass at the uncles resort with a gas push mower for $2.65/hr. I learnt how to kill deer fly. It was them or me

 

[Cal Weldon]

$2.65/hr.

Exactly $1 more per hour than my first 'legit' job. I am glad things have improved since then. I am now up over $6 per hour. Isn't progress great?

 

[jackinnj]

Exactly $1 more per hour than my first 'legit' job. I am glad things have improved since then. I am now up over $6 per hour. Isn't progress great?

That's about what I made as a fork-lift driver summer after freshman year 1969 -- a non-union shop with only three kinds of workers, displaced Poles, displaced West Virginians and a smattering of Af Americans. Everybody but me was on piece-work so they paid you to be fast. 4PM to Midnite or 4PM to 4AM.

There was a gin mill right next door and most of the punch-press operators were missing at least one digit!

When the plant closed for mandatory summer vacation, me and the other college kid had to clean the lavs, and paint over the dirty (very) graffiti on the stalls. The ladies were much more enthusiastic in their graffiti.

 

[rsavas]

We used to eat our paper route profits in the candy machine

 

[Mr_Zenith]

My first "legit" job was working as a local radio station DJ at the tender age of 15. As I recall the US minimum wage was $3.35 per hour, equivalent to $8.64 today. Not too shabby for a high school punk, and it beat all h3!! out of flipping burgers at the "golden haunches".

There was a gin mill right next door and most of the punch-press operators were missing at least one digit!

We had a convenience store called "The Pantry" just down the highway. For laughs we'd have contests to see who could make a run in the shortest time. The idea was you'd cue up a record on one of those old Russco Studio Pro turntables, flip the switch then dash like mad to the store and back before the record ended. One of the "rules" was that you had to make a purchase - with a receipt - as proof you'd been there or it didn't count. My best time was 2:35, but the overall champ made his run in 2 minutes flat.

Our station had a life-sized anthropomorphic chicken for a mascot - which is another way of saying a guy in a chicken suit. You really, really didn't want to wear it, as it was heavy, hot and nasty (imagine wearing a couch discarded by a college fraternity and you'll get the idea). I managed to avoid being "that guy" for three years before I was tapped to wear it at a local high school football game.

I blew the fifty bucks I earned in half a day. The stench of five years' worth of amalgamated B.O., however, has lasted a lifetime. At least the mosquitoes left me alone.

 

[Carlp]

On our 7 day canoe trip I could kill 5 or more at a sitting without much trouble. But that would roughly halve the contingent of flies, and sadly, after 5 minutes or so they'd leave and 30 blissful seconds or so after that another 10 or more would arrive again, and the cycle would repeat. I made NO inroads into reducing the population. BTW, we had horse flies (bigger than the photo above), plus the ones above (call 'em horse flies if you like) which I don't have a name for, the much smaller brown spotted "delta wing" ones that Cal mentions, which have some dark patches on the wings, which are what I call deer flies. Plus at least 3 others I've never noticed before. Some had green on them but were not "green heads" we see at our beaches in New England. We thankfully didn't have any of what I call green heads. That would have sent me over the edge...

 

[Tubelab_com]

$2.65/hr......Exactly $1 more per hour.....$3.35 per hour

I made money building and fixing stuff from an early age. My first real job (where you have a boss) was supposed to be putting up TV antennas for a local shop, pay, Dade County Florida minimum wage which was $1.05/hr. Federal minimum was higher, but didn't apply. It was 1969. When the boss figured out that I could fix TV's better than him, he did antennas and I fixed stuff.

After a couple of years of fixing stuff for an Olson's Electronics store. I moved to the "factory" a Motorola plant about 30 miles north, where again, I fixed stuff. Starting pay was $3.57/hr. Started as line tech, left 41 years later as a "Principal Staff Engineer" making a wee bit more than $3.57/hr.

In a rare diversion from the sweltering heat, yesterday morning brought much needed rain and 59 degrees F. The rain was gone by lunch time, and my table saw was spinning shortly thereafter. Cool again today....but it won't last. Today's task list involves the miter saw.

 

[Bigun]

here, it actually feels chilly outside with dew on the grass and it leaves me feeling sad that the hot days are nearly over

 

[Tubelab_com]

Cool again today....but it won't last. Today's task list involves the miter saw.

It was 57 degrees F and quite nice when I went outside to rattle the neighbors and scare the cat with the sound of Makita eating aluminum. Now, back inside it's time to see if all the pieces fit together as I envisioned they would.

it actually feels chilly outside with dew on the grass and it leaves me feeling sad that the hot days are nearly over

I left Florida to escape the kind of heat we have been seeing. I will be glad to see them go.....my wife however does NOT share my opinion.

 

[Bigun]

my wife however does NOT share my opinion.

and that's probably not limited to the weather, but heck, would be boring any other way

 

[Tubelab_com]

I was able to get in on ground floor of the latest craze sweeping the nation: delayed anaphylaxis. It went away after 6 years of avoiding "non-primate mammalian meat" which is great, because I love a good steak on occasion.

I didn't make the connection between this issue and tick bites until I heard a discussion on the radio this morning and consulted Google. It seems that the allergy to red meat is caused by a bite from a "lone star tick."

Unexplained cases of anaphylaxis linked to red meat allergy | National Institutes of Health (NIH)

 

[Mr_Zenith]

I didn't make the connection between this issue and tick bites...

Yeah, sometimes I get so consumed by dry 'wit' that I nearly forget the message - but that's it. When I acquired it the exact cause was still a bit of a mystery to the medical community at large. The symptoms were now what are considered 'textbook': I'd wake up around midnight with massive, hot hives all over my body that would itch horribly.

When I say massive, I'm talking about individual wheals that could vary from 1/4 to maybe 1/3 of an inch in thickness, and as large as my outstretched hand. I wound up in the ED at least four times, and each time the staff would would pump me full of IV benadryl, keep me for observation, then send me home with the cause listed as "ideopathic". On the last visit the attending physician explained to me that what was happening on my skin was also occurring internally, which explained why I couldn't hold much down in the days after an attack.

For about a year or so I was genuinely afraid I'd die in my sleep. Then almost by accident I found the cause from a relative who worked at a Red Cross blood facility. I tested positive for the antibody once that test became available, and subsequently discovered the Lone Star tick connection. BTW, they thrive in areas with a large deer population.

This stuff is no joke.

 

[chrisb]

My previously incredibly fit, energetic and accomplished daughter was bit by ticks while hiking through Sweden a couple of years ago.

Lymes is no joke - that Borrelia is one mof'ing insidious little bacteria. At the age of 35, that's basically a life sentence of being a guinea pig for the numerous conventional, holistic and experimental medical treatment regimens.

All things considered, I've had a blessed life, but would trade what time I have left in a heartbeat if I could trade places with her.