The year of the deer fly

This year has certainly had a bumper crop of deer fly in the Adirondacks. While deer fly have always been around and a nuisance with their bites that itch and cause swelling, I’ve never seen them in the numbers like this year – flying around causing havoc. I think it’s due to the extremely wet and cool spring that only recently turned hot and humid.

Twice this summer, day napping I’ve gotten painful bites on my lips from deer flies leading them to swell – once napping during the day in my truck. The deer fly figured out how to get Ina hole in the truck bed. I also got bit on the ear once – causing that to swell. That’s despite using a combination of Picardin on my shirt, shorts and neck, DEET and PMD on my face, legs and arms. By the amount of repellent I’ve used this past long weekend I swear there shouldn’t be bugs around for miles.