How to make a 2-ton deer fly trap…

[Galileo]

Staying here at Glacial Lakes State Park as campground hosts for the month of July has had me researching how to deal with all of the various annoying flying critters here. Minnesota is called “the land of 10,000 lakes” and humorously “and 10 million mosquitoes”. (I think that’s a low estimate between you and me…)

Last year, the park manager told me that this time of year, flies are the bigger nuisance. She was right. We put if a cheapo screen house to sit in (when it’s not 95F of course) but when you’re walking, the deer flies have you at their mercy. 

The familiar stinky traps don’t attract deer flies, just “filth flies” (house flies).  Have one up anyway and have harvested many thousands of those pests. A disposable trap fills up in about three days(!)

A little research told me that deer flies go after moving targets, and go for your head or the highest point of whatever critter they’re annoying. I also read that they’re attracted to the color blue. 

I found a few articles - typically on equestrian sites - that told how to “troll” for deer flies using blue Solo cups and a sticky goo like “Tangle trap”. I used to use the stuff in my garden, so I was familiar with it. 

Amazon conveniently has a vendor selling a kit with the blue Solo cups and the sticky stuff. Since I couldn’t find any in the local hardware stores or Walmart, I bought the kit. 

I tried it out by painting the outside of one of the blue cups with the goo and taping the cup - upside-down - to my side view mirror. I took a slow drive through the campground and was shocked at how many deer flies I caught in just 5 or 10 minutes. 

I discovered that the flies attack - and stick to - the BACK surface of the cup. (Hitting their target from behind) So the next time I tried trolling, I put a cup on each mirror and only put the goo on the back side. 
 

Well, as I’ve rambled quite enough, so I’ll show you the pics of my 2-ton deer fly trap and the results. 
 

Now - if I could just find a way to ruin 10,000 mosquitoes’ day - I’ll be a very happy camper! 
 

(Here’s the kit if you want to make your own fly trap:

https://a.co/d/00v6uY1Q
)

ps - yes, I did get several quizzical looks as I drive through the campground with blue Solo cups taped to my mirrors….

[Tony and Rhonda]

I sympathize, I had a deer fly take a chunk out of my forehead 50 years ago and I still remember the pain.

Any place in the campground (away from your Ollie) you could set up a fan and a blue tarp covered with the sticky stuff? A deer fly version of the mosquito zappers!.

For Mosquitos, I've had good luck with Thermocells.

Good luck!

 

Edited 2 hours ago by Tony and Rhonda
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[Galileo]

45 minutes ago, Tony and Rhonda said:

For Mosquitos, I've had good luck with Thermocells.

Thanks for the suggestion. 

We’ve been down the path with the Thermocell lantern style repellers. Definitely a bust for us. 
Even when they were actually operating - the difference we experienced was negligible. Still got just as many bites. 

They’re also expensive to run. Between the non-refillable butane cartridges, and the little pads with the repellent chemical, they cost a lot to feed. The ones we had also used AA batteries to power the integral light. 

One of the two I bought quit working (igniting) about a week into service. 

Those things have tiny - microscopic - orifice to meter the butane. I’m guessing some kind of impurity or contaminant in the butane cartridge - or the unit itself - from manufacturing - clogged that tiny port and that was the end of the road. 

In a former life, I had experience with Thermocell cordless curling irons. Basically the same butane cartridge and metering system. They had the same issue. Really dismal reliability. 

We’ve resorted to citronella candles. They probably aren’t very effective either - but they smell nice and it makes you -think- you’re repelling mosquitoes. I detest shattering myself with chemicals or fragrances to repel bugs. For me, long sleeves and sitting close to a campfire are the best deterrent I’ve found. Of course, neither is great when it’s 95F…

[jd1923]

57 minutes ago, Galileo said:

Staying here at Glacial Lakes State Park as campground hosts for the month of July has had me researching how to deal with all of the various annoying flying critters here. Minnesota is called “the land of 10,000 lakes” and humorously “and 10 million mosquitoes”. (I think that’s a low estimate between you and me…)

OMG! When we visited Minnesota last year in June, we must have been lucky one month earlier in the season. Though there were wildfires north of the border, so the sky was brown-cloudy, and it kept raining on and off.

We're not used to consecutive cloudy days anymore, so we had to get out of there. I had planned to visit Itasca State Park and boondock further up, but...

When we got up the next morning, I said to Chris, "We're driving west into North Dakota, and we'll stop only after we see sunshine again!

I'd make the same next-day beeline after seeing those mosquitos! Next time to Minnesota for us would be during the shoulder seasons.

[Mountainman198]

Perhaps you could place two treated, upside down blue solo cups into the holders on one of these drinking hats for when you go hiking?  Think of the conversations you would have along the way 🤣

Keep having fun and sharing. 

[Tony and Rhonda]

I've used the personal Thermocells for several years without any issues but they are (probably) first generation models purchased when they first hit the market. Pre-quality fade? They still work after 12-13 years.

I've also found Picaridin bug spray to work on repelling mosquitos. Perhaps not as effective as DEET but Picaridin doesn't dissolve your watch band, phone case or camera like DEET will. I also don't taste picaridin after application like I do DEET. Don't know how well it works on deer flies but it does OK with black flies.