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I can not express in words with out descending into profanity how much I hate these things. What is the point in them?
How can they manage to bite you through clothing ??????? 😐
yup dam annoying, mine take 3/4 days odd to disappear, just in time for the next weekend when you get bitten again.
Bloke on radio yesterday was saying warm and wet summers are ideal for them...and that there are 30 different flavours of horse fly!!
My wife got a bad bacterial infection from a horse fly bite last year. It took 2 long courses of antibiotics and quite a bit of time before she was fully okay again.
People get there knickers in a twist about pigs flying, you'd think a horse would make the frontpage of the news.
These are a curse! Get lots of them by us (Wirral) they bother you less if you keep moving so when I am running through certain wooded areas I get a move on.
Noticed this summer they are even more aggressive and actually land on you when you are running!!
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What is the point in them?
Plump, flying packets of protein for other, larger flying beasties.
As for their ability to get through clothing, I believe they have a saw-like device for slicing through your skin so probably effortlessly cuts through certain clothing.
Superb eyes, though...
Check out this thread from Sharki. Slide through the pics and you'll see a lovely close-up of the bastard bitey buggers...
http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/my-wildlife-encounters-part-deux
Woppit when we went to Yorkshire for the start of the tour we had that to keep the midges away. It was pretty rubbish in my opinion 😕
i woke up in a field in may with 5 horsefly bites on my cheek. not fun, still have the scars. we keep a tally in work of bites/kills. im currently on 7/12 this year
I kill them on sight, they are horrendous. It takes me a week to 10 days to get rid of these usually with a massive flair up in discomfort and itching at the end of the process.
Ba$***ds.
Bloke on radio yesterday was saying warm and wet summers are ideal for them...and that there are 30 different flavours of horse fly!!
I reckon I've tasted about 3, that was enough
pharmacist gave me some steroid cream for my hot/swollen horsefly bite yesterday. not fixed, but certainly a lot better than it was.
7/13 😆
My garden is overrun with the little buggers this year. I have 2 hours mowing on a ride on to do the lawn + field, and the little bastards make it a misery. Apparently they are attracted to vibrations which is just perfect on a mower! I think I was bitten nearly 10 times with about 15 kills last time, I now wear jeans and long sleeves even in the middle of the day to mow. Takes all the fun out of it!
My wife got a bad bacterial infection from a horse fly bite last year. It took 2 long courses of antibiotics and quite a bit of time before she was fully okay again.
^This.
A friend of mine got bitten on the big toe joint (wearing flip flops), it was badly diagnosed as gout by the docs, he then developed a bacterial infection and started pissing blood. 4 days on a drip and some serious antibiotics later and he's on the mend.
surfer - Member
Woppit when we went to Yorkshire for the start of the tour we had that to keep the midges away. It was pretty rubbish in my opinion
Strange. I used it on Shetland and Harris - worked very well. Must be breeding some horrifyingly savage midges up there in Yerkshere.
If (or if you're like me, when) your horsefly bites swell up and get red hot, put ice on them, the relief is wonderful. I've tried anti-histamine creams and steroid creams, but they just don't do anything.
No idea if it's medically sound but I make a paste of soluble aspirin and apply to bites, reduces swelling and itching.
They are absolute bastards. I've got two big bites on my side about six inches below my armpit. They can definitely bite you through clothes.
Iirc there's proper science that shows they're more attracted to dark shapes, so if you're in a group make sure you're wearing light colours and someone else can take the punishment.
This advice is brought to you by the people who say that when in shark infested waters you should always make sure there's someone who swims slower than you.
Lady Gresley - Member
If (or if you're like me, when) your horsefly bites swell up and get red hot, put ice on them, the relief is wonderful. I've tried anti-histamine creams and steroid creams, but they just don't do anything
Yep, I'm like you. Got bitten on the wrist while out riding one day and the next morning my whole hand was puffed up like the michelin man's and sore as hell, I had fever symptoms for the next 48 hours too.
Managed 3 in the space of a week two weeks ago, elbow followed by two a cm apart on the back of my hand thru a lightweight summer cycling glove, for once I resisted the urge to even touch them and after a week of itching like mad they have faded nicely.
Try being a horse vet - eaten alive this year, but at least they are lazy and easy to kill. DEET is an effective repellent for horse flies, but crap for midges. Citronella is useless for both.
If it's any consolation , I hate them too.
Three bites on my arse last week 🙁
senor j - MemberIf it's any consolation , I hate them too.
Three bites on my arse last week
Are you sure you meant to post that 😉
Hmm got some great horsefly blisters now....
Bit days ago but this is first time I've seen them blister up.
They usually land on the insides of my elbows. Fortunately the skin is sensitive enough to feel them. Best score - 23:nil one day, working beside a lake. Not sure if the lake is significant.
My knee swelled up from the bacteria they had and lucky antibiotics worked.
Baskets!
I guess I'm just lucky, then. I've been bitten constantly over the last few weeks and all I get is a small red swelling. The giant mosquito we have at the moment are something else - always stick me in the back of my little finger for some reason and a massive swelling appears, later releasing pus-type stuff. I've taken to using a syringe to suck out the worst of their shit but they're not to happy about that and tend to struggle... 😉
I was bitten by something under my jeans a couple of weeks ago.
Came up with a red welt maybe four inches across, red and angry, hard and hot. Went to the docs and got antibiotics and a steroid cream in addition to the antihistamines and anti-inflammatory I was already taking.
Before it started to calm down, it got to 22cm across. I woke up the next night freezing and shivering, put a t-shirt on (when I managed to move) and woke up again an hour later boiling hot and wet through. Felt like I had flu the next morning. Fun.
The annoyance was I'd been bitten to buggery in France the week before and didn't have anything more then pimples. I guess that compromised my immune system? Who knows. Bastards.
Mr C - that wasn't anything like a lyme disease reaction, was it?
No - that would be a 'bullseye' rash.
That's another story. Never had a tick before or since, but removed a dozen of the buggers one day in France. God knows how I'd picked them all up. Thank the gods I have a twister thing in the bike's first aid kit.
It seemed worth mentioning.
Oh, absolutely.
Don't know if anyone mentioned yet, but I can report the following method of relief as 'stopped the itching altogether' (courtesy of dad who is universally adored by horselfies)
Get a hairdryer, turn on hot, direct at skin in bite location until heat is just bearable.
Job done.
Additionally - men, when manically flailing/swatting at horseflies as they attempt to gently alight their silently evil little forms on various parts of your person - do remember to reign in your rage in the front of shorts area. While in Knightwick I succesfully smacked three landed horseflies into oblivion - two on my chest and one on my shoulder - immediately before (mid-rage, spying a fourth on my fly zip) cracking self an almighty one in the cobs. Don't know if fly survived but my dignity and family composure did not.