[Closed] Horse fly bites whilst riding?

They can bite through chainmail! Try a smear of something on the skin under the clothes, Tea Tree oil perhaps?

Not jam, ovbs...

Horse flies are evil f***s.

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Cheers

Danny B

Just back from Corsica and got horse fly bites and mozzie bites all over me. The horse flies were really bad in the rocks when we came out of the sea from snorkelling.

[quote=dannybgoode said]Horse flies are evil f***s.

They do like their cool shades though 🙂

Something took a bite out of me or stung me during my ride on Friday night on my belly through my jersey. It's come up nice and swollen and itchy as hell. No idea what it was.

Hateful evil useless things, a long time ago me and a mate were surfing one of the Gower reefs, walking back to the car we got savaged. They can easily bite through a rash vest as the six bites on my back testify. So bib shorts should be possible.

A bloke died in Devon after a bite last week, anaphylactic shock 😯

Horse Flies > Wasps

Sh*tty flies that serves no purpose on earth whatsoever but to pester riders and others.. There is part of my trail that has swarms of this

They got me through shorts last weekend. Bastards.

So they do bite through clothing, was not aware of that.

They do indeed bite through clothing. I used to do 3day eventing and the only thing we found to keep them off us at night whilst chilling by the camp fire/BBQ was hairspray.
They hate being sprayed by it.

Bites are sore for a few days but nowt you can do about it. Peppermint oil was about as close as we got to keeping them off.. Smear liberally 😉

If you're getting bitten by horse flies, you're not going fast enough. Just saying!

They can bite through cotton, lycra etc. I carry antihistamine cream in the summer and apply it as soon as I am bitten. It saves them coming up like golf balls. I was once bitten on the ankle three times and couldn't get my walking boots on.

Doh ! A Horsefly can bite through horse skin, bib shorts will be but the tiniest inconvenience. Terrible little things. Agreed with the above, "bastards"

@bikebouy - that's a lame (excuse terrible pun) excuse re the hairspray, we all know you are a regular user 🙂

they like black clothes, coz they make you look like a horses ass.

lidderally!

You can't stop them, they are vicious, persistent and above all, f*cking sneaky little bastards.

Take non-drowsy antihistamines before your ride, and as above, hit the bite with a blob of antihistamine cream as soon as you feel it.

And obviously, go faster/don't stop.

We have been plagued by them this year and I have been bitten twice by them. They are horrible things.

Thankfully they are not as quick as houseflies, so you do have the opportunity to kill them when they pitch on you, although this is not going to save you being bitten if you are riding at the time.

I did a bit of googling after being bitten and one person said rubbing your own saliva into the bite can help relieve the swelling as it contains anti-bacterials and another mentioned rubbing bracken on the bite.

I was hoping that the recent unsettled weather would have washed them away, but I was buzzed by a couple whilst out washing the car yesterday, sigh!

They do indeed bite through clothing. I used to do 3day eventing and the only thing we found to keep them off us at night whilst chilling by the camp fire/BBQ was hairspray.
They hate being sprayed by it.

I guess the human equivalent would be getting sprayed by a fire hose pumping out a fast setting PVA mixture.

hate the little sods though. Keep forgetting to put Skin so Soft on.

Bitten on the knee yesterday, the little swine left its mouth parts in me after I swatted it. Bitten on the eyelid today, this one wouldn't let go. Bloke behind in a car stopped to check I was ok, I came to a halt so randomly. Pop science: yesterday's bite has gone red again, presumably because of the new histamines.

cheez0 is correct - proper sciencey stuff has shown that they're attracted to dark objects more than light objects, so make sure you always ride in light colours accompanied by a ninja dressed head to toe in black, preferably a sweaty one.

> 6months with multiple antibiotics here from two horsefly bites.

hora - Member
> 6months with multiple antibiotics here from two horsefly bites.

Ouch!

Bitten on the eyelid today

Ooof!

i am so glad to hear all of this, i thought it was just me who got attacked by them.
i still have brown marks on my legs from bites 3 years ago.
i havent noticed them biting through any clothing though, bare skin only ime, and i wear black lycra mostly, i also sweat a fair bit if its warm.
so far, in every case when ive been bitten, i have had a stop on the ride, so i reckon if you keep going you are mostly safe, also i havent been bitten on any night rides as far as i recall.
hateful things.

bleeding things, long sleeve shirt, long shorts, long socks, full finger gloves - you know the little hole on the back of the glove where it velcros together - 3 bites, little ****ers

For some strange reason, this year I do not seem to have as much of a reaction to horse fly bites as I used to - which is perhaps as well, as I've lost count of the number of little ****ers that have got me 🙁

They make eye contact and watch out for you as they snip your skin. They cut the skin,not pierce it. Horrible things. I noticed a few years ago that if you have one biting you on the back of the leg,if you turn around slowly they fly off as soon as you spot them. Nowt to do with you swatting them. Clever beasts and quite incredible looking things. At Culbin they seem to have monsters, unlike the one's biting me through lycra on a road climb (road bike!) last monday. Swiping them every other pedal stroke on the steeps gets tiring.

They were landing out of sight on the underside of my arms (where they felt like a stone being flicked up) and biting thorugh my longsleeve baser layer on my last ride, little bastards.

Turns out they are important pollinators of some flowers, so not useless, but still little bastards. 👿

Lady Gresley- eat alot/less meat this year?

Yep. Been done and its been itching like a b@57@rd for a week now 🙁

Wasps and horse flies. Detest both!

Got bitten 6 times through my shorts on one ride. Even going down hill they got me. Evil things.

Got bitten by the bony bit on my wrist a few years back in Morzine. My hand blew up like a balloon overnight (as well as my ankle a little bit, weirdly).

Spent the next day in bed shivering with fever too. Riding mates fed me handfuls of antihistamines.

They are evil. FACT

Worst year I can remember for horse flies TBH. They're the only beastie I kill on sight. Got bitten at least half a dozen times on one steep road climb on Thursday, all still itching like hell 😐

pollinate? if those evil little beast is the only means of their survival, i hope that plant is meant to make antihistamines otherwise that plant or flower will be extinct very soon by me and other angry riders 👿 ..i hope horses dont eat those or would be circle of life thingy 🙄

For some strange reason, this year I do not seem to have as much of a reaction to horse fly bites as I used to - which is perhaps as well, as I've lost count of the number that have got me

Funny that i'm the same this year. Normally i swell up like a balloon.

 

They really are evil buggers, wasps at least perform a useful function in predating on lots of harmful pests, to feed to their young, and really only sting in defence. Horseflies bite to feed, and they saw through the skin to get the blood!
They wear cool shades, though; if only Oakley could do similar patterns...

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They were horrendous over in Torridon last weekend, I've never known them so bad. The worst bits were the hike-a-bike where I couldn't swat them. They'd just bite and fly off leaving a trickle of blood. Thankfully I'm another who doesn't seem to be suffering the usual golf ball sized lumps after they've bitten this year. Horrible little bastards 😡

Horseflies are little packets of protein-filled blood (albeit yours/mine) that will feed the local birds. Don't hate them, love them for helping you donate your life-juice for the good of the eco-system.

teasel - we agree on the sunscreen issue, but on this; less so.

Well, I mean, I can't love them - it hurts too much!

Wasps are turd sandwiches.
Cleggs are douches.

I was discussing our cleg plague with a neighbour the other day and he noted that the local magpie population around where we live is way above normal levels.

As a result the local song bird population has most likely suffered allowing all manner of flies to increase in numbers.

A system out of balance.

'Orrible! The kids and I were plagued by them on the way up and down from Goatfell on Isle of Arran last week.

Have been bitten by them out on the bike before and ended up on strong antibiotics because of cellulitis. Always seems to happen if bitten in shin area for some reason. If the red, blotchy bit around the bite starts to spread significantly, especially towards your core, go see a doc because it could mean infection. Paranoid about them now because of past experiences and took antibiotics with me on holiday this year just in case. :-/

Three courses of antibiotics in the last few years because of these little bastards. Apparently they land on clothing then crawl in or onto skin so you can't feel them. They then try to excise a piece of skin to take away and feast on. In doing so, they chew loads of crap from your skin and their mandible into you, hence the much worse infection than a mozzie bite. Muddy mtb legs make this worse, and you have less chance of feeling them if your legs are caked in mud too.

Get to the quack for some antibiotics quick.

They are one of the few species I would happily see go extinct.

On a slightly different tack, apparently if you find a mozzie on a loose part of your skin, you can pinch the skin up and trap the little buggers mouthparts, but they cannot stop the flow of blood, so they swell up ans eventually burst! A suitably revolting end.

So, erm, not that struck with the elephant man look. Off to get some advice...

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Jeebus!

Is your taste in art subtly influenced by years of being feasted upon by vicious insects?

So, erm, not that struck with the elephant man look. Off to get some advice...

lol something similar happened to me last year, flew into a wasp which got caught behind the bridge of my glasses... unsurprisingly it stung me a couple of times, my face was so swollen I was unrecognisable - had to take the first day off work as I couldn't see enough to ride in.

A week of antihistamines sorted it out, no permanent damage done.

lol. It's got bigger! Now on a triple whammy of antibiotic eyedrops, tablets and antihistamine tabs. Off to browse some Damien Hirst spot art now.

Ouch! Hope you're better soon. I sometimes react really badly to horseflies (legs swollen to nearly double width once) but this year only days of horrid itching. Don't understand why the difference but they put the fear into me if I see them!

Riding in Wales I was just declaring myself pooped at the top of a climb. The words were scarcely out of mouth when I saw the unmistakeable swooping flight round my legs and shot off without drawing breath… 'ride like you're pursued by horseflies' could be my next race strategy.

Evil!

Everytime I get bitten by one I have to go on a strong dose of antibiotics as they swell up big style. Usually arm or leg and with 24 hours its swollen the whole arm or leg.

Had to spend a night in hospital a couple of years ago from it. Arm was double its normal size, felt like it was on fire and must have weighed more than a downhill bike.

One of the little sods got me in Edale the other week. [s]Struggling[/s] speeding up a hill and suddenly felt a little chomp under my armpit. Properly hurt (in the way that mozzie bites don't) but no real ill effects other than a bit sore. Fortunately I don't seem to attract them too much. That said midges are another story entirely, they just lurve a bit of me. Enjoyed a congratulatory pint or two in Hebden the other week after a particularly testing loop. Got absolutely massacred. Had counted 50 bites on one leg 😯 before I gave up and got back to scratching..

I've been trialing Avon Skin so soft for the past few rides.

It works for me.

I still have nasty healing marks on my legs though from the past month.

..Stouts... <shudder>

Simple solution, ride with me. They love me long time and will more than likely pick me over you.

Is that Avon stuff available in Boots?

Simple solution, ride with me.

They'll be loving this warm summer, there were even more than usual in Assynt last week I'm sure.

Insect bites become far worse when I put antihistamine cream on them, might be worth noting for those of you getting lumps. Not sure what it is, maybe the lanolin in the cream.

Still they aren't as bad as their aussie cousins, the march flies.

teasel - we agree on the sunscreen issue, but on this; less so.

Well, I mean, I can't love them - it hurts too much!

Yeah okay, maybe "love 'em" was a step too far. I was just attempting to enlighten those claiming they have no purpose or place on this planet.

How's the eye looking, Stever...?

http://avonshop.co.uk/beauty/b/bath-and-bodycare/skin-so-soft.html

Amazon etc look like resellers making a profit

How's the eye looking, Stever...?

LOL, yeah. Just don't go riding up the rainbow road OK? Glad to hear it's better man.

Avon skin so soft has been reformulated apparently and the active anti-bug ingredient removed:

http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/midge-repellant-that-works