Ok...Where are the black flies? (Augusta, Wells: campground, gardening, moving to) - Maine (ME) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

CapeCodder · 10-31-2006, 05:03 PM

This is so weird. I spent most of my time researching taxes and crime...then this came up and I'm more stressed out about these stupid bugs! Mud and black flies...good times!

Living on the Cape our spring doesn't exist. It goes from winter to summer...to worms. I'm going to ask a lot of questions when I go up there Thursday...can't wait!

I did a little more research on the flies...they have little *dots* with color charts as to where they are severe etc...looked like the area we're looking in was severe at certain points last year. LOL...grrrrrrrrrrreat!

tkx7 · 10-31-2006, 10:02 PM

I think you are over-reacting. I have lived in Maine my whole life and have only occationally encountered black flies on a few trips in the deep woods of Maine. Even being right near a river probably wont be a problem at all. Misquitoes are much more annoying and more of an issue but they are in still water areas. I really think black flies depend on exact factors, because there are some rivers that I have been to where black flies have never been noticable.

mbear · 10-31-2006, 10:12 PM

I don't think the black flies are any more than a reason to do other things for a few weeks. Many good choices listed that I won't repeat. I can't agree that black flies aren't a problem in the woods. The house we rented before we bought the one in Dexter was totally in the woods and they were as bad or worse there. You just need to be aware of the conditions before you make your plans; a good strategy anywhere.

I left Maine because it wasn't a safe place to be, especially for kids. The day things improve I will be back.

BTW, never get between mamma Bush and China at the outlet mall in Kennebunk and NEVER get between Stephen King and a cheesecake at the Bangor Sams LOL

CapeCodder · 11-01-2006, 05:19 AM

Good! I'm glad I don't have to walk around the streets with a bee keepers hat on. (I'm sure my sister's *adventure* with the black flies was made all the more dramatic because she was on vacation. You tend to remember a lousy vacation.)

I'm putting the black fly talk to rest...I thank you all for taking the time to answer me. Going up tomorrow...will be back with more questions undoubtedly. Can't wait!

tkx7 · 11-01-2006, 08:09 AM

she may be right though- I have encountered some ferocious swarms of black flies before, but only on rare occations. I guess she was just unlucky where she was and when it was.

MsJL · 11-01-2006, 11:59 AM

I moved here in early April, and saw only a few black flies. I expected much worse, from what I had heard. I live in an established neighborhood, with no rivers all that close by (there are a few wet areas towards the back of my property, though), so maybe the conditions just aren't right for black flies to breed here, where I am. They were a horrible problem in NH, though - lived there for 10 years, and the "season" ran from late April through June.

I did have a few days with too many mosquitos, but a little spray took care of that, no problem.

chickadee · 11-02-2006, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CapeCodder

Good! I'm glad I don't have to walk around the streets with a bee keepers hat on. (I'm sure my sister's *adventure* with the black flies was made all the more dramatic because she was on vacation. You tend to remember a lousy vacation.)

I'm putting the black fly talk to rest...I thank you all for taking the time to answer me. Going up tomorrow...will be back with more questions undoubtedly. Can't wait!

Your sister was probably not being overly dramatic. By the way, a bee-keepers hat does not work, as the black flies will crawl underneath. If you wear boots up over your slacks, with long-sleeved shirts and gloves, they will still find a way to get at your skin underneath.

Blackflies have a "season", which begins in the southern areas of Maine and progresses northward. Generally speaking, they appear right around the time you want to plant your garden, and are around for a few weeks. They tend to swarm, and actually tear tiny bits out of your flesh -- much worse than mosquito bites.

Because their time is limited, you can avoid them by planning a vacation to be either before or after they are present in any given region.

I am personally very sensitive to their bites and become quite ill from them, but would not consider that as the only reason to not live in Maine. You can plan your life to get around that. "Where there's a will, there's a way!."

dogghosts · 01-01-2007, 09:32 AM

MBEAR..

I read you entery about the Black Flies and saw that you left the area as it is -UNSAFE-
Could you expand on what was so unsafe? Was it hunters , bugs , bears bad people moving in ?

My wife and I are looking to retire in a year and we spent a few summer vacations in Main and loved it . We have not been there since the 90s .
We now live in Philadelphia ( hate it ) and last year we had over 400 people shot dead on the streets . Most of them are the inner city low-lifes but the so called inner-city area is growing at an alarming rate like a cancer .
There were over 65 thousand arrestes for violent offenses here and the city boasts a crime rate 2 to 3 times the natinoal aveage . The Police here took 6500 fire arms off the street last year and we still had over 400 people shot dead. We live with the constant threat of theft and home breakins. We have vidio cameras set up to watch our property if we go out at night .
We live in a " GOOD AREA" that is still not over run by animals ,,,,yet.
I am wondering is Main safer than were I am now?

Acadianlion · 01-02-2007, 06:53 PM

Black flies are overrated. Period. They appear in the spring and some people are very much bothered by them. For some strange reason, they seldom bite me at all, and mosquitos in the quiet evenings are for me much worse. Not far from my quarry there is a woman who works furiously in her garden as soon as the frost is out of the ground. During black fly season she wears a wide brimmed hat with a mosquito net that comes down below her shoulders and she works away....I guess the black flies are a bother to her.

Are the black flies bad enough to make someone move from Maine? I think the answer is a simple, "NO". When I was stationed in the Tampa Florida area, the first "Love Bug" season was a real shock. Those nasty things swarm along the roadsides and when they impact the nose of a car, their bug juices would eat right into the finish. But bad as I thought they were then, they wouldn't have been bad enough to get me to leave Florida. Florida has a LOT more worse things than that, and it's those other things that would drive me away....or as is the case now, keeps me in Maine!

roadrunna · 01-23-2007, 12:50 PM

My family wants to visit Maine for vacation. My husband has spent time there and he mentioned the flies. So from the reading the times to avoid are March thru June? I am familiar with SC, NC and VA coast and we do have black flies down here too but usually only for a couple weeks in August. The sand flies or sand fleas-people use both terms for the same irritating little mite. It is so tiny you can hardly see it but the bite is fierce and you can feel very sick if a swarm of them zeroes in on you. From my experience they usually appear at dusk for several hours and the rest of the day is relatively bug free. Like anywhere, the bugs are worse on those damp days when the air is still and no wind to keep them from landing on you. Anyway if anyone knows if July-specifically mid July- is good for visiting Maine, I would like to know. And if anyone is planning on Myrtle Beach of any of the NC beaches, I highly recommend late June and July and avoid August. September is also great down here. The ocean water is still warm enough for swimming and the beaches are less crowded.