Skeeters and Flies

As if the mulch and watering situation wasn't bad enough, one thing we didn't fully take into consideration was pests. We knew that the usual suspects would be present around, namely mosquitoes and flies, but when you're working in the woods, tall grass and in a lowland plain with oppressive heat and humidity, it becomes apparent that productivity drops dramatically. The mosquitoes, deer and horse flies are a nuisance, since they all bite. When their numbers are high, they've often ground work to a halt. On the forest floor, there's a constant soft droan of billions of insect wings aflutter, mostly mosquitoes. Katherine generally works the open garden beds. I tend to get into the tall grasses, weeds and woods. Despite a good spraying of repellent, they still manage to torment me. I may just produce more carbon dioxide, or my genetic make-up that they find attractive. They don't seem to bother Katherine as much, even when she gets back into the woods. That's when I thought about Evy.

Nels Thorn was my dad's cousin, but everyone knew him as Evy. (rhymes with Chevy) I don't recall much about him because we hardly ever saw him but, I remember visiting him when I was a kid one summer at his cabin in northern Minnesota. The cabin was about sixty miles south of the Canadian border, deep in the woods. The mosquitoes and deer flies were ferocious. I remember my brother and I running with our arms flailing wildly in the air trying to keep them away. Evy, on the other hand, hardly flinched. I think Evy was just so used to squatting in the woods, hunting and fishing, that these flying tormentors were just a part of the landscape and, if you were going to be in their territory, you might as well get used to them.

And so it was, with amazement, that I watched as deer flies landed on Evy's head and crawled around his scalp like bugs on a rock. Some would land on his hat, some near his ear, cheek or neck. He rarely waved or shooed them away. He just lived with them, mosquitoes, too. I never got used to it and I don't think anyone else on our family vacation got used it either. Years later and the image  of Evy's deer fly pocked head still sticks with me. What a vacation memory. How did he do it?

I'm noticing something in the way of the skeeters and flies with our situation. First, the mosquitoes appear, always in the woods and brush but, particularly at dusk in the open areas. The skeeters are tiny in size relationship to the flies, but it's the power in their numbers. Because of the dense forest, ponds, ditches and lowland area, this is prime breeding ground. Depending on rain, if it's dry for at least a week, the first wave of mosquitoes die off and the deer flies come out. I particularly hate these pesky deer flies, since they target your head and bite any exposed flesh and are persistent to the point of stopping all activity. I'm definitely no Evy.

The horse flies come in right behind. The horse flies are getting bigger. Last weekend, one landed on the visor of the car and it was about the size of a quarter. That's a big fly to have buzzin' around your head, not to mention multiple flies. I noticed that the horse flies are merely a buzzing nuisance, and they don't seem to be as persistent about landing on me as the deer flies. I'm still bothered to have this deep droning  horse fly BUUUUUZZZZ around my head, rather than the light weight, bizzzz, of the deer flies however, it's the persistence and biting of the deer flies that drives me nuts. Insect repellent, even those with a high DEET content, really doesn't deter deer or horse flies. Clothing seems to be the best form of protection. Unlike the mosquitoes, the flies are always out during the day when we're working, always looking for an opportunity to land on you, whether you're idle or not. A little rain to promote some larvae and the cycle starts over. Skeeters and flies, skeeters and flies, skeeters and flies.

In short, we'll never be able to fully rid the property of them, it's their territory. We'll have to adapt and live with them, though I don't see myself being comfortable having deer flies crawling around on my head in the future. We'll keep them at bay as best we can along with the mosquitoes. The birds, bats and other creatures that feed off of them are happy. We're the visitors. It's only one of many seasons and this is our first. Lesson learned.

Katherine is now turning her attention to an even greater pest in her garden.