Topic: Horse FLY !!!!! (Read 9268 times)

Wolf_Larson · « **on:** July 23, 2013 »

I was bite by a horse fly in Randalstown Forest at the weekend and my hand went like a Balloon, but its find now.

Rich.H · « **Reply #1 on:** July 23, 2013 »

Fun lil things aint they.... I have a wax/ointment/stuff sent to me from england for dealing with them. Works a treat for pretty much all mossies, midges, and flies. I left one arm untreated in the Sperrins at the weekend to test. Result after 8 hours in a t-shirt was one arm sliced by flies around 10 times, the treated arm not a single bite.

Spud · « **Reply #2 on:** July 23, 2013 »

Hate those buggers!!

Rich.H · « **Reply #3 on:** July 23, 2013 »

This is the stuff, has a similar consistency to beeswax. Made with things like pine resin and other natural stuff, also doesn't stink like deet.

ChuckMcB · « **Reply #4 on:** July 25, 2013 »

I was about to call shenanigans, looked more like boot polish to me

but then google points me to:

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107329

Quote

The active ingriedents are high grade pine tar, citronella oil, lemon eucalyptus, with beeswax and sunflower oil to make it work. It is applied very sparingly. That is more information than wilmas tells you. We can make a batch without either of the essential oils if you have issues, but it will smell worse.

(they call it EAT - Ectoparasitic AntifeedanT oil - because of an EU directive that does not allow them to call it a insect replant - classic)

Quote

Well now, since I wrote of my first impressions of the EAT last week, we've had purpose-designed conditions for testing any repellant; from scorching hot and dry to very high humidity and windstill and heavy and thundery to sharp showers and longer periods of fairly heavy rain. I've walked about 15 miles a day as I normally do, but I've done it in a pair of approach shoes (trainer-type thingys) and no socks and an army surplus wicking t-shirt with short sleeves - I've not been able to go about the woods with this much skin exposed for years because of the biting ones and it's been a real eye-opener................

As some of you will know from earlier posts, I spend a great deal of time with horses each day, and I've worn the above outfit for this as well; the ground I walk over is very varied but mostly with a heavy covering of the fern (bracken) and heavily populated with various species of deer, plenty of wild pig and fox, and much of the open ground is sheep pasture - it's usual for me to take 2 or 3 ticks off Mollydog on a daily basis and 6 - 8 from myself a week, and that's going about with boots gaiters and long sleeves.

Besides the ticks, horseflies, midges and mossies have been the bane of my life, a very real misery. When I started to use the SSMR this was to a great extent ameliorated and made life much more bearable, pleasant even, but when I got the EAT to trial I stopped using it (SSMR) in order to get a good idea of the new stuff on it's own.............it's much easier to apply and control exactly how much of it goes where and I don't find it unpleasant at all, EXCEPT: if you have a trace of it on your fingers and transfer it to your mouth by way of food, drink or a smoke, it really is vile!............But your fingers are the one place you don't need it so just wipe/wash hands after application; other than that the carrying and applying of it are easy and convenient. I also found I didn't need to apply it more than three times a day.

During this period I have had 3 nights out, using a stove rather than a good big fire, and up untill 2 days ago, I had no ticks on me and not a single bite ............I can't remember the last time I had a run like that free of the critters . The last two days and one night out, I've left the bottom part of my left leg and my left arm below the elbow without the EAT, and I'm covered in bites from all sorts on those parts, came home at 6 am today and had a shower, no ticks, then put the oil on completely again, covering everything. I've been in the woods since with a pair of young horses I'm doing and I've not had a fresh bite all day.............

Chris the Cat has it dead right, in my view; it's not just that they're not biting me, they're not landing on me and as a wearer of glasses, this is a very great thing - no more swiping my glasses onto the ground and getting them filthy from taking them on and off to clear the little fekks from under them.

This EAT oil has made a huge difference to my summer and I just couldn't praise it highly enough, very highly recommended on my experience of it so far...........Thanks for getting it to me,.........atb mac

Interesting.

Rich.H · « **Reply #5 on:** July 25, 2013 »

Yup it's good stuff I throw on a little everytime I head out and forget about the issues from buzzy things.

LandyLiam · « **Reply #6 on:** July 26, 2013 »

Father killed by fly bite allergy

Quote

A father died after suffering an "incredibly rare" allergic reaction when he was bitten by a horsefly.

Andy Batty, 48, had been watching his daughter Catherine, 17, ride her horse when he received the bite. The father of four, who was 6ft tall, collapsed as a result of anaphylactic shock and was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.

Mr Batty, an engineer, had been helping Catherine ride her pony Bess at a field in Brixham, Devon, on Sunday.

Two ambulances and a helicopter went to the field at 12.30pm but could not save him.

Lindsey McManus, deputy chief executive at Allergy UK, said: "Anaphylaxis to a horsefly bite is incredibly rare. It is more common for people to develop localised infection and pain around the bite. As with any allergic reaction, the sufferer would have previously developed antibodies, in this case to the horsefly allergen, by being bitten previously.

"The body's immune system reacts on further contact by producing chemicals such as histamine, which cause the symptoms that we recognise as allergy, including itching, swelling, rashes, and in the most severe form, anaphylaxis.

"This is very unusual and although horsefly bites can be painful, the likelihood of someone being this allergic is very rare indeed."

Mr Batty had four children - James, Michael, and Rachel from a first marriage, and Catherine from a second relationship. He worked as an engineer at KJ Engineering in Brixham.

A spokeswoman for South Western Ambulance Service said: "We received a call at 12.34 on the 21st of July. It was a male casualty in his late 40s.

"He had been bitten by a horse fly and suffered a severe allergic reaction. We sent one air and two land ambulances to the scene. He was pronounced dead at the scene."

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/father-killed-fly-bite-allergy-091955676.html#dORmFT5

Rich.H · « **Reply #7 on:** July 26, 2013 »

As tragic as that is you do have to wonder if we are getting weaker as a species with city life. It seems that each year the numbers of folk who are allergic to this and that go up far more than simple population ratios. The whole h&s clipboard brigade have got people so scared of everything that few of us every subject ourselves to things that haven't been tested or produced in lab conditions. Thus we never get subjected to things as a child and don't develop antibodies or a simple used to approach with things.

Wolf_Larson · « **Reply #8 on:** July 26, 2013 »

Where can i get that stuff to keep the hourse flys away ?

Rich.H · « **Reply #9 on:** July 26, 2013 »

Quote from: Wolf_Larson on July 26, 2013

Where can i get that stuff to keep the hourse flys away ?

PM sent.

Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more

Useful Links

Follow NI-Wild

Author Topic: Horse FLY !!!!! (Read 9268 times)

Wolf_Larson

Horse FLY !!!!!

Rich.H

Re: Horse FLY !!!!!

Spud

Horse FLY !!!!!

Rich.H

Re: Horse FLY !!!!!

ChuckMcB

Re: Horse FLY !!!!!

Rich.H

Re: Horse FLY !!!!!

LandyLiam

Re: Horse FLY !!!!!

Rich.H

Re: Horse FLY !!!!!

Wolf_Larson

Re: Horse FLY !!!!!

Rich.H

Re: Horse FLY !!!!!

Bottom Sponsor

Recent Topics