Horseflies!

[slowereveryyear]

At certain times in the summer we see a lot of horseflies about. Generally I don't get troubled by them. The one time I got bitten it was sore for a couple of hours and then just a bit red.
My wife has been bitten many times and always has a nasty reaction lasting days.
When we're out walking or cycling she gets bitten and I don't.
I wonder why they prefer some people to bite and not others?

I've read it's the females that do the biting, they need blood to breed.
Maybe she has more blood.

 

[Dave7]

At certain times in the summer we see a lot of horseflies about. Generally I don't get troubled by them. The one time I got bitten it was sore for a couple of hours and then just a bit red.
My wife has been bitten many times and always has a nasty reaction lasting days.
When we're out walking or cycling she gets bitten and I don't.
I wonder why they prefer some people to bite and not others?

I've read it's the females that do the biting, they need blood to breed.
Maybe she has more blood.

I know that gnats prefer to gorge on people with certain blood types** perhaps its similar with horseflies.
**on a cycling holiday in Majorca with a mate he was badly bitten and i had none. His blood type was the one specified (cant remember which type it is).

 

[MontyVeda]

I've heard that horse flies are attracted to darker clothing.

 

[slowereveryyear]

I know that gnats prefer to gorge on people with certain blood types** perhaps its similar with horseflies.
**on a cycling holiday in Majorca with a mate he was badly bitten and i had none. His blood type was the one specified (cant remember which type it is).

You may have found the reason she gets bitten.
She has the same problem with mosquitos . I see them around me but never get bitten.

 

[Dave7]

You may have found the reason she gets bitten.
She has the same problem with mosquitos . I see them around me but never get bitten.

I have just googled it.....google confirms mosquitos are attracted by blood type O but there is no evidence that horseflies are the same.....sorry.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Tell here to wear zebra inspired patterns. Confuses the flies and stops thrm landing.

 

[Poacher]

Tell here to wear zebra inspired patterns. Confuses the flies and stops thrm landing.

That's my next tattoo sorted!

 

[lazybloke]

Did a butterfly survey recently and got bitten by 5 horseflies. B*****ds.
Then got bitten by a grasshopper!

I've not had to use insect repellent all year, so I don't know I was suddenly so tasty.

 

[Accy cyclist]

I was attacked by one a few years ago. It kept landing on me, but thankfully couldn't penatrate my skin as I was wearing a heavy 26 ounce per square metre tweed suit.🧐

 

[Dave7]

Then got bitten by a grasshopper!

 

[Electric_Andy]

Firstly I would recommend Eurax cream. It's excellent for any sort of bites, reduces swelling but is the best thing I've used to get rid of the itching.

I've heard about horse flies but never been bitten myself. Though some people have reported huge swelling and pain/itching for months afterwards. Not pleasant. Do they actually hurt when they bite, or is it just the after effects that are bad?

 

[Shearwater Missile]

I seem to get bitten quite a bit, especially whilst cycling. As I mentioned on a different thread last week, I was stung twice by a hornet. That sting spread to about 4" in diameter. Since that ride I was bitten on my last ride, on the waist. That bite is still red two days later. I felt it at the time but no idea what it was. Often insects seem to go down the jersey through the open collar. I am type A blood group. Personally I don`t think it is the blood type, I think that it may be due to other smells we give out and that attracts the little blighters.

 

[chriswoody]

Midges and Mosquitos are attracted by the CO2 we breath out It's only pregnant females that "bite" because they need the Protein in our blood for their eggs. They actually have a thin probe that goes into the skin to suck the blood through and they inject a small anticoagulant to stop the blood clotting. This is what cause the allergy reaction in our bodies.

Horseflies on the other hand are less sophisticated. Their common target is large mammals like horses and cattle. Rather than CO2 detection they rely on sight, which isn't terribly good. They can detect large dark shapes that move and head in that direction. Only close up can they detect if it's a mammal. Studies have been conducted whether Zebra stripes would break up the image the flies see and confuse them.

Unlike Midges and Mossies, Horse flies obtain blood by ripping the skin and drinking the blood the comes out, this is why their bite is more painful and comes with more chance of contamination.

Because Horses and Cattle are generally quite docile they don't generally expect their prey to fight back, so generally they can be successfully attacked before they have had chance to bite.

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

Cycling in Netherlands I see a fair number of horse fly traps and they seem effective eg this year I camped at at equestrian centre for one night next to lots of small padocks (full of horses) and no problems with horse flies despite there being plenty around eg in forests.

Never seen one in the UK.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I know that gnats prefer to gorge on people with certain blood types** perhaps its similar with horseflies.
**on a cycling holiday in Majorca with a mate he was badly bitten and i had none. His blood type was the one specified (cant remember which type it is).

I am in remission from Leukaemia and never seem to have trouble with anything; I am GENUINELY surprised at some of the comments here! 🤔

Though some people have reported huge swelling and pain/itching for months afterwards.

Months??!!
Who ARE these people??!!

I am not bothered by anything, even wasps usually leave me alone.

That said, long before the Leukaemia though, when I was 9, we were on holiday in Colonsay (of all places) and we were bitten by Clegs (which I believe are Horseflies), but other than that, I've had trouble with sod all else, except for midges of course, although, I am in Scotland, so that hardly counts!!

I don't remember even the Clegs being of any great trouble anyway, especially once we knew what they were.

That said, whilst on Colonsay, I burned my hand on a cooker (I was a very young 9 year old and it was a type I'd never seen before. I heard my hand actually sizzle. Besides, being a boy of 9, cookers were not exactly high on my list of interests anyway!). This quite possibly distracted me a little from the Clegs, along with things like the ferries and so on! 🤔

I remember sleeping that night with my hand in a bowl of water.
I can also confirm that no, it didn't make me wet myself! 😆