Black Fly Season Off To Rough Vermont Start. Here's Why And What To Do

Black flies are the scourge of spring in Vermont, 
especially this year with all the recent wet weather. The
community of Adamant, Vermont does try to make
the best of it with an annual festival. 

 I mentioned in passing in yesterday morning's post that the black flies in Vermont are awful this year. 

Very, very awful.  

Black flies are probably Vermont's least favorite tradition from mid spring to early summer. We want to be out there smelling the lilac blooms and collecting early season salad fixings from the garden, only to be swarmed by these biting little buggers. 

I've  noticed some black fly seasons are worse than others.  There's good reason why black flies season 2023 is off to such an annoying start.

As the Green Mountain Club explains, black flies tend to lay eggs in flowing water. With all the rain we've had recently, there's plenty of flowing water. Even in places where there usually isn't much flowing water. 

The conditions are perfect for this, so they're swarming. Some of you in colder parts of Vermont probably haven't noticed yet, as it's still early in the season. But beware. They're coming.  Green Mountain Club explains here why black flies are often worse than other annoying bugs:

"These biting insects will swarm humans and livestock, biting around the head, hair, and ears. Black fly bites are painful, as the bugs cut into the skin and lap up blood that pools into the wound. Bites appear as puncture wounds or a huge swelling. Common reaction rations include lymph node swelling and skin rash."

 Black flies are most active on cloudy, humid days and just before storms, which explains why this week has been such a pain. (As you've noticed, it's been cool and damp, with frequent showers and scattered downpours).

They're also most active mid to late morning and late afternoon and early evening. I always pray for windy weather when I'm outdoors during black fly season.  The gusts tend to overwhelm these tiny gnat-like attackers and keep them at bay. Sometimes. 

Insect repellents containing DEET seem to ward off mosquitoes, deer flies and the like. But it doesn't seem to have much effect on black flies. At least in my experience.  Some people say they have a bit of success with lavender, vanilla extract, pine branch extract and citronella. 

Wearing long pants and long sleeve shirts help ward off black flies, especially if you tuck in your shirt. Of course, that doesn't  help if you're out there doing physical activity in the sun, as you'll overheat with all those clothes on.  Wear light colored  clothing too.  Black flies, true to their name, are attracted to the color black.  Which is my favorite color to wear. Go figure.

Many species of black flies don't bite. But they constantly try to get into your ears, eyes and mouth, which is super frustrating.  While the following doesn't happen in humans, we can relate, given how thick the swarms are: Black flies have been known to suffocate birds, chickens and other animals because they're so numerous they clog respiratory tracts. 

On the bright side, black flies don't transmit diseases to humans, like mosquitoes and ticks do. 

 We're about to enter a multi-day dry spell in Vermont, which might reduce the amount of flowing water out there. But, too late. The damage is done. We're stuck with a lot of black flies through the spring and early summer.  There will be plenty of water left for the bugs to keep reproducing, too. A wet spring is good, except for the black flies. All that water out there on the landscape won't be going away anytime soon. 

There isn't much we can do about the existence of black flies, other than hibernate inside. But who wants to do that now that winter is over and spring is blooming with abundance?  I suppose we can take some advice from the tiny Vermont community of Adamant.

Adamant, an unincorporated village within the town of Calais, holds an annual Black Fly Festival, usually on the first Saturday of June. This year's event is scheduled for June 3. It features a parade, black fly inspired treats and other events.

I guess the village of Adamant is telling us if you can't beat the black flies, join 'em. 

Suddenly Green, But Also Black Flies Invade: Spring In Vermont

I swear most of those trees behind the spruces in St. Albans,
Vermont had virtually no green yesterday.
Amazing wha a mild,rainy night can do this time of year. 

 It almost felt like I slept for days or even weeks, not just overnight when I got up early this morning in St. Albans, Vermont. 

The mild overnight rain that had been predicted materialized. After some relatively balmy weather yesterday, the rain went to work on the trees and I'm suddenly in a green landscape. Trees that had been bare yesterday are covered with little green leaves this morning .

Things did change big time overnight. 

The rapid advance of green should continue with today's rain.  Relatively cool air Thursday through Saturday might slow the process a bit, but the warmest weather so far this year coming up next week should advance "foliage season." 

What's not to love about all that? It really is my favorite time of year. 

This being Vermont, though, there's always a drawback. I've seen the first stirrings of the dreaded black flies in the past couple of days. Those little buggers will explode into annoying swarms over the next few days. 

Today's rains will give them a boost as they hatch, and the warm air coming will create clouds of them, I hate to say.  You pray for windy weather during black fly season, because gusts tend to make it harder for them to bother and bite you.  Unfortunately, a good chunk of that upcoming warm spell will have very light winds. 

Black flies do prefer cloudy days, so with sunshine anticipated, that will help.  I'm told black flies don't like light colored clothes like pastel green, or orange or yellow, so consider your fashion choices during black fly season. 

Ah, but we're used to these little devils anyway. Happens every year. The peak of black fly season usually goes from about Mother's Day to Father's Day, with the mosquitoes taking over during that time period. I guess bugs enjoy a Vermont spring, too.

Bug spray with DEET usually eases the problem, at least for me. No biggie.

The only insect I'm truly concerned about this year is gypsy moth caterpillars. You'll remember last year there was a huge outbreak of them which defoliated so much of Vermont's Green Mountains. Although the name of these horrible pests has an ethnic slur, so we'll call them spongy moth caterpillars from here on out. 

There's a good chance they'll be back this year, which makes me nervous since they stripped a hill in back of my house bare last summer.  The caterpillars stopped just short of defoliating my property, and I fear they will nail us this year. I'm sure a lot of other people are a bit worried about this, too.  Not sure what to do about it, but I hope we have a miracle and they don't turn out too bad.

Today's damp weather is what we need, as this weather encourages a fungus that kills spongy caterpillars. But this is just one day of rain. We're in for a long stretch of dry, nice weather. 

Which is what we all love in the springtime.  But like I said, it's Vermont. Even wonderful things have their downside here.