# Deer Fly Traps



## CarbonNeutral (Jul 10, 2010)

We have been plagued by deer flies over the last few weeks, especially where the wood piles are - they will dive bomb your head and, given the chance, bite huge chunks out of you. Luckily the internet had a solution (what can't you find on the web?) - deer fly traps made out of blue buckets and sticky goo. You have to move around, so the buckets can go on a tractor, on a stick, or on your head... We caught about 80 in half an hour.

May be useful for anyone else having problems....


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## rottiman (Jul 10, 2010)

If you get the the feed store pick up a cattle ear tag.  Put er' on the top of your hat.  Flys leave you alone.


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## Intheswamp (Jul 10, 2010)

Very nice.  Trolling for deer flies...  Next time I go down to the swamp I'll try to have a set up for the jeep.


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## northwinds (Jul 10, 2010)

I love the beer dixie cup on the baseball hat.  My kind of fashion statement for going to town.


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## maplewood (Jul 10, 2010)

I'm gonna try this.  They bother me a lot when I'm mowing.
If I'm walking about and can back up to a window, they seem to get more interested in the window than me - that's another solution.
Happy burning.


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## willworkforwood (Jul 10, 2010)

Thanks for passing along that idea, Alex - those things are like the plague over here.  I've already got the pot and the paint, and will track down the sticky stuff on Monday.  My wife laughed when I told her I was going to try wearing that on my head.  Well, to get rid of those things I would even try wearing a Yankee hat (just kidding - that ain't happening  :lol: )


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## LLigetfa (Jul 10, 2010)

I think I'll try one on the groan.  She's forever bringing her deer flies to me.  I was looking for some tanglefoot today but none of the stores in town carry it.  They do have ready built traps with sticky stuff on them I could easily adapt.


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## mikepinto65 (Jul 11, 2010)

This seems to be a good year for deer fly's, lots more compared to last year. This company offers great environmentally responsible products that work (its there slogan, but the products really do work great, its all I use for my lawn care!) They seem to have a good solution for deer fly's too:  http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=1165


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## CarbonNeutral (Jul 12, 2010)

My local Ace had Tanglefoot - Lowe's did not. I'm still catching them, but their numbers are definitely down. Also just being able to sit in the garden, albeit while waving a blue bucket around, is fantastic.


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## billb3 (Jul 12, 2010)

I've been tempted to put double sided sticky tape on my truck's rear view mirrors to catch them - they attack the mirrors coming in or going out the driveway into my lot.


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## CarbonNeutral (Jul 12, 2010)

billb3 said:
			
		

> I've been tempted to put double sided sticky tape on my truck's rear view mirrors to catch them - they attack the mirrors coming in or going out the driveway into my lot.



ditto, maybe the mirrors look like deer heads?


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## ColdNH (Jul 12, 2010)

They are awful up here too, cant even walk the dog in the morning without getting attacked, very frustrating. gonna have to try that bucket trick

edit, wonder how wierd my neighbors will think I am if I tape a bunch of these traps to the cab of my truck. they already think I am loony for the the 6 cords of wood stacked on my quarter acre lot.


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## savageactor7 (Jul 13, 2010)

I hate those rat bastards but not enough to wear a blue cup on my head.


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## CarbonNeutral (Jul 13, 2010)

I hate them enough to ensure that my neighbors belief that I'm crazy is sound


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## Adios Pantalones (Jul 13, 2010)

I'll wear a blue cup on my head.  I'll wear an athletic protective cup on my head if I can kill some of those &^%$ flies.  

I hate them.  I don't want to repel them.  I want the satisfaction of killing them, and I don't say that about much.


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## Skier76 (Jul 14, 2010)

I find they leave me alone when I'm running power equipment.


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## firefighterjake (Jul 14, 2010)

Can't say as though I would walk around with a Dixie cup covered in bugs on my head . . . guess I'll stick to the wait and swat method.

Incidentally what is the difference between horse flies and deer flies . . . I think most folks around here seem to use both terms interchangeably for those pests.


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## CarbonNeutral (Jul 14, 2010)

Same family (of which there are 3000plus members), horse flies are bigger


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## Intheswamp (Jul 15, 2010)

CarbonNeutral said:
			
		

> billb3 said:
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Interesting, that isn't a regional quirk for them...same thing happens down here.  Act's like a deterrent for a few seconds when you get out of the truck so you can dash away from the swarm...if you're quick enough and have somewhere to hide.


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## billb3 (Jul 15, 2010)

Intheswamp said:
			
		

> CarbonNeutral said:
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> ...



I think it's instinct to go for the ears - easy nibbling or access to a blood vein ?
They just bite rather than try to inject a numbing agent like a mosquito, so they gotta be quick.  


Terms for horsefly / deer fly get  swapped here a lot too.

Pretty sure yellow flies are deer flies and green flies are horse flies.


My sister is allergic to "horseflies" that get ya at the beach. Will blow up like a balloon.


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## Cowboy Billy (Jul 19, 2010)

Great Post

Those deer flies are bad in the UP this year too. I can see a blue bucket going on the roof of my fourwheeler soon! And Yes I would wear a blue cup on my head but I will try the patches first.

Billy


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## dbowling (Jul 20, 2010)

Do a google search theirs a company that sells deer fly traps made to stick on the back of your hat, they are white with sticky stuff on them.. seen a pic of a guy in Georgia with one on that looked like it had a 100 on it and he said hed only been outside for 20 minutes....had it saved on my computer but it was knocked out by lightning last Wed., picked up a new computer but havent transfered any of my files over to it yet... I think they were like 2-3 bucks for 5 of them but wont swear to it.


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## midwestcoast (Jul 20, 2010)

Adios Pantalones said:
			
		

> I'll wear a blue cup on my head.  I'll wear an athletic protective cup on my head if I can kill some of those &^%$ flies.



LMAO. That's hilarious that is.  And I can relate. I've experienced the infuriating curse of a hungry swarm (herd?) of deer flies.  I actually tryed smearing myself with mud to thwart them while tree-planting in northern Ontrio. No, didn't work a bit.


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## billdiesel (Jul 20, 2010)

Made one up today, here is what I got after about 3 trips up and down the lane.  25-30 deerflies
and one horsefly.


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## Cluttermagnet (Jul 21, 2010)

FWIW-

Biting Fly Traps that work - $125 (Nokesville)


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## willworkforwood (Jun 3, 2011)

Last year I was going to make one of these, but couldn't find any Tanglefoot before the season ended for these flying SOBs.  On Monday, this year's first brood showed up looking for fresh meat (i.e. me).  They're earlier this year than ever before.  Maybe February next year?   So I threw one of these things together in an hour or so, and headed outside to give it a try.  The first one approached, making the noise that sounds like someone cutting a piece of pipe with hacksaw.  I was instinctively doing the flinching thing, but told myself to just hang in there and give it a shot.  All of a sudden, the buzz-saw noise turned into ...... NOTHING.  Took off the hat to look, and the scoreboard said: Humans-1  Deerflies-0.  Oh Happy Day  :cheese:  :cheese:.  After a couple of hours the score was 10-0.  If you want to terminate these little messengers from Hell, and don't care if people are laughing at you, get one of these things done (a different hat is recommended for the NY metro area).  If you build it, they will come :lol:


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## velvetfoot (Jun 3, 2011)

How did you attach the cup to the hat?

I've been totally covered up the last weeks with a head net for the black flies.
Really hot.

As an aside, the mosquitos are now coming out more and they go through the shirt.


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## willworkforwood (Jun 3, 2011)

velvetfoot said:
			
		

> How did you attach the cup to the hat?
> I've been totally covered up the last weeks with a head net for the black flies.
> Really hot.
> As an aside, the mosquitos are now coming out more and they go through the shirt.


Don't like bug spray, and so I also wear a net/helmet-shield + full clothing while cutting and hauling in the woods - sweat city.  But I split out in the open, and the mosquitoes quit on hot days.  But Deerflies keep on coming no matter what, and that's why this trap is such a happy thing.  Now I will be able to split and stack wearing shorts, T shirt, and of course the hat-trap.  This hat had a bunch of air holes on top, so I just put holes on the top edge of the cup and weaved it in place with some twine.   A few safety pins would probably work just as well.


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## Intheswamp (Jun 3, 2011)

Something else you can do is stick some poles in the ground around your work area and place some of the cups on them to "wiggle" in the wind....might have to dangle them by a string or something to get good movement or maybe center them on a finishing nail.  Or maybe string several up on a line between two supports.  That would give a little perimeter protection and the hat could be the last line of defense. 

Ed


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## velvetfoot (Jun 3, 2011)

Thanks.  They've been getting a little worse here each year I think.
The black flies were really bad this year and there are still some around, so hopefully that doesn't translate into a bumper crop of deer flies.
It would've been interesting to see if it worked on the black flies.
I'm sure the tanglefoot will be messy, but what the heck

If they were on poles in the area, they could also be jiggled on passing, but I don't know if that'd be enough.
I'll have to re-read the article and find some tanglefoot!


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## UmbrellaGirl (Jul 10, 2012)

*I've trapped over 11,000 deer flies* in the first 5 weeks of the 2012 deer fly season in Michigan using my version of the trolling deer fly trap developed by Dr. Mizell. My trap uses an umbrella, blue cups, and Tangle-Foot. Check out my blog for how to make and use this easy effective trap. I've also posted my trapping data there. Happy trapping! http://deerflytrapumbrella.blogspot.com/

BTW, you can purchase the Tangle-Foot Sticky Trap Coating from Amazon


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## weatherguy (Jul 11, 2012)

willworkforwood said:


> Don't like bug spray, and so I also wear a net/helmet-shield + full clothing while cutting and hauling in the woods - sweat city. But I split out in the open, and the mosquitoes quit on hot days. But Deerflies keep on coming no matter what, and that's why this trap is such a happy thing. Now I will be able to split and stack wearing shorts, T shirt, and of course the hat-trap. This hat had a bunch of air holes on top, so I just put holes on the top edge of the cup and weaved it in place with some twine. A few safety pins would probably work just as well.


 
Where did you get the sticky stuff? Did you use tanglefoot?


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## onetracker (Jul 11, 2012)

UmbrellaGirl said:


> *I've trapped over 11,000 deer flies* in the first 5 weeks of the 2012 deer fly season in Michigan using my version of the trolling deer fly trap developed by Dr. Mizell. My trap uses an umbrella, blue cups, and Tangle-Foot. Check out my blog for how to make and use this easy effective trap. I've also posted my trapping data there. Happy trapping! http://deerflytrapumbrella.blogspot.com/
> 
> BTW, you can purchase the Tangle-Foot Sticky Trap Coating from Amazon


 
gotta love this solution! now if i didn't have to carry it around...... 

in my non-existent spare time i would love to make one of these just for the satisfaction of trapping those little pissants. i gotta feel for the animals tho....i sometimes see young deer that are driven out of their minds by them. the adults seem a little more accepting of their fate. makes me happy i have hands to swat and slap with and half-a-brain to create an umbrella with blue plastic cups stuck to it.


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## Backwoods Savage (Jul 11, 2012)

velvetfoot said:


> How did you attach the cup to the hat?
> 
> I've been totally covered up the last weeks with a head net for the black flies.
> Really hot.
> ...


 
Think ThermaCell.


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