Little bugs, like black flies and mosquitoes can be annoying. But there are a number of products that will keep them at bay. And if they do bite you, you might feel a little sting, maybe an itch for an hour or two, but that’s it.
But the big bugs… that’s another story. You know… deer flies and horse flies. They are truly annoying. And they seem to have teeth many times larger than their body. Maybe they don’t swarm you like the little ones, but if one manages to get through your defenses, you certainly know it’s biting.
And there is very little that will keep them away. They laugh at most insect repellents. I did find one back many years ago that would work on deer flies. And possibly large carnivores. It was banned. It was not good for the bugs, but it was also not good for humans.
I will admit, I don’t usually have much of a problem with these insects. Deer flies may be loud and annoying, but they’re fairly slow and easy to swat. Although once they figure that you’re swatting, they can switch to stealth mode, swoop in and take a chunk out of you, so you have to be vigilant.
But I’ve noticed people using dragonflies. Not real dragonflies. They’re fairly hard to train to sit on your hat and stay there. But you can get fake ones to do the job. I’ve seen people wearing them.
I have no idea if they work, but when I see dragonflies around I rarely see deer flies or horse flies, so maybe there’s something to it.
I like dragonflies. They come in so many different shapes and colours, and they seem pretty friendly. When I was much younger, I even used to collect the nymph casings. If I could find them full, I’d watch them hatch. Well, for a while. It takes a bit of time for a dragonfly to crawl out of a casing and dry it’s wings. but it is rather fascinating.
But I’m starting to think I should be wearing a fake dragonfly. As I get a bit older my reflexes are slowing down, and snatching deer flies from mid-air is becoming a bit harder. So I could probably use the help.
