no see ums and nasty bugs

[Monty]

I have used the Avon Skin So Soft the last few years and it has worked great for me. I put lots on my face, ears and neck.
But wear long sleeves and covered legs.
Also for my hands I take latex gloves and cut out the fingers and wear them, without that I have had them target the hand "ouch" and leaves red marks.

[bababooey]

* Thats a great tip monty. Have to try it on the boat. The skeeters and flies you can get rid of but the no see ums will cling to your skin like crazy glue. They are iirritating as heck!

[porgy75]

Try brown listerine in a spray bottle. My uncle spent a lot of time on the water and swore by it.

[storminsteve]

cactus juice works too. Think they have it in some GNC stores.

[voyager35]

We spray the listerine on. Seems to work ok until you sweat it off. then re-apply

[surfstix1963]

A big old cigar always helped me and keeps everybody else away fro me too.

[VSdreams]

For you landlubbers I found this cool greenhead trap from Rutgers.

http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/greenheads.htm
THE GREENHEAD AND YOU

Elton Hansens and Stuart Race, Rutgers University

For a number of years Rutgers research has been directed toward control of the salt marsh greenhead in southern New Jersey. Now we can recommend a trap which will greatly reduce greenhead annoyance in many areas. Further research is planned to develop even better controls, which are effective and have no harmful side effects.

The Greenhead Problem: The salt marsh greenhead fly, Tabanus nigrovittatus, is an abundant and bothersome summertime pest along our coastal marshes. Because the females bite during daylight, and because they occur in large numbers, have a long flight range, and attack persistently, they interfere with the enjoyment of coastal areas throughout much of the summer.

To anyone who has not visited the New Jersey coastal areas during "fly season," the impact of these flies on daytime activities is hard to imagine. We have collected in traps over 1000 greenhead flies per hour all seeking a blood meal. Greenhead fly populations reach peak numbers during July, but extend from late June into September.
Conventional methods of biting fly control, such as those used for mosquitoes are either environmentally undesirable or economically impractical. Both adults and larvae of greenhead flies are large in comparison to other, non-target organisms.

Generally, more insecticide is needed to kill larger insects. The higher concentrations or greater amounts of toxic materials needed to obtain - greenhead control have undesirable effects on other insects and animals. Marsh water management by ditching may actually enhance greenhead production. Although high-level impoundments reduce the numbers of developing greenhead larvae, this is a costly and impractical approach to fly control for much of our coastal wetlands.
In studying the life history and habits of the salt marsh greenhead, we have developed several types of traps to capture greenheads in large numbers. These traps show promise as an inexpensive yet effective means of reducing the number of biting flies during midsummer.

Where Greenheads Come From: Greenhead flies are produced from our coastal marshes. We have found as many as 70 larvae in a single square yard of marsh sod. Developing larvae concentrate along the upper vegetational zone reached by daily high tides. Foraging through wet thatch, surface muck, and vegetation, the predaceous larvae attack and devour a variety of invertebrates, including some of their own kind. Larvae overwinter and form a pupa after a brief period of spring foraging. The adult emerges from the pupa in late spring.

Adult flies mate on the open marsh. Within a few days and without seeking a blood meal, the female lays her first egg mass, consisting of 100 to 200 eggs. To produce additional egg masses, the female needs a blood meal. Among biting flies, blood serves as a rich protein source necessary for egg development. In the case of the salt marsh greenhead, protein for the first egg mass is obtained when the predaceous larva eats other insect larvae or small animals, but to lay additional egg masses she must obtain a blood meal.

Adult female greenheads move from the salt marsh to nearby -wooded or open areas along the marsh edge to seek suitable blood sources. There they await and attack wildlife, livestock, and people that venture close enough for them to detect.
Females live for three to four weeks in the uplands before they become too weak to bite. Because of this long life, larger numbers of' blood hungry flies build up in areas near salt marshes. The physical removal of large numbers of flies can reduce this buildup and thus decrease the greenhead fly problem locally.

Traps for Greenheads: Traps were developed originally to measure fly populations during Rutgers research. In fact, the traps capture large numbers of blood-seeking flies and if such traps are located at the edge of a marsh or in adjacent uplands where flies concentrate, they serve as a partial control for greenheads.

Where single traps capture hundreds of flies per day, a marked reduction in greenhead annoyance results.

In Delaware, the use of three to five traps near isolated human dwellings has resulted in almost complete reduction in greenhead attacks.
After several years of refinement in trap design as well as the study of optimal trap location, we are confident that such traps will capture flies in numbers great enough to decrease the salt marsh greenhead problem in local areas. What we don't know is whether or not the continual removal of large numbers of these flies over several seasons will reduce the size of the total fly population. To put the results of these studies to good use, we are encouraging all interested coastal dwellers to build and maintain one or more of these simple trapping devices.

[VSdreams]

A big old cigar always helped me and keeps everybody else away fro me too.

Keeping everyone away from you can be a good thing!

[robmedina]

A big old cigar always helped me and keeps everybody else away fro me too.

I might have to start smoking a cigar!