HORSE FLIES ARE A-HOLES.

[hazeyjane]

That's it.

I've only ever been bitten by one once and then a) I bloody felt it at the time and b) my arm swelled up so much it looked like the sort of thing you use to make balloon giraffes, but fatter and more throbbing. It was insane. and I've never had anything like it before or since. They are complete bastards.

I’m sorry to tell you that horse flies hunt by sight so fly repellent is pointless. They prefer dark colours, hence they’re always on my boy’s dark bits, never his white bits. They bite through clothes and are, as mentioned, total fuckers.

DEET.

Killing horse flies when riding my horses is better than sex.

I was bitten to buggery a month ago walking the dog. Drew blood. The bites took weeks to heal properly. Unbearable.

Now I go out completely covered in Jungle Formula which has a really high amount of DEET. Things have been much better since.

they're vicious little bastards OP....if you go down to the woods today...well, just don't fucking bother because I did it and they were like vultures, they drew blood and i swear it just itches at random, days later. Apparently they have jagged teeth and saw a hole on your skin rather than 'inject'. Not even the courtesy of other insects to dribble on some anaesthetic so you don't feel it at the time either.

Whilst anything Trump is pretty repellent, what you need is Goibi:

www.carethy.co.uk/hygiene-and-health/goibi/p-37631

You can buy it in pharmacies in Spain (if you or anyone you know has a trip planned) and it is the only stuff I’ve found that does mozzies and horseflies. And I’m one of the people that always gets bitten and always gets a bad reaction (I am the decoy on family holidays).

YY to family decoy. I am currently sporting hideous purple splotchy horsefly aftermath & the fuckers bit me through my clothes. I found one chomping on me after I’d got in the car at the end of my walk and squishing me felt gooood.

EVERYONE

LISTEN TO ME

AVON SKIN SO SOFT DRY OIL SPRAY NOWWWWWWWWW

I come from Scotland so have the midgie and horsefly double bubble. Horseflies love me and last month I got bit badly, once on the knee, making me look like I had an extra nipple on my leg AND my thigh and it’s still not faded six weeks later.

I’ve been staying SSS every damned day and nothing again. I absolutely worship at the altar of that stuff, it’s the best and NO I do not work for Avon.

Horse flies are as big (if not bigger) than a wasp. You’d know if one bit you, you couldn’t miss it. Horses absolutely hate them. I squashed one on my window today and it slid down the pane 🤮

Random question: is a horsefly bite more painful than a wasp sting? I’ve never been stung by a wasp.

Vinegar, cold tea and citronella mixed together. They hate it, and it smells incredible 🙈

DH is a horsefly magnet, but also exceptionally good at killing them (they’re slower than regular flies). I’m considering renting him out to walkers in the local area.

Got bitten by one last year. Horrifically painful - not surprising when you realise that they effectively slice your skin open to lap up your blood, evil bastard things.

PaulHollywoodsSexGut
A horsefly bite is so painful, horses will panic when they hear one coming. Its 3 times more painful than a wasp sting, plus it has a hot, burning quality, and will swell up like a baboons bum.
I had one on my arm once and my friend thought my arm was broken and burst into tears.

No, a horsefly bite isn't more painful than a wasp sting. But it itches a hell of a lot more.

My legs are currently covered in 50p piece sized dark red blotches (despite Avon skin so soft) but they no longer itch thanks to After Bite - which appears to be pure ammonia but really does the trick.

Horseflies bites on me are fine for 24 hours and then swell up into a huge hard painful lump that bruises and itches like buggery for a week.

Wasps are nothing in comparison (and I’ve been badly stung after a DC accidentally stirred up a shit load of grumpy wasps one autumn).

Ah... wtf is the fly that looks like a fly and takes fucking lumps out of you without you even knowing?

I’ve been eaten alive both times I’ve been near the rivers, is that a deer fly?

Fucker all the same, and oh has a warehouse full of repellent... I forgot to put any on!

I think it’s more painful than a wasp sting, it’s like a deep bruise. They seem extra awful this year 👺 and have cost me £millions in ride on fly sheets, vet bills (giant swollen eyelid from horsefly bite) fly repellent etc

People are saying dettol works well - one part dettol to five parts water?

This is why I am so upset. I am sat looking at 3 bottles of SSS I especially ordered for DDs.

No. I have the worst horsefly bite I have ever had. I don't know if it is the heatwave, or SSS is shit :(

Skin so soft is the emporers new clothes. Totally worthless

Boots maximum repel actually does work.

God these little fuckers love to bite me.

YANBU. Evil bastards.
I think horsefly bites must be one of those things that some people don't react to but can then become sensitive to, I was never aware of them when I was younger. Now I can feel them when they bite (unpleasant but nothing like as bad as a wasp IME - again maybe people's reaction varies) and then they take a day to come up. I was bitten the other morning and took an antihistamine as soon as I got home, that crop don't seem to have come up nearly as much as previous ones.

I have 2 bites on my knee and know they won’t be the last this year as they seem to love me😖.... but this time i’ve avoided antihistamine...normally I take oral pills and slather on cream but this time have put cold cotton wool ‘compresses’ on with a good amount of tcp and they’ve gone down MUCH quicker than usual. We have max strenghth jungle formula and i’m planning to start garlic tablets!!...anything to reduce the chances!!

Ugh horse flies are only behind spiders and red wasps on my kill on sight list.

They are especially bad this year.

We moved yards in the autumn and thankfully new yard isn’t too bad for them. Old one was god awful, dread to think what it would be like this year.

They regularly bite threw clothes. And I react badly to them- they come up as hot, itchy hard fist size bright red lumps that I unintentionally scratch so much they bleed everywhere.

We went to a competition venue a few weeks ago in a bad area and there were several bites on his ne k that we’re dripping blood... ☹️