Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
less areas during the day. Unlike mosquitos, which puncture the skin and
drink blood, blackflies rip a tiny tear and literally lap up their meal. Bites
itch like crazy and can swell greatly, especially the day after.
Deer flies
appear in July and like to circle their victims incessantly
before gently landing to chomp down.
INTERESTING THEORY:
One old woodsman theo-
rized that deer flies were the reason the Indians wore
feathers in their head bands. Flies seem to circle the
highest point, and the feathers were higher than the
head.
A larger version of the deer fly, dubbed the
moose fly
, is similar to the
common horse fly seen around farms.
Maine also has “
no-see-ums
,” tiny winged insects known as “midges,”
which can bite.
It is believed there are no poisonous spiders or “killer bees” in Maine, but
honey bees
,
wasps
and
yellow jackets
are common.
Ticks
can be found all around the state, including some that have tested
positive for Lyme disease, a virus that can produce arthritis and immune
system problems in humans. Their strategy is to climb on nearby vegeta-
tion and hop on any passing animal, be it human, dog or deer. Check for
ticks after an outing, before they have a chance to burrow in.
Beating Those Bites
The best defense against biting insects and ticks is a commercial
repellent containing
DEET
, such as Ben's. The 100% concentra-
tion will literally melt plastic (say goodbye to that new camera or
binoculars). The backyard formula with less than 30% DEET
seems to work fine. DEET is not recommended for use on chil-
dren.
Wearing
light-colored clothing
seems to help as well. Some
entomologists theorize that biting insects are drawn to large
dark shapes because that is what they are most likely to feed off
in the wild. Avoid using perfume or shampoo with a strong floral
scent. Mosquitos and black flies home in on body heat and carbon
dioxide in breath. That is why they seem to pester hot, sweaty
people the most.
Head nets
can be a blessing.
Time outings to coincide with windy weather. Baxter State Park
Ranger Greg Hamor, who staffs a cabin at Chimney Pond, says
his bug strategy involves finding the person wildly waving their
arms to drive the bugs away. “I stand right next to him and the
bugs seem to leave me alone,” he says.
