Well, the season doesn't last too terribly long but it really is horrendous. But we had a sure fire trick for dealing with them when working outdoors ( and it seems we were always working outdoors)
We all wore white construction helmets that were slathered with baby oil. The black flies were attracted to the baby oil I think...or maybe they just got stuck to the helmet trying to get at us. I don't recall which but it sure worked! While the black flies are bad in swarms during their season there are few bites as bad as the dreaded Deer Fly - brother, those things would draw blood! Really bad.
This sounds like the Yellow Flies down here on the Gulf Coast. They are attracted by movement and I've seen people tie balloons (with heavy plastic) and a strong 'stick'um' lathered on the surface of the balloons.
When the wind moves the balloons the flies attack it and are captured by the stick'um. All the balloons I"ve ever seen were black, I don't know the signifance of that fact.
Upper Michigan has a bad deer fly season. I asked a local how they delt with it, suprise, he said the natives put vicks vaporub on their forehead, back of the neck, under the nose etc. The vapor keeps the flies away....vicks under the nose also lets you get close enought to a dead carcus ie: deer on your property to be able to shovel quick lime on it to stop the smell as it decomposed..I have used it and it works to rid the gagging odor of death...
Deer flies back home in eastern NC sharpen their beaks with hatches before attacking humans.
I read somewhere that one species can fly over eighty miles an hour. Had one chase me on a motorcycle once—and keep up. (How he got on a motorcycle, I’ll never know.)
Oh, and I forgot. Another Freeper pinged me with a couple of books about New England stone fences. Check out post 161 on this same thread. I’ve put these books on my reading list for the summer.