The common horsefly or "greenhead" Fly
Did you know...
Sweat and saltwater on skin attract greenhead flies, which makes beaches their prime hunting grounds and you and your family their prime prey?
Greenhead flies are attracted to dark clothes, strong aromas from perfumes and hair products, sweat, and saltwater on skin.
When biting you, a female greenhead fly will dive right in, like right in your face , with absolutely no fear? She will cut through your skin like a ninja and inject an antiseptic saliva that causes us to bleed "better".
Greenheads are smaller than most horseflies, more like the size of a housefly, but carry a huge and exttremely painful bite? You never have to wonder if you just got bit by a greenhead.
In the OBX, greenheads are common at the beach , especially in Duck, NC when the wind comes out of the west?
They are considered to be aggressive and difficult to control, and are most prevalent on hot, sunny, windless days?
While male greenheads feed on pollen and plant nectars, it is only the females that aggressively feed on our blood. They are relentless and will continue to bite until they succeed in procuring your blood or are killed...
(OR... hear me out...a third option...Adiós! Mo Skitos!
Just repel them. It's so much easier. Being proactive and rubbing in some Adiós! Mo Skitos! is a lot easier than having to coninually suffer a painful bite. Then, if you are lucky enough to smack yourself fast enough and get him, you get to wipe off smashed fly guts on your arms, legs, face, ear, lips and any other exposed body part he may have bitten.
Why wait until after they have already done their damage to take them on?
Why wait until after they have inflicted their pain and injected you with whatever germs they happen to be carrying?
Why wait?
Hey, here's an idea...
...Pick up a bottle or two of Adiós! Mo Skitos! Save yourself and family from being eaten alive for another time...like when you haven't spent a fortune in time and money to enjoy the outdoors.
OR... better yet, never be eaten alive again and keep a bottle with you every time you plan to be outdoors, because...ya just neva know.
The Infamous no-see-um
Did you know...
Adult no-see-ums, also known as biting midges, sand flies, or punkies, feed on the blood of humans and other animals.
No-see-ums is short for nobody sees them. I don't know if that is true or not, but it seems reasonable to me. These clever blood suckers have perfected the age-old skill of apex predators- by the time we realize they are on us, it's too late.
While both male and female no-see-ums feed on plant nectar, females are the only no-see-um that bite and feed on blood? During a bite, a female no-see-um will inject her saliva under our skin, which pools the blood and makes it easier for her to eat us.
No-see-ums are attracted to the scent of our skin? Each and every one of our pores are giving off the smell probably like a steak house to them, aromas of, "please, come and enjoy my free buffet".
No-see-um are most active in the early mornings and evenings in prime-time summer and in warmer climates?
No-see-ums are also attracted to warm-blooded animals, body heat, and carbon dioxide emissions. Guess what...we have all that stuff.
I learned that...
A no-see-um bite can be more painful than a mosquito bite and leaves an itchy, red bump on the skin that can swell into welts and last for up to two weeks. This writer was bitten and suffered two weeks in Honduras with a red welt the size of a 50 cent piece on the center on my neck. You know, the look every woman shoots for while she's on vacation.
The Tick.
Did you know...
I looked for the most disgusting picture of a tick biting someone and this pic won hands down?
Ticks are external parasites that live by drinking the blood of mammals, birds, deer and humans?
Ticks are widely distributed around the world, especially in warm, humid climates?
Ticks cause Lyme Disease?
Ticks cause Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever?
Ticks are second only to mosquitos in spreading disease to humans?
Ticks are related to spiders, so they have eight legs? They have flat, oval bodies that bloat up after a big meal.
According to the Mayo Clinic...
In the United States, the number of people diagnosed with tick-borne diseases has increased. In the years between 2004 and 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that tick-borne diseases rose from about 22,500 cases to about 50,800 cases. As of 2019, Lyme disease is the most often diagnosed tick-borne illness.
The flea..have you ever seen one up close?
Did you know...
Fleas...there are about 2,500 species.
Fleas are parasites and live by ingesting or eating the blood of me, you, our families, family pets, birds and almost any other living thing with blood.
They lack wings; their hind legs are extremely well adapted for jumping. Their claws keep them from being dislodged, and their mouthparts are adapted for piercing skin and sucking your blood.
They can leap 50 times their body length, a feat second only to jumps made by another group of insects, the superfamily of frogghoppers.
Fleas are brown, and have bodies that are "flattened" sideways or narrow, enabling them to move through their hosts' fur or feathers.
According to the Mayo Clinic...
In the United States, the number of people diagnosed with tick-borne diseases has increased. In the years between 2004 and 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that tick-borne diseases rose from about 22,500 cases to about 50,800 cases. As of 2019, Lyme disease is the most often diagnosed tick-borne illness.
To be safe is to live safe.
So, did those pics get your attention or what?