My first thought when I saw "blackfly" was "must be Canadian"! No advice to offer, but ran in to blackflies on a Canadian fly-in fishing trip with my dad years ago. Damn, those things are horrible. Good luck!

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Colorado Triathlon Company, CO2UT 2021, Crooked Gravel 2022, Steamboat Gravel 2022

Thanks! I saw a bumper sticker recently that said "Blackflies: defenders of the wilderness" and that's an accurate description.

Just hope that it's really windy.

Blackflies don't actually fly that fast, so if you move at a good clip you might be okay. Deerflies or horseflies though, you can't outrun those.

That has always been my motto with the deer flies: unintentional speed work!

No better advice, but good luck.

Deerflies and Horseflies have turned all of my runs into fast runs......still cant out run them!

It's funny because I suffered through this last summer. Rented a cottage with the kids and my runs were on a typical windy and hilly cottage road away from the water. Zero wind. I tried everything including stopping and running in the other direction, sprints, etc. With everything I tried I could hear the flies laughing at me.

Sounds like a plan: motivation to run faster. I don't mind deer flies and horseflies as much as black flies. Welts that take a week or more to heal == no thanks

DEET works quite well but I always feel like I'm poisoning myself when slathering it on. I've had decent results with NO-Bite-Me and it smells great too. Windy days will be much better than calm ones.



YMMV,

Hugh

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Thanks! I will get some of that and give it a try.

At the very least your wife/girlfriend with thank me;)

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Nice. I probably should've ordered the extra-large tub of it!

I ran in Northern Ontario for decades. Only one solution - run on the highways. If the road is gravel, you're done regardless. If the road is paved, you'll be fine.

I'll have to give it a try also.

I golf in the summer too. I've actually stopped going out in May-June due to the flies. I'm not from Canada, but deer flies piss me off enough. I heard two bits of advice that have actually helped from other golfers.

1. vicks vapor rub
2. rubbing hats and shirts etc with laundry dryer sheets.

Hope this helps someone else.

I might invest in a stupid bug net for around my hat/head when I run outside.

Those bug nets get really hot in the sun. Tough to use while running. But if it's later and the sun is down, they work great.

The other things folks in my neck of the woods are doing is putting a 3" wide chunk of either double sided duct tape or standard tape double backed on itself on the back of the hat. Deerflies like to and in that area and get stuck.

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"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson

I've got one of the bug nets and have used that before. Part of what led to this post is that the last spring I was up there I left the bug net off for the 15 or so minutes I was loading the car to head home, and my neck was so badly bitten I had to get a prescription for a topical steroid. Definitely want to avoid a repeat of that.

as much as I hate blackflies, while running they don't bother me much. Its when you stop that its an issue. I run a rough bush road all the time with no real issues, in comparison to the deer flies.
Just don't stop and when your finishing have a plan to get into the wind or inside very quickly.

That being said I still use bug spray, but figure I've sweated most of it off by the end of my run.

Deer flies on the other hand, I wear light coloured clothes, a hat with a back flap covering my neck, and constantly checking for ones that have landed and are getting ready to bite

Thanks. "Rough bush road" is a good description of where I'll be running. Hopefully I'm faster than the flies are. I can run right up to the door to my cabin so I won't plan on hanging around outside when I'm done.

I don't find blackflies bite at all while i'm running, it's more the swarming and getting in my mouth that gets me. The deer flies as mentioned above are what keep me indoors. Wearing a hat is a must and if you're lathering on bug spray I have learned to also spray my clothes. I've come home from runs and rides with bites all on my back through my shirt.

Option 2 if you're near a decent sized town, drive in and do smaller loops around town (Muskoka for example Huntsville, bracebridge, etc as the bugs are not as bad)