Just Back : Attack of the Flies!!!

Debbie- I was there in 2010 in May and was eaten alive by a type of fly... It doesn't sound like same kind of fly though... The ones that bit me looked like a horsefly but it wasn't!

The kind folks here on the boards set me straight! lol. ;)

They were much smaller. The bites didn't even bother me until days later we had gotten home. And I had the marks literally for month!

We are heading back the second week of June and I'm praying this fly thing under control... But I'm sure we'll be fine either way!!!
 
Um... I don't know about where you live, but around here houseflies don't bite. Neither do gnats, though midges sometimes will and blackflies always do. And horseflies will happily take a chunk out of you.

Houseflies barf on your food and lay their eggs in feces and can spread disease, but they do not bite. It'd be pretty hard, considering their mouth parts look like a sponge on a stick! (Which is why they spit enzymes onto things they want to eat, in order to break it down into a liquid they can soak up.)

In the fall when I sat outside the flies would bite, they also bite the horses to the point of open wounds (which we of course took care of). they are called biting flies/stable flies for a reason. They are not horseflies. I lived in CT at the time and have been bothered by them here and there in FL.
They look like houseflies and frankly who looks at the fly to identify it when it is biting you?

Look up biting flies. This is what I found for them:http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ig081

Stable Fly

The stable fly (Figure 3), also known as the dog fly, is a blood-sucking pest that closely resembles the house fly. It is similar to the house fly in size and color, but is easily recognized by its large, piercing mouthparts, which project forward from the head. Unlike many blood-feeding insects, such as mosquitoes, both sexes of the stable fly feed on blood.

The stable fly is a common pest of man and animals throughout the world. Stable flies are strong fliers that can travel up to two miles in search of a blood meal. Because they are persistent and easily interrupted during feeding, they often attack more than one host, increasing the potential for disease transmission. Although stable flies may be mechanical vectors of several animal diseases, they are not known to play a significant role in spreading human pathogens.

In Florida, cattle persistently attacked by stable flies feed less efficiently, resulting in reduced weight gain and milk production. In addition, losses to the Florida tourism industry have occurred when large stable fly populations appear on the Gulf Coast, driving away beach-goers.

After acquiring several blood meals over the course of three to five days, females will mate and develop a batch of eggs. At this time, the female stable fly will seek out areas such as soiled animal bedding, spilled animal feeds, compost piles, and even seaweed deposits along beaches to deposit her eggs. Once an area is located, the female will crawl into the loose material, laying eggs sporadically as she moves. Each female will live for 20 to 30 days as an adult, laying between 500 to 600 eggs during her lifetime. The eggs hatch in 24 to 48 hours, and the larvae develop for a period of 14 to 26 days. The average stable fly life cycle is 28 days and can vary from 22 to 58 days, depending on weather conditions.

Also this: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/insect/05582.html
Stable Fly, "Biting House Fly"

The stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans) is a blood-feeding pest known to attack almost any kind of warm-blooded animal. It is a major pest of confined livestock throughout the world, including Colorado. It looks like the common house fly except that its mouthparts are adapted for biting and sucking blood. The stable fly feeds by inserting its proboscis (beak) through the skin and then sucking blood from its host. Females can live up to a month and may require several blood meals during this period in order to continue laying eggs. It is a daytime feeder, with peak biting occurring during the early morning and late afternoon. Stable flies prefer to attack people around the ankles. It does not appear to be an important vector of any human diseases.

The immature stable fly (maggot) can be found breeding in many kinds of moist, decaying organic matter, including animal bedding, lawn clippings, and compost. The variety of breeding sites, and the fact that the adults fly several miles to feed but spend little time on the host, make it difficult to manage stable flies. Little can be done except to use repellents and protective clothing. Specific techniques have been developed for managing stable flies in confined livestock operations. These are especially important if the livestock operation is serving as a source of stable flies for nearby residential areas.
 
There are flies with green heads that bite like crazy too, I know from summers spent at the Jersey shore town of Wildwood where they were everywhere. Thankfully, the ones at Disney just seem to be the small, pesky variety. Hope they're gone by December.
 
Most of what you say is true. There is an exception most people do not know about, however. House flies will bite just before a rain. It is however unusual, but it is one way of predicting the weather or rain, just like when the leaves on a tree show the underside it means rain. It is almost rare, however. I have only been bitten by a housefly once. And no, it was not a deer fly or horse fly.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled thread.:lmao: I didn't mean to go off topic.

Thank you Pampam.
 


There are flies with green heads that bite like crazy too, I know from summers spent at the Jersey shore town of Wildwood where they were everywhere. Thankfully, the ones at Disney just seem to be the small, pesky variety. Hope they're gone by December.

Those are one nasty insect. They are considered NJ's least favorite mascot.
 
I live in NW Florida and this is what we have here as far as biting flies..

Deer flies (also known as yellow flies, or stouts in Atlantic Canada) are flies in the genus Chrysops of the family Tabanidae that can be pests to cattle, horses, and humans. A distinguishing characteristic of a deer fly is patterned gold or green eyes.[1]
Deer flies are a genus that belongs to the family commonly called horse-flies (Tabanidae). They are smaller than wasps, and they have coloured eyes and dark bands across their wings. While female deer flies feed on blood, males instead collect pollen. When feeding, females use knife-like mandibles and maxillae to make a cross-shaped incision and then lap up the blood. Their bite can be extremely painful, and allergic reaction from the saliva of the fly can result in further discomfort and health concerns. Pain and itch are the most common symptoms, but more significant allergic reactions can develop.[2]
They are often found in damp environments, such as wetlands or forests. They lay clusters of shiny black eggs on the leaves of small plants by water. The aquatic larvae feed on small insects and pupate in the mud at the edge of the water.[1][3] Adults are potential vectors of tularemia, anthrax and loa loa filariasis.
Predators of the deer fly (and other Tabanidae) include nest-building wasps and hornets, dragonflies, and some birds including the killdee
 
YES!!!! Holy flies!!!!! We got back just about one week ago. The love bugs were a pain too, but the flies were worse I thought! Especially by the pool areas, they were all over the place! I never saw it like that before :mad:
 


You would have thought Disney would have tested this new mulch in a few confined areas before spreading it everywhere.

I hope the head of landscaping gets fired on this one.

Flies bring disease. It's more than annoying to me.

Now, let's add injury to injury and Disney will be using harmful insecticide to get rid of the insects.

What a mess!
 
Concidering when they become " flies " they will live around a week or two. Then die after making larva. The cylcle go on and on.

But since Disney is aware of the problem, my guess is they spreaded pesticide all over the place at night, killing the larva. They just had to wait for the flies to die by themself.

In 2 weeks top I think all of this will be history.
 
You would have thought Disney would have tested this new mulch in a few confined areas before spreading it everywhere.

I hope the head of landscaping gets fired on this one.

Flies bring disease. It's more than annoying to me.

Now, let's add injury to injury and Disney will be using harmful insecticide to get rid of the insects.

What a mess!


The fly problem is not just at Disney.

Disney has been using "harmful insecticide" for a long, long time to get rid of insects.
 
For what it's worth, we were at WDW this past week. The flies were pretty bad early in the week, but by the end of the week we barely noticed them. Maybe something was done to address the issue, but it seems to be better.
 
Concidering when they become " flies " they will live around a week or two. Then die after making larva. The cylcle go on and on.

But since Disney is aware of the problem, my guess is they spreaded pesticide all over the place at night, killing the larva. They just had to wait for the flies to die by themself.

In 2 weeks top I think all of this will be history.

Limited Time Maggot

Worst. Disney Promotion. Ever!
 
We had no problem when we were there April 20th - 27th. I am so happy we missed all this. I feel so bad for the people dealing with this. I have been going to Disney for years & never heard of such a thing. Invasion of some kind.We live in farm country & I hate when the farmers spread the poop in the fields. I won't sit out side for days because of flies. But after a few days they are gone.I moved near there farm's so I can't complain. I hope Disney finds a way to get rid of these.People spend so much money on vacation's. Good luck.
 
We are still here - the flies are mostly @ EP & MK. They are regular black flies & strangely they are slow moving. They almost seem "sleepy". We have had several CM's apologize in stores, on rides & @ meals. Very annoying & strange.
 
I live in NW Florida and this is what we have here as far as biting flies..

Deer flies (also known as yellow flies, or stouts in Atlantic Canada) are flies in the genus Chrysops of the family Tabanidae that can be pests to cattle, horses, and humans. A distinguishing characteristic of a deer fly is patterned gold or green eyes.[1]
Deer flies are a genus that belongs to the family commonly called horse-flies (Tabanidae). They are smaller than wasps, and they have coloured eyes and dark bands across their wings. While female deer flies feed on blood, males instead collect pollen. When feeding, females use knife-like mandibles and maxillae to make a cross-shaped incision and then lap up the blood. Their bite can be extremely painful, and allergic reaction from the saliva of the fly can result in further discomfort and health concerns. Pain and itch are the most common symptoms, but more significant allergic reactions can develop.[2]
They are often found in damp environments, such as wetlands or forests. They lay clusters of shiny black eggs on the leaves of small plants by water. The aquatic larvae feed on small insects and pupate in the mud at the edge of the water.[1][3] Adults are potential vectors of tularemia, anthrax and loa loa filariasis.
Predators of the deer fly (and other Tabanidae) include nest-building wasps and hornets, dragonflies, and some birds including the killdee

They are indeed nasty things. Their bites are quite painful. We had those too, along with the great big horseflies that take big chunks out of you. Ah, the joys of owning horses. :)
 

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