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Cooler temps bring another nuisance ... dog flies Swat! Missed another dog fly. Those darn blood-sucking flies are back to terrorize residents along Northwest Florida’s coast. Known locally as dog flies (Stomoxys calcitrans), the insects are also known as common stable flies, dining on livestock until they get hungry enough to take a bite out of humans. They arrive in Northwest Florida, from Escambia to Taylor Counties, when cold fronts begin pushing them southward, usually in August and September. They may stay in the area as late as November. In the afternoons, thermal currents on land pull winds from the Gulf causing flies to congregate on the beaches and become bothersome inland as far as 1015 miles. Santa Rosa County Commissioner John Broxson said the infestation used to be much worse in the old days. “When the north winds begin to blow in the fall of the year, the dog flies change their personality, becoming very aggressive. They used to come in clouds, and we would do our best to get away from them, wearing long pants and long shirts, even in the summer.” Stable flies look like normal houseflies but they have a piercing mechanism for sucking blood. They usually feed on the legs of livestock, but also suck blood from the tips of dogs’ ears where the hair is not as dense. That is how they earned their nickname of “dog flies.” The state of Florida tries to control the dog fly to protect the tourism industry, and Santa Rosa County has an interlocal agreement with the Department of Agriculture to utilize an airplane to spray the beaches this time of year. A DC-3 aircraft dispenses the insecticide naled (Dibrom® ) from an altitude of about 150 feet. Dead flies can usually be found on the ground about 5-10 minutes after the spray cloud moves across the beach. The aerial spray program is only initiated when landing rates of 5 or more flies per minute are recorded by trained surveillance personnel. Such personnel are usually provided by local mos -quito control districts. For more information about the Dog Fly Control Program, contact Joe Ruff, Director, (904) 872-4250. Meanwhile, residents can protect themselves outdoors by spraying on an insecticide containing 25-40% DEET (N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide), sold at most hardware and grocery stores under trade names such as Ultra Muskol®, Cutter® (stick or creme), Deep Woods Off! ®, Sun & Bug Stuff® and Ultrathon®? . Broxson said he remembers when cattle and other livestock roamed free in Santa Rosa County. “There was no stock law until 1947. When the dog flies would come, the cattle and the hogs would head out to the water of the sound with just their snouts sticking up. That was the only way to get away from the dog fly.” |
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