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What helps against horseflies: In addition to repellents, wearing the right clothing helps prevent these unpleasant insects from biting you.
What helps against horseflies: these remedies are useful
Horseflies are found everywhere where it is damp. They are attracted by your body odor, especially when you sweat. You can use these remedies to avoid being bitten or to reduce the number of bites.
- Mosquito repellents are quite effective against horseflies. There are various products that you can apply to your skin or clothing.
- These repellents usually last for several hours, but this can be reduced in areas with high humidity. These products contain the active ingredients DEET, Icaridin, or Citriodiol and, according to recent studies, are most effective against horseflies.
- Essential oils may also deter insects from biting you. However, these oils only help in the short term and are significantly less reliable. Horseflies also dislike the smell of garlic. However, this has not been scientifically proven. Therefore, the use of garlic cannot be explicitly recommended.
- You can also protect yourself by wearing appropriate clothing. Light-colored, loose-fitting clothing attracts less horseflies than dark, tight-fitting fabrics, as horseflies are more attracted to dark colors and movement.
- Insect nets are not only useful for strollers, but also when spending time outdoors—for example, as mosquito nets over seats. If you are unlucky enough to be bitten by a horsefly, disinfect and cool the bite to prevent swelling and infection. If you experience a severe allergic reaction or signs of infection, please seek medical attention immediately.
Protection against horseflies: sweat and clothing
Horseflies are mainly attracted by the smell of sweat. So if you are spending a long time in a horsefly hotspot, you should take a few precautions.
- Horseflies are attracted to the smell of sweat. If you are going to areas where there are a lot of these insects, you should take a few measures beforehand to minimize the smell.
- Shower before going out into nature and wear fresh clothes. Use deodorant spray to reduce perspiration. Essential oils such as tea tree oil can also be effective.
- Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely mask the smell. Horseflies are attracted almost exclusively by sweat and are difficult to fool.
- Wearing the right clothing is therefore also an important form of protection. Horseflies cannot pierce thick fabric. If you don’t want to bathe and the temperature allows it, you should therefore wear clothing that leaves no exposed areas on your body.
- You should protect small children with insect nets that you can attach to their strollers.
What are horseflies?
Horseflies are insects that can deliver a nasty bite. It is painful and can also cause bleeding. This is what horseflies look like.
- Horseflies are flies that suck blood from humans and animals. Unlike mosquitoes, their bite hurts immediately because they tear large wounds with their biting tools.
- Only female horseflies are bloodsuckers; males feed on nectar and pollen. They are most active between April and August.
- A few minutes after the bite, the area begins to itch uncomfortably. Shortly afterwards, a wheal develops, as with other bites.
- Horseflies can transmit a variety of diseases, such as anthrax, through their bites.
- Horseflies are particularly common near bodies of water and cattle pastures. During the summer months, they appear there in large numbers.
