Escambia County Reports Increase In Yellow Flies

June 8, 2019

Escambia County officials are reporting an increase of yellow flies.

Yellow flies are more active from late May to early July. They frequent wet, shaded areas on the edges of forests, rivers and creeks and tend to avoid open, sunny areas. Yellow flies are well-known for having a painful bite. They prefer to bite the head, neck and shoulders, but any exposed part of the body may be bitten. Symptoms of a bite include: a red, itchy, swollen area surrounding the bite, itchy skin and, in rare cases, a severe allergic reaction to the fly’s saliva.

Here are a few tips from Escambia County to prevent getting bitten by yellow flies this season:

1. Avoid the outdoors in the early morning and late evening. Yellow flies are most active during these periods.

2. Cover up. If you work outside, wear long sleeves, pants, closed-toe shoes and head nets. You can also use bug repellents containing DEET.

3. Create and hang a bug ball in your yard. A bug ball is a sticky black ball that attracts and traps yellow flies with a sticky substance. These black balls are usually hung on a tree limb. The dark color combined with the ball’s movement from the wind will attract yellow flies. You can also use everyday objects such as a painted milk jug to create a bug ball.

If you are bitten by a yellow fly, you can also try applying topical corticosteroid creams to decrease inflammation and antihistamines to control itching. If you face a severe allergic reaction, seek medical attention immediately.

Photo courtesy UF/IFAS.

Comments

12 Responses to “Escambia County Reports Increase In Yellow Flies”

  1. David Huie Green on June 10th, 2019 9:32 am

    Thanks, Robert R West.

    You’re the best

    David for better people

  2. Loretta toop on June 9th, 2019 4:39 pm

    I have lived in cottage hill for almost 25 years . I have never seen anything like this before. My daughter pulled up to drop off the grandkids and hundreds of yellow flies swarmed her vehicle . He kids were terrified. It looked like something out of the movies.

  3. Robert R West on June 9th, 2019 3:15 pm

    Blow up a black yard bag full of air.(or paint a beach ball or milk jug black). Tie it off and hang it with string so that it will move with the slightest breeze. Then cover it with Tanglefoot-Tangle Trap spray. The flies attack the black bag to bite and are permanently stuck. Kill the adults, no eggs, fewer flies. I have hung 2 and after just a few days it is noticeably better.

  4. Gerald Bossert on June 9th, 2019 6:26 am

    For folks that are very sensitive to the “ bite”, I suggest daily Allegra and Zantac, another histamine blocker . The two together are effective in lessening the itching caused by the allergic reaction. I have suggested to my patients for years, seems to work well.

  5. telymanbws on June 8th, 2019 9:29 pm

    And how does one create these sticky bug balls?

  6. Austin on June 8th, 2019 8:42 pm

    You can find the Bug Ball kits on Amazon!

  7. Me... on June 8th, 2019 12:23 pm

    Great article but…..what aout the Cottage Hill Yella’ Flies? Them dang things are “terrible”! Swarming in open areas when we haven’t even had any rain!
    Thankfully, now that we’ve had some rain, we haven’t seen any here around my house.
    Ya’ll be careful out there!

  8. Dora on June 8th, 2019 7:17 am

    This has been a horrible year for them. They love the sunny areas also.

  9. fred on June 8th, 2019 7:15 am

    The DEET does work. We got some “Repel” spray with 40% DEET and a few will come close, but none tried to land or bite. What a relief!

  10. Brian on June 8th, 2019 6:43 am

    Tip 1: avoid going outside during the only time of the day that you won’t die from heat exhaustion! Thanks for the tip

  11. RC on June 8th, 2019 6:36 am

    Who else had the urge to slap the picture ?

  12. David Huie Green on June 8th, 2019 2:46 am

    A friend at work asked, “David, do you have yellow flies in the north end?”

    I acted hopeful and eagerly asked, “Do you need any?!?”

    It turned out she had aplenty.

    David for sharing blessings

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News