I don’t recall ever seeing such an abundance of flies in Texas. I first noticed it a week-or-so in Kerrville in a restaurant. Flies were buzzing around the place in such profusion the customers were waving forks and dinner rolls in the air trying to drive them off.
Then I began seeing them here, hanging around the windows and door, waiting for things to happen in their favor. I usually think of fly problems in a context of fly-breeding sources, so I checked the chicken roosts, figuring I’d allowed the droppings to build up enough to allow fly eggs to hatch and go through their development cycle. Not so.
But up at Gale and Kay’s house a few days ago I saw they were similarly blessed. Plenty of flies to go around. Enough for most usual purposes.
Yesterday, or the day before they began finding their way into the cabin. They weren’t docile enough to allow chasing and swatting as an option, and I’m not all that big about having flies walking over my face while I try to sleep, type, or meditate. The military surplus mosquito net head-cover I’ve had for thirty years or more works as well as anything I know of to keep that from happening.
I’m a person who tends to believe most things are indicators of other things, but I haven’t a clue what this is an indicator of. Probably someone somewhere would say it means we’re going to have a hard winter, or some other unusual kind of winter. Usually Texas has a few flies and they’re worse in the fall season, but on its worst day this part of Texas usually can’t compare to a normal fly-day in the high desert country. Desert flies converge on perspiration and any other water from miles around.
Swatting Flies in the Last Century
But this year Texas can brag it has something to compete with New Mexico. Rich folks from Houston and Dallas won’t need to go to Ruidoso, Eagle Nest and Taos to have as many flies as they hanker to have crawling around on them.
Old Jules
So Far From Heaven 
Glad to know it isn’t just me with the dang fly problem. You noticed that the small ones are easier to swat? They haven’t developed the DANGER alert system yet and just sit there.
I keep two swatters at hand, one behind me for quick grab at the table and one in the kitchen. Cats have finally learned I am not out to swat them when I grab one.
Morning Ben. So you’ve got them too. Any theories about why they’re so bad this year? Are the woodchucks building their nests thicker [humor] and are the horses getting a thicker coat of hair [more humor]. I’m fairly puzzled by all this. Thanks for coming by. Jules
Good Morning, Nice post, Old Jules. Hope you had a beautiful Sunday. I have been resting after my trip and as usual I read every post you had posted. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Old Jules. Best Regards. !!!
Hi Michael. I appreciate your coming by for the reads and visit. Hope your day’s a good one also. Jules
So far the flies have left us alone but since we have had plagues of everything else I expect them. If I could just train the cats to hunt flies I would have it made.
When we lived in Mexico back in the ’80’s we had a fly-in of flies in the village of Loreto one year. When I could kill 7 flies with one blow I thought it was bad but it later peaked out at 11 flies with one blow.
I took on the name of “Kills eleven flies with one blow”. It was a mighty feeling but knowing my reluctance to kill anything I know now the flies drove me to it.
Everyone was saying “Times fun when you are having flies”.
Morning Oldfool: Thanks for coming by. Love the Mexico anecdote. Time’s fun when you’re having flies might be on the Texas license tags next year. Gracias, Jules
Hmmmm, down here in Karnes City we don’t seem to have more flies than usual – strange. I wonder what might be the reason for thta.
Best regards,
Pit
Hi Pit. Maybe these are from Karnes City. Heck, I don’t have a clue. Gracias, Jules
Hi Jules,
I think I must correct myself – to a certain extent. We surely don’t have many flies around here, but two or three that are more pesky than they used to be.
And trust me: I didn’t send our flies up to your area! 😉
Enjoy youor Sunday,
Pit
Just returned from a weekend on the Guadalupe, near Canyon Lake and the flies drove us nuts. Finally hung out a baggie full of water because we’ve heard it keeps them away. Shortly after we left, but I’ll be checking with our friends who live there to see if it did indeed work. Have you tried this method of getting rid of flies?
P.S. your blog is a trip and I enjoyed it for my Sunday morning read!
Hi Linda. I’m obliged you came by. Sounds to me as though the fly-thing is widespread, but has left pockets of non-flyism in the geography. I’ve got a lot of clear, opaque and other types of bottled water on the porch because I haul water for the time being. I haven’t tried the baggies, but I’ll confess to having wondered whether all those bottles of water were attracting the flies to the porch. Thanks for the kind words about the blog. Gracias, Jules
Wow – that is interesting. I hardly see any flies at all in the fall and winter in the delta area.
Hi guttermutt. I’m hoping you don’t feel you’ve been left out of something important going on with Mama Nature. Rumor has it the flies are here because there’s a fly-Woodstock event in the area soon and these are just coming early to make sure they get a good seat. Always good seeing you. Gracias, Jules
I am guessing that it is time for Texas to have more flies. The only one that knows the answer is Mother Nature! She ain’ gonna tell!
Hi livvy1234. Glad you came by and pointed that out. Gracias, Jules
The balance of nature exerts itself. Some years it’s grasshoppers. Or bees. This year, its flies. I have them too, in California, where we hardly see them. Or, it could be the white nose disease has arrived and is killing bats, the biggest fly eaters we have to keep our population in balance? Bats! Who would of thunk it?
Mary
Hi 2gadabout. Thanks for coming by. Might be bats are the answer. Hadn’t thought of that possibility. Gracias, Jules
I have a mosquito headnet. Used it once, when I did a 7-day backpack on Isle Royale. It was the only way I could keep from inhaling mosquitos as I trudged along.
Hi Fearguth. Thanks for coming by. I don’t think I paid more than a buck for mine and I carried it in the backpack a thousand miles. I think I might have used it on mosquitoes a time or two, once on Matagorda Island and another time on the International Boundary Waterway near Grand Moraih, MN, and once on bees. Worth the price I paid, plus interest. I don’t know where Isle Royale is, but if it matched Matagorda Island or Grand Moraih, you likely felt blessed to have it. Gracias, Jules
Isle Royale National Park is about 20 miles offshore from Grand Portage, MN, which is just 35 miles up the road from Grand Marais. We backpacked from Windigo to Rock Harbor, about 45 miles.
Hi Fearguth. Whew. Yeah, you had some flies, I reckons. Mine was a canoe trip, but I don’t believe I was deprived of any. Gracias, Jules
You ain’t seen flies until you’ve been to Northern Ontario. The flies are so big that they make a real feast for the mosquitoes.
David: I’ve always heard Northern Ontario was special in that respect. Never got around to having a looksee, but I’ll value your testimony. Thank you for your visit. Jules
Good picture of you in that hat. You’ve got a great face, and thanks for all the interesting photographs/headers you put on you work.
Sheila
Sheila: Thanks for the kind words. Jules