Pesky Flies- The Stable Fly


		While most encounters with park fauna are pleasant, you may meet the pesky stable fly while visiting the Upper Peninsula. Stable flies look much like the house fly and have even been called the “biting house fly. But the house fly’s beak is soft and works like a sponge to sop up food.
The stable fly’s proboscis is pointed and built for stabbing and sucking blood. Stable flies travel along rivers, roadways, and open areas. From late June to August, warm humid winds from the southwest bring occasional invasions of stable flies. What can you do? The flies seem to prefer being close to the ground, so cover your legs and ankles. Insect repellants are ineffective against stable flies. To tolerate an invasion of stable flies, avoid the Lake Superior coast during their migration and consider taking a hike on one of the Lakeshore’s inland trails, away from roads or water. The fly situation often lasts a few days or until a cool breeze from the north begins to blow.



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Those pesky flies