The Bald Faced Hornet & The FL Horse Fly

[Chair-man]

Hiking in FL in the summer is soooo much fun. I was hiking the Barrs Landing Trail (http://www.sjrwmd.com/trailguides/pdfs/lakegeorgetrail.pdf)on the eastern shore of Lake George FL and had these bald faced hornets (http://www.google.com/search?q=bald+faced+hornet&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=VOGvUYHIBsm_0gHv-4CIDw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1047&bih=475) pestering me. These hornets (actually wasp) are rather large and quite intimidating. Also, the horse flies were giving me a hard time too. I was wearing shorts and fortunately I had my high gaiters with me and a long sleeve shirt and was able to cover up. Are hornets and horse flies a problem on the AT?

[SouthernPride]

Stinging insects can be found anywhere in the woods though usually they aren't a problem. I have been sitting in a tree stand hunting 20 yards from a hornet's nests before....never been bothered. Of course, I had no desire to shoot the nest either. On the other hand, horseflies dive bomb attack us in our pool and they got a pretty nasty bite. I havent been on the AT yet, but being a southerner, I feel qualified to offer an opinion, particularly in the like weathered southern states.....yellow jackets and bees are probably pretty common and can be a problem around privies and shelters but probably not much to worry about while actually hiking. Can stings happen - yes. Is it something to worry about? Probably not. Yellow jackets love sugar, so they will buzz around your food, particularly sweets and sodas. Yellow jackets hide their queen and nest in hollow logs, stumps, under composting leaves and in the ground. Don't go kicking around logs, dead wood and composting forest materials and you probably wont find a nest, except in the aforementioned privies and shelters. Horseflies will be found throughout the area of the AT, but horseflies are more common around large mammals, such as livestock. And they lay eggs near water. Someone else can comment, but I doubt horseflies are a real problem, since there is no constant source of food for the females, which are the ones that bite. But I'm making a Holiday Inn Express guess here........

[daddytwosticks]

I've been harassed by horse flys on hikes before. They tend to follow you for a distance and buzz around your head. Just when you think they have lost interest and flown away, they appear again, zooming around your head. Just part of the hiking experience. I must have been followed by a particularly persistent horse fly once for about 15 minutes. :)

[peakbagger]

Horse and their rural cousins deer flies along with what some locals refer to as moose flies, are a PITA in Maine and NH during warm weather when you stop, but normally they dont follow when you are hiking. They are a major annoyance when stopping to pick berries. They mostly buzz around your head and occasionally land so they are more of a nuisance but on occasion they will bite and they take a chunk out of you when they do. They dont bite quickly so you have awhile to brush them off before they do. They tend to hang around the highest point on your body so many folks wear broad brim hats and others set up creative ways of suspending an object above their heads, like a stick in the top of the pack with upside down cup on the stick . There is also a firm that supplies sticky pads that your attach to the top of your hat, the flies land and they get stuck. In the right conditions, the pad can get covered.

[Chair-man]

They mostly buzz around your head and occasionally land

The Florida Horse-Deer fly seems mostly attracted to the lower legs and ankles. while they do buzz around your head they generally don't land there.

The bald faced hornets I encountered were not trying to sting me but seemed to be attracted to my scent (Bullfrog brand mosquito repellant) or some bright colors I was wearing or just my movement. They were a bit scary. They flew like little humming birds. Here's video I found on you tube.
Bald Faced Hornets (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX3nyZX6UXg)

[Tuxedo]

I've been stung 3times by those hornets on the AT, not really a rhyme or reason each time. most nests of any kind (snake, hornets or danger) gets noted in sticks or hand written note under a rock in each direction of the trail. As for flies you have to worry about Black flies in New England this time of year and I think summer being late for atleast another month. Deer flies in New England will systematically buzz your head for reaction and move in for the hit. I've had a good amount of this attack and if the sun is out I can pick'm off from their shadow while attempting the fly by. The Deer fly I speak of is about half the size of your referenced hornet.

From end to end of the AT mosquitoes are the worst offender.

[Pedaling Fool]

The Florida Horse-Deer fly seems mostly attracted to the lower legs and ankles. while they do buzz around your head they generally don't land there.

The bald faced hornets I encountered were not trying to sting me but seemed to be attracted to my scent (Bullfrog brand mosquito repellant) or some bright colors I was wearing or just my movement. They were a bit scary. They flew like little humming birds. Here's video I found on you tube.
Bald Faced Hornets (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX3nyZX6UXg)That video confirms what I've said before on here, that Bald Faced Hornets are not nearly as aggressive as they look, and they do have the "look".

You couldn't get that close to a yellow jacket nest, despite being a very close relative of the Bald Faced Hornet, the Yellow Jackets are far more aggressive.

Actually I've been stung by paper wasp (protecting its nest) and I was not as close as he was to that nest. But, I've found that even paper wasps can learn to tolerate your proximity to their nests; I never destroy them.

Now for Horse flies, kill them bastards on sight.

[Surplusman]

I've been whacked by bald-faced hornets several times, but despite this, I believe they are beneficial. Unless their nest is very close to where people are (especially young boys!), I leave them alone. Hornets have a hatred of flies, and do as much as they can to reduce the surrounding fly population. Any creature that kills flies is ok in my book.

Yellow jackets are another matter. I take every opportunity I can to exterminate the little b*****ds. They seem to get more ornery in late summer, and it takes almost nothing to provoke them.