Biting Flies at the Beach are the Absolute Worst

Vacation time!

Ahh yes, time to hang out on the beach, and get attacked by stupid flies. It is the worst. Last year I went down to the beach at Higgins lake, got my sunscreen on, chair and blanket situated, ice-cold beverage at the ready (usually something with Vodka, don't judge) and I was ready for my beach day. Until the flies descended upon me and started biting. I hate those things.

These flies can totally ruin a day at the beach.

Did you know that those flies are known by several names? Totally true, I looked it up. These biting flies go by names like horse flies, midges, or no-see-ums. They are the worst because they do bite and it does hurt.

Flies that bite.

Mosquitoes are the one bug that everyone hates, I always get attacked at night by the campfire. Those pests love hot and humid weather so they will be all over this holiday weekend.

Black flies come in 65 different species, and they love Northern Michigan because of its clean rivers. The adult black fly only lives for a couple of weeks, and it is only the female that bites.

I will be heading up north next week for summer vacation. My husband, David Andrews, booked up a 2 night stay on Beaver Island. I am super excited because I have never been to that part of Michigan.

Beaver Island is a 2-hour ferry ride from Charlevoix or a 15-minute flight. The island is the largest in Lake Michigan covering some 55 miles. Cars are allowed on the island, the beaches on Beaver Island are beautiful, the sunsets are magnificent. and there are a lot of woods to hike through. I would bet money there is a lot of biting bugs there as well.

What can you do to keep those nasty pests away? Good old DEET is apparently the best product to keep those nasty biters away. I'll let you know how that works.

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.