Black Fly? White Shirt!

In 1997, in Tarragona, the first bite was reported; This summer of 2021, tens of thousands of people will be attacked and many will end up in the emergency room due to the intensity of the discomfort.

In reality, the black fly is a small mosquito, so hard to see it (1.5 mm for the smallest specimens), but its round body has led us to call it a “fly”. There are about 2,000 species of black flies and only five bite humans.

How to recognize a black fly bite

Like the common mosquito, black flies need blood to lay eggs. To get it, they bite the skin and then suck the blood. One difference from the common mosquito is that they do not have a sucking trunk, their legs are shorter, and their wings are wider.

Black flies fly silently and their contact with the skin is generally not noticeable. The bite does not hurt either, because they release an anesthetic, but the subsequent inflammatory reaction.

At first you can only see a small red dot with blood, which can flow. Then a welt forms around the injury and the skin becomes red.

The affected area hurts and then begins to itch. Both the itching and pain are usually more intense than those of common mosquito bites.

Sometimes a bruise occurs and small bumps on the skin, edema, or purulent blisters may develop . Redness and swelling can reach up to four inches in diameter in the most intense reactions.

The time it takes for such a bite to heal varies; in the best of cases it disappears in a few days, but it can last several weeks.

Can it transmit diseases?

When the black fly bites, the black fly leaves its saliva in the wound, which contains a mixture of different substances that cause an inflammatory and immune reaction on the part of the body.

As with the bite of any insect, an allergic reaction is possible, which in the worst case can become anaphylactic shock, which requires urgent medical attention.

In rare cases the bite can become infected due to contamination of the wound with germs. This risk is greater than in the case of the bites of the tiger mosquito or the common mosquito, because the wound is larger.

In Africa and some areas of Central and South America, it can transmit the larvae of a worm that can cause significant health problems. For example, if it stings in an eye it can cause onchocerciasis, a parasitic disease that if it affects one eye can cause permanent blindness, but this type of case has not occurred in Spain.

What to do when faced with a black fly bite?

Body odor and sweat can attract them and they have a preference for the hairline area on the head, arms and legs. They cannot bite through clothing but can sneak under it.

If you are bitten by a black fly, it is generally advisable to disinfect and cool the area immediately with water or an ice pack. If you don’t have any of these on hand, a little bit of your own saliva will do the trick until you can disinfect the area.

It is very important not to scratch so that the poison does not spread further through the body and pathogens do not enter the wound. A band-aid will help protect the bite from external irritation.

If necessary, the swelling can be treated with a cortisone cream or antihistamine medications.

When to go to the doctor?

The most serious cases occur when there have been enough bites at once, which is not surprising because the black fly forms clouds or swarms.

In these cases, it is advisable to go to the doctor to assess the reaction, and also if the victim is a child, especially if the bite has not improved within 24 hours.

Symptoms such as fever, headache, dizziness, or swollen lymph nodes require medical attention.

Where are black flies found?

Black flies are found mostly along rivers. In fact, one of the reasons that last year the number of bites increased was because the channels were not cleaned due to the confinement.

Black flies lay their eggs on the leaves of aquatic plants and grasses and on the banks of rivers. The larvae only hatch in water and in warm temperatures.

Female black flies prefer to attack in the morning or late afternoon. They do not bite at night, unlike the common mosquito.

The main victims of black flies are wild animals, cows, horses, sheep or dogs, but they do not disgust humans.

How can you protect yourself from the black fly?

For protection against the black fly, measures similar to those taken against mosquitoes are recommended. Keep the following tips in mind:

• Wear long white or light colored clothing with tight cuffs, closed shoes , and a hat that also protects the hairline.
• Use natural insect repellants.
• If necessary, apply sunscreen first, then spray on mosquito repellent.
• Open baby strollers must be covered with muslin.
• It is also advisable to avoid streams and rivers and meadows where animals graze, especially in the mornings and afternoons.
• In houses located in risk areas, near rivers, streams and canals, install mosquito nets on doors and windows.