Oh no! Please say it’s not so…

YELLOW FLIES!!!

Yellow Flies, known for their persistence and painful bites, are about to make their return to South Walton. If you haven’t had the “pleasure” of encountering this dreaded insect, well, you just might want to have a seat and buckle up because you are about to embark on a bumpy 6-week adventure! Let us, your friends at South Walton Mosquito District introduce you to the terrifying yellow fly!

 Unlike mosquitoes, these nasty flies create an open wound to draw your blood. Their mouth is well designed for this, featuring stabbing and scissors-like appendages. The combination of these allows the dreadful yellow fly to stab its host and to hang on. It then inserts the scissors to enlarge the wound before piercing further inward. We know what you’re thinking, and yes! It does get worse! The scissors have both sharp and serrated edge surfaces, and then they release anticoagulants to keep the blood flowing which potentially may trigger an allergic reaction, in some. Finally, another specialized mouth organ absorbs the blood meal from you!

Like mosquitoes, only the females seek out blood meal for egg production while males feed on nectar and pollen. These daytime feeders are often found near tree lines in wet areas, especially on cloudy days. They’re fast and quiet, often going unnoticed until they bite and will continue to bite until they’re satisfied.

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be an effective means of population control, but we have some possible words of wisdom for you. We recommend NOT wearing dark colored clothing, as the female yellow flies are attracted to those black yoga pants and dark baseball caps. Dark sunglasses can also catch their attention. Aside from staying inside, we also recommend loose, light colored clothing, and you will want to use a mosquito repellent containing DEET. As we stated above, these mean ladies are out all day enjoying the weather and looking for their victims, but their numbers do seem to increase during dusk and dawn hours.

Oh, and please don’t forget your pets! Yellow flies love your furry friends just as much as they love you! If you have concerns about how yellow flies might affect your pets, please contact your vet.

Now that you are completely beside yourself and questioning your decision to live in this beautiful area, we do have a little bit of good news! South Walton Mosquito District will begin their annual distribution of those wonderful free yellow fly kits, (The kits will not work against anything other than yellow flies) starting Tuesday, April 1st, 2025, through Thursday, June 26th, 2025, Monday-Thursday between the hours of 7:30 AM-4:00 PM. You will need to show proof of South Walton residency and as in previous years, one kit per primary residence.

Your friends here at South Walton Mosquito District wish you the best of luck this yellow fly season!