I Did Not Know A Fly Could Bite!
By Catherine
@bluesa (15022)
Johannesburg, South Africa
November 28, 2017 7:06am CST
Here in South Africa, a fly is the normal annoyance, it buzzes around, with that annoying sound it emits! Pesky very pesky. And today there was a fly, buzzing around annoying me and this reminded me of something that happened a couple of years back.
Imagine my surprise (and an awful surprise it was) when I discovered that a fly can bite!
A couple of years back, I was visiting family in Portugal and we were sitting outside one summer afternoon, when a fly was buzzing around us, it landed on my leg and bit me!
I couldn't believe it when I felt that odd stinging sensation and realised a fly had actually bitten me! That was the day I learned to wield a fly swatter bar none!
What about your part of the world? Do you have to deal with the normal pesky fly during summer or do you have those that bite? I was happy to return home after that vacation and only have to deal with the pesky ones!
Image credit: Pixabay
14 people like this
16 responses
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
28 Nov 17
We do have the occasionally fly that bites, It must be because its having a bad day.
4 people like this
@shaggin (72131)
• United States
28 Nov 17
We call them horseflys. They hurt so much it’s similar to a light bee sting. I swell up really bad and itch for days after being bitten. We had a yard sale this summer and the flies bit my legs up so bad! The following day I had to wear pants and have a fly squatter near me.
2 people like this
@shaggin (72131)
• United States
29 Nov 17
@bluesa my dad always got bit by them while swimming in the pool. Our dogs growing up always got bit up by them terrible. After being bitten and the swelling and itchyness I feel so bad for how the dogs must have felt. They lived outside.
1 person likes this
@Orson_Kart (6776)
• United Kingdom
5 Dec 17
I hate flies, whether they bite or not. Where's that swatter? Splatt!
1 person likes this
@Orson_Kart (6776)
• United Kingdom
5 Dec 17
@bluesa Scared to talk to you with a fly swat and bug spray in your hands. 
1 person likes this
, Oh, now now, you would be perfectly safe from me, you're not pesky! 
@bluesa (15022)
• Johannesburg, South Africa
5 Dec 17
Yes they are an awful annoyance! I have a fly swatter and a can of bug spray that I am not afraid to use, @Orson_Kart ! How are you?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121586)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Nov 17
Horse flies, deer flies, and tse-tse flies all have a mean bite!
1 person likes this
@bluesa (15022)
• Johannesburg, South Africa
2 Dec 17
@moffittjc , lol, in my suburb they are peaceful pests, no biting. We have other vicious problems.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121586)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Dec 17
@bluesa I think flies can be vicious no matter where in the world you are! lol
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40243)
• United States
28 Nov 17
Oh yes! Surprise! We have deer flies, and horse flies whose bites are particularly nasty here
2 people like this
@FayeHazel (40243)
• United States
29 Nov 17
@bluesa That is fortunate... I'm happy that they (usually) don't bite
1 person likes this
@m_audrey6788 (58472)
• Germany
28 Nov 17
I don`t know that it bites but it distracts me with their sounds and I know they carries a lot of bacterias since they are found on garbages 
1 person likes this
@m_audrey6788 (58472)
• Germany
28 Nov 17
@JolietJake Oh gosh! I hope you don`t get any infections 
1 person likes this
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
28 Nov 17
We don't have flies that bite here but they do carry germs and so we need to be careful with all flies.
Flies' disease-carrying potential may be greater than previously thought, say US researchers.
1 person likes this
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
5 Dec 17
@Bluedoll Yes, I did encounter of of those deer flies many years ago way up north of where I live and it did take a little chunk of me.
When a housefly enters my apartment, I usually try to chase it out. I have never considered it as a pet.
1 person likes this
@toniganzon (72281)
• Philippines
28 Nov 17
Oh wow, I've never encountered a fly that bites.
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
29 Nov 17
hmmm, i hope the fly that bit you is not of the tsetse species.
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
30 Nov 17
@bluesa good to know. the mosquitoes, especially the females, do bite with some more illnesses, like malaria and hemorrhagic fever or dengue.
1 person likes this
(On second thoughts, I think I was bitten a few times by flies too, we are just too sweet and they can't resist! 
)
@dgobucks226 (35608)
•
12 Dec 17
Flies definitely can bite. When I am on the beach and there is a west wind it attracts many flies. It is like an invasion. And they can draw blood, ouch!
1 person likes this
@BrittneyKaye05 (411)
• United States
28 Nov 17
Flies around are area don't bite they just buzz around being annoyeling lol. And we have Asian bettles they look like a ladybug and they have a bad smell when you smush them those are thick around here in the fall.
1 person likes this
