Doctor fly bites! Help!

Ok this is what I do. I wear full sleeves and pants. Usually the Doctor fly comes out when sun comes out and when it is warm in the afternoon.
Dr Fly can land on any exposed area - usually hand. The fly has some way way of landing on your body undetected almost like a leech.
I am starting to believe the Dr fly knows when you are distracted and make use of the opportunity. So looking on your hands (or exposed area) will be smart. When there are a lot of Dr Flies I keep my hands in my pants pocket.
I have used all kinds of sprays without any benefit.
If you really get mad because the fly is stealing your blood  and cause pain and sufferings you can kill them.
Do not try to squash them  where they are sitting , Go few inches high and use both hands.They are fast. You need to anticipate the the flight path. Your success rate may be 90 %.
Once I get bitten I use cortisone ointment , 2 % better,
The swelling eventually will go down.
It may be small comfort to know that  once you stay in Belize for several weeks  the severity of reaction from sting will come down.
Some ex-pats who stay in Belize for long time claim they do not get bitten  by  Dr Fly like they used to.
I am hoping to find (discover) a trap for Dr Fly and make a lot of money !!!

Has anyone tried baking soda on the bites?

I have heard many, many remedys for the bites.   I think that what works is highly dependant on the degree of sensitivity of the person that has been bitten.   I am someone who is extremely sensitive to all insect bites.   So I would suggest first going to Evergreen pharmacy and getting an antihistamine called Loraditina (?).  this really helps.  take a pill as soon as you know you have been bitten.   then apply a steroid ointment to the wound,  cortisone or something stronger like clobetasol or beta methasone.    To reduce the bites, stay covered as Spiceman suggests.   A friend tells me that Basel oil works well.    I know that Cinnamon oil or Peppermint oil will also work for about 20 minutes.   I spray my clothes with Cutters repellent plus my neck and hands.   I can NOT go outside unprotected without suffering many bites.   We have had to spray our house with Combat 20 to keep the spiders and ants from biting me in my sleep.  Spray the legs of the bed and use a mosquito netting.  I am very fair/thin skinned, my husband who is of african descent is rarely bitten and has a low response to bites.   I find that my physical response to insect bites is worse with time, not less, as some people who apparently develop immunity report.   Best Luck.   The Bugs of Belize are hungry, nasty and plentiful.    As an aside there are many interesting and beautiful insects here who do not prey on my flesh.

I have two pieces of advice -
1. Curse and then forget about it, there is nothing you can do. The locals call them "doctor" flies because they say it means a trip to the doctors, but, in fact, it usually goes away the following day.
2. Move to Cayo. I have been bitten by doctor flies twice in 30 years. Corozal is well-known for its bugs and I have had several clients move to Cayo for that reason alone. There are far less bugs in Cayo.

Ice the bite as soon as possible for at least 10 minutes.

Well three years in.. they don't affect me as much but when they were bad I put Vicks rub on them.  Works for my husband and I.  I use deep woods off as a preventative if they are really bad.

As the temperature go up more Dr flies move in, some times like swarms of them. We were at Belmopan yesterday ate at P Pizza,to my surprise no Dr fly there, Visited sleeping Giant on the way back, again no Dr fly.
Back to home base and Dr fly come with a vengeance.
we are trying many ways to control them, will report back to the forum. Looks like mud and water may have something to do with the increase in population of Dr. Fly. I have noticed the lotus and water lily  collections may be helping Dr fly to breed.

Vicks Vaporub works for my husband and me as well. Also camphorated oil mixed with equal parts of coconut oil works. I also use a mixture of camphorated oil, sea buckthorne oil and coconut oil (all equal proportions). Camphorated oil takes away pain. Sea buckthorne oil reduces swelling (inflamation). The coconut oil is just to hold it together like a cream. I keep the mixture in the fridge to keep it creamy.

I wish I would have seen this when you posted it.
Easy remedy -
Make a paste with the deactivated charcoal and coconut oil. You can keep it in a little jar and put it in your fridge or just on the counter.
The charcoal will suck out all the poison and give immediate and I stress immediate relief. You just dab it on the spot where you have to bite and leave it for about 20 minutes. It works for any type of bite ie brown recluse spiders, mosquitoes, ants, doctor flies , bee stings etc...
This method is a little messy but the charcoal washes off with soap and warm water; I put a Band-Aid over the dab of charcoal mixture to contain the mess.
I learned about this when I was bit by a brown recluse and after 20 minutes I was asymptomatic. I gave some to a friend whose son was bit by a scorpion and by morning there was no sign of the bite.
Deactivated charcoal is also good if you get bit by a poisonous snake but the method is different you put the charcoal in water and drink.
I don't know if you can buy a deactivated charcoal in Belize yet but I pick it up when I'm in the states or it can be ordered to Amazon and shipped through ezone.
For mosquitoes I usually use a tincture I make with vodka and the Nemes leaf from the Nemes tree. Soak leaves in vodka for about 5 weeks and keep in a cool dark place. I'm still using the batch I made 5 years ago and it works perfectly. For some reason it deactivates the poison but it is not strong enough to it immediately deal with the painful poisonous bites that cause swelling. Quick fix for harmless spider bites and mosquito bites.
I hope you find this helpful

Hi there,

Great to see so many different natural ways that have been effective for yourself over the years.
It might just be me but which did you say works best for mosquito bites. The activated charcoal or the neem leaf mix?

I appreciate the home made lotions and potions for mosquito bites etc.
But I would not advocate drinking a home made anything after being bitten by a venomous snake, (there are no poisonous snakes 😉).
Seek medical attention as quickly as you can.

***

I use fat leaf oregano to help reduce swelling for Dr fly bites. I wash a couple leaves, rub a spoon over them to bring out the oils and then rub the leaf on the bite. This is a local remedy that was taught to me within a few weeks of arriving in Belize. I also sometimes resort to Benadryl if the reaction is really bad.

I haven't found anything that prevents the bites though. And if you kill one they release a pheromone that attracts more of their buddies so it's good to not linger 

I live in Coastal Alabama and Yellow Flys (doctor fly) are bad in may and June. I am Allergic and carry an epi pen.
I have found if I take Zyrtec it helps keep the bite localized and I keep benidrill on hand. I have not had to use the pen in a few years.
In our area we hang black balls from the tree and put a sticky substance on the ball. As it swings in the wind the flys think it is an animal and attack it and stick and die.
The stuff is called Tingle trap. We get it at ACE Hardware in Gulf Shores Al.
If you don't have a ball use milk jugs paint them black and apply Tingle Trap
There is no replant that will keep them away to my knowledge. They are attracted to dark colors

It's Tangle, NOT Tingle...