Black flies

Let’s talk about black flies… 

Every spring and early summer in Connecticut, we start seeing dogs develop bumps, welts, swelling, or irritated skin after being outdoors, sometimes having a small bullseye-like appearance, often on their bellies or groin. The shape often leads people to worry about Lyme disease. Even people familiar with what this is commonly refer to this as "mayfly bites", but adult mayflies don't have mouthparts!

A lot of the time, black flies are the culprit.

Unlike mayflies, black flies do bite. They feed on blood and can leave behind itchy, irritated welts that sometimes look much worse than they actually are.

Symptoms can include:

• Small red bumps or welts  
• Swelling
• Itching or irritation]
• Facial swelling in more sensitive pets

The good news:

• Most reactions are mild and temporary.

But we do want pet owners to watch for:

• Significant swelling
• Hives
• Facial swelling
• Persistent discomfort
• Difficulty breathing - extremely uncommon

If your pet develops a sudden skin reaction after spending time outdoors and you're unsure what caused it, we're always happy to help evaluate it.

If you think your pet is having a more severe allergic reaction, you may need to consider calling an emergency clinic - list of emergency clinics nearest to us at the top:Emergency Clinics