Help!



I have a trip planned in a few weeks which takes me to north-central PA. The last two years we encountered a gazillion small tachinid flies which were released by some government agency genius to control the gypsy moth population. I don't know if they are doing their intended job but they can drive PEOPLE nuts!! They are true flies, members of the order Diptera and look exactly like small house flies with red eyes.

When fishing they land on your arms, hands, face EVERYWHERE, 20-30-40 at a time. I feel like a cow shooing and shaking them off of me all day, it is quite annoying even though they don't bite. I do treat my fishing shirt & hat with Sawyer Permethrin repellent that works wonders with ticks & other blood suckers, but it doesn't do a thing to repel the tachinid flies. Neither does a dryer sheet. I haven't tried any DEET preparations yet, maybe because I always wonder about it damaging stuff.

Does anybody know of any safe repellents that might work against these critters. I hear cloves are supposed to repel house flies. Maybe I should stick one in each ear?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!