Tsetse Flies
How to survive on Safari
One thing that unites visitors to the South Luangwa National Park is their loathing of the Tsetse Fly, for their bite can sometimes be quite painful and result in itching for a few days.
But true wildlife lovers should appreciate their presence. The Tsetse
fly often carries and transmits parasites that can kill cattle
and other domestic animals, while wild animals are immune to the
infection (as well as people on safari). The insects therefore
limit the possibility for animal agriculture, thus forming an effective
protection against excessive human habitation. Hence the reason
the South Luangwa National Park is so remote.
Tsetse Flies normally live by feeding on the blood of vertebrate animals, such as buffalo, bushbuck and warthog.
When out on safari either on a game vehicle or on a walking safari, they can sometimes become a bit of a nuisance. There are however, a few things that you can do reduce you chance of getting bitten:
Avoid wearing clothing which is either dark blue or dark green. Tsetse flies are attracted to these clothes, as they mistake them for animal skin. Best bet is to keep to light browns and khaki colours.
It may sound strange, but from our experience, putting on loads of insect repellent can actually attract the flies more. By all means put repellent on, but don’t douse yourself down as this is unpleasant for yourself, others around you, and doesn’t give you any benefit.
When on a game drive, the flies normally congregate around where your feet are, resulting in your ankles being bitten. You could try wearing thick socks: we have tested this out and it did have a degree of success. Also wearing long sleeved shirts and long trousers will reduce the exposure to the flies.
The last bit of bad news is that Tsetse Flies will either love you or hate you. They do seem to go after some people more than others. So if you attract flies and insect bites back home then the likelihood is that the Tsetse will look forward to your arrival.
To end on a positive note, from experience if you're on a game drive and you accidentally end up in a particular high density of the flies the guides are very good in getting out quickly, and apart from occasionally been a pest, they never come close to infringing on your safari experience.
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