Tsetse flies
 

I read that blue and black attracts tsetse flies (OK, I have no idea if I spelled that right) Anyway those are pretty much the only colors my son owns---will it be a problem in Samburu or Masai Mara in August?

I haven't seen any tsetses in Samburu or the Mara. Only place I've seen tsetses in Kenya is in Meru.

We went to Kenya in August (Samburu and the Mara, among other places) and never saw any there, but our guide was bitten by one when we were on a game drive in Tarangire in Tanzania. The darn thing was huge and took a chunk out of his leg, although he wasn't much concerned about it. He was dressed in khaki from head to foot.

If I might offer a suggestion, the dust is unbelievable where you're going, and I wouldn't recommend dark clothing if you can avoid it. We bought the most inexpensive khaki pants, shorts and light colored T shirts we could find. Most of it was pretty trashed by the time we got back and I gave it to Goodwill. If I remember correctly, lighter colors were recommended as they are supposed to be less distinguishable to the animals.

Bring plenty of socks, which get absolutely filthy from the dust. The water there doesn't lend itself to getting anything really clean and heavier things like socks simply wouldn't dry overnight. I washed out undies as necessary, but we had laundry done at one of the lodges halfway through our trip and nothing was dry enough to pack the next morning. We transported it all -- damp -- as best we could to the next location and festooned our room with it until it dried.

You're in for a fantastic experience. I'd go back in a hearbeat!

Black, Blue or safari Tan... don't much matter from my experiences. If they're going to bite, they will. I was wearing jeans, guide in tan... he got bitten (though he swatted (sp) many more). They couldn't care that I was but 6" away from him. One did land on me, but not a nip.

A scientific study has concluded that blue and black will attract them: (Green, C. H. (1988) The effect of colour on trap-and screen-orientated responses in Glossina palpalis palpalis (Robineau-Desvoidy) (Diptera: Glossinidae). Bulletin of Entomological Research, 78, 591-604.)

Based on this study traps are often constructed using cloth of these colors. A picture of one of these traps can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsetse_fly

I had only one time problems with tsetse flies in this years very wet Jannuary in Tarangire, and I can make you sure,they didn´t look for black or blue, they pestered everybody.

Tuckeg,

I read a report in a veterinary journal (someone was studying cattle; how color of their hide effects being bitten by tsetse). If memory serves me correctly – yellow was the least favorite color. I plan to test this theory on my next safari by taking a yellow scarf to cover up when I am in tsetse country. Just curious if it would make a difference…

There are no tsetse flies in Samburu. There are some in the very south of Maasai Mara near the Tanzanian border and also some outside the reserve in the north.

www.bugshirt.com will solve all your problems. I can't say enough about the shirt and the gaitors. I was 100% protected from bites.

I was doing some birding this weekend in the Adirondacks and noticed that mosquitos seemed to be attracted to those wearing bug shirt but they couldn't get at the wearers so it worked out well for all of us.