When I worked in the bush, we were building road, breaking new ground on afternoon shift, at dusk I would take refuge in the truck and the black flies literally blacked out the windows. I would soak my stanfields and my hardhat in diesel fuel before putting them on. It didn't keep them away they just stuck to me and every half hour or so I would shake a thick layer of them off onto the ground.
You actually pleaded with them to go away. Everything tasted of deep woods off. Great job though...