This Whimsical Clip-On Accessory Will Keep The Flies Away On Your Next Camping Trip

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Ah, the great outdoors! Summer is the time to enjoy all that nature offers, from the unspoiled lakes of New York's Adirondacks to hiking the incredible trails that wind through the Pacific Northwest. Let's be honest, though. Some aspects of the great outdoors are not so great — mosquitoes, gnats, ticks, and leeches. The list goes on. But there is a cute new way to keep at least some of these pesky nuisances away.

Enter the Dragonfly Wingman Clip-on Deterrent. It's an artificial dragonfly that you attach to a hat, backpack, or even a horse bridle. The inventors of this devious little decoy promise that it will keep away many flying pests, in particular, deer flies and horse flies. These insects are especially annoying due to their painful bites that sometimes result in dangerously allergic reactions.

"When I first got this, I was very doubtful about it," said reviewer Mark Young, placing a yellow Dragonfly Wingman closer to the camera in his YouTube channel. "I thought, okay, this is plastic. How can it be effective at being repellent for deer flies?" Yet, despite its man-made origins, the Dragonfly Wingman has been convincing enough to fool even real dragonflies, winning over quite a few human fans in the process.

Dragonflies are beautiful insects with brightly colored tails and gossamer wings. They are also voracious predators that eat other flying insects. When other insects see dragonflies coming, they fly for their lives. The Dragonfly Wingman is attached to a thin, flexible wire that bobs up and down and swings side to side. This imitates the flitting, darting, and hovering movements of real dragonflies on the hunt: exactly what deer flies and horse flies want to avoid.

How realistic? Well, users report that the Dragonfly Wingman is realistic enough to attract other dragonflies. "The look is so lifelike that a real dragonfly tried to mate with it while I was paddling. No joke," one customer reported on Amazon. Users have tested it in a variety of settings — from paddling on a lake in Algonquin Park to overnight camping in the Canadian wilderness. One equestrian clipped a Dragonfly Wingman on her helmet and two on her horse's bridle as they walked through the woods. The result? Thumbs up from horse and rider. "There were a couple of tail swishes, but it was nothing like what we usually experience on the trail," said the reviewer on her YouTube channel. "So, I would say this hack is a win."

While the decoy seemed effective on deer flies and horse flies, it won't solve everything. It doesn't seem to have the same impact on mosquitoes, for example. For those bloodsuckers, there is another surprising and natural deterrent that's probably already in your kitchen. Try this simple, mosquito-repellent coffee hack. Wasps are another flying nuisance to hikers and campers, and the secret to banishing wasps from your campsite is this common pet product.