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After a scorching summer, mild weather through central and northern parts of Western Australia is giving rise to a late season surge of bush flies.
While the so-called Aussie salute is second nature in many country communities, locals in Gascoyne Junction — 1,000km north of Perth — say conditions are getting ridiculous.
Jarrod Walker, works manager for the Shire of Upper Gascoyne, said the "absolutely shocking" swarms were forcing visitors to stay indoors.
"It's definitely had an impact on our tourist numbers," he said.
Mr Walker is a longtime resident of Gascoyne Junction and spent his childhood in the outback town.
But he can't recall a time when the flies were so prolific at this time of the year.
"As a kid, I don't remember it being hot and I don't remember the flies," Mr Walker said.
"I guess you learn to deal with it and just get on."
Still, the keen horse rider admits he now trains his animals under the cover of darkness.
"I ride them at night, just to get out of the flies," he said.
Flies, cattle, and dung beetles
Tanya Latty, an entomologist from the University of Sydney, said the recent warm and wet conditions were behind the bush fly boom.
She noted that agricultural areas were bound to experience larger numbers, until temperatures dropped.
"Warmer weather tends to increase the rate at which flies can reproduce, which is good for them, they can build up to higher numbers," Dr Latty said.
"But on the flip side of that, if it's too dry, then cow patties dry up too quickly, and the larvae don't really do well.
"Once you get below around 15 degrees, consistently, they tend to die off and won't be around anymore," she said.
Animal dung is a particularly potent breeding ground for bush flies, with the dung beetle a key player in clearing up the muck.
The arrival of cattle in Australia, however, shifted the scales in flies' favour.
"Cattle dung is bigger and moister and just gooier than what our poor native beetles were used to and they weren't able to cope," Dr Latty said.
As early as 1967, CSIRO researchers began importing different and more effective species of dung beetles from areas where they had evolved alongside cattle.
While population growth may be less inhibited than usual, Dr Latty said it was important to be mindful of the ecological role the bush fly performs.
"What it's doing is helping to recycle waste into the landscape," she said.
"It's turning a cow patty into a maggot and then into a fly, which is food for heaps of other things."
Fly nets: fundamental or faux-pas?
Back in Gascoyne Junction, the locals are also looking on the bright side.
"A month is a long time in the bush," Mr Walker said.
"We go back a few weeks ago, you can say we were in drought conditions and it was terrible out here. Everything was suffering.
"It's a good thing we've got flies. It means it's rained."
The near-constant buzz of bush flies has already sparked changes around town.
"There's a perception out there [that] if you're wearing a fly net, you're a bit of a weak bugger," Mr Walker said.
"But I've seen hardened pastoralists and hardened operators at the moment wearing fly nets."
"Sometimes, you've just got to swallow your pride and go with common sense."