&gt;Flies actively try to gag you. I’ve had to full on run away from flies more than once.

Ha ha luckily I live in sub-tropical parts (Brisbane) so we don't get the horrendous flies the more temperate parts of Australia can sometimes get. I remember after one visit to a mountain range near Melbourne when I encountered swarms of flies for the first time in my life. I was shocked how bad it was. My wife insisted we run back to the hire car and our walk was terminated :)