Gonna try the hortimulch from dirt doctors, in CON, on top of my garden beds this year. It’s a blend of aged spruce, fir, and hemlock mulch mixed with compost. After seeing how it looks I may spread it around the shrubs too. Good stuff.
Haven't seen many deer flies here either although we had a ton of them growing up in S NH. The mosquitoes are coming out now and the black flies were only a 7/10 tonight compared to 10/10 the past week.