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Flies that bite....
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Topic: Flies that bite.... (Read 2693 times)
DadnDom
Half Acre
Posts: 132
Flies that bite....
«
on:
June 07, 2007, 11:51:10 »
Yeah as if the ants were not bad enough, now we are being eaten alive on the wing too.
Looks like a housefly but the bite is quite painful so you often catch the fly in the act and smack it so hard it's squashed beyond recognition. One last night tho was just stunned had a good look and it had a fold out probe on it's mouth, sort of L shaped.
Same size as house fly maybe a little more "fluffy/hairy" sort of look to it.
Any ideas? OH has missed a day in work because her leg has swollen so badly and my hands twice it's original size.
We are in North Wales, in an area abandoned a long time ago to the wild, we have still and running water within 300 yards so could be water based flying insect?
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Deb P
Hectare
Posts: 4,724
Still digging it....
Re: Flies that bite....
«
Reply #1 on:
June 07, 2007, 12:16:06 »
I can offer first hand experience of these lil' critters, sounds like you have been bitten by a horse fly. :(
Best treatment? Get a hot cup of water/tea/coffee, and hold it against the bite for as long as you can stand it, being really careful not to burn the unbitten parts of you!
This really works
I had to do this only last week, I held it on for about a minute, had a rest, then repeated twice more.
It works because the heat 'cooks' the poison in the bite (like cooking an egg white) so it doesn't spread any more, the heat encourages blood flow to the area to disperse the poison, and the heat also eases the pain. The sooner you do this after being bitten the better, I found out the hard way last year an still have a horrible scar on my ankle from a bite I had before I heard of this treatment.
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If it's not pouring with rain, I'm either in the garden or at the lottie! Probably still there in the rain as well TBH....🥴
http://www.littleoverlaneallotments.org.uk
asbean
Hectare
Posts: 3,411
Winchester, Hants
Re: Flies that bite....
«
Reply #2 on:
June 08, 2007, 22:51:47 »
Ladybirds bite as well. My OH didn't believe me - until he got bitten too.
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The Tuscan Beaneater
Deb P
Hectare
Posts: 4,724
Still digging it....
Re: Flies that bite....
«
Reply #3 on:
June 09, 2007, 09:18:07 »
Oh dear! Shame they look so cute........ :-\
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If it's not pouring with rain, I'm either in the garden or at the lottie! Probably still there in the rain as well TBH....🥴
http://www.littleoverlaneallotments.org.uk
DadnDom
Half Acre
Posts: 132
Re: Flies that bite....
«
Reply #4 on:
June 11, 2007, 21:19:15 »
Deb P I think you have it, had a google and that looks to be the culprit. So, red ants, horse flies and mosquitos.
Anything else I should look out for...I feel like a mobile catering van ;D
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cacran
Hectare
Posts: 583
Re: Flies that bite....
«
Reply #5 on:
June 16, 2007, 08:33:28 »
About Ladybirds! In 1976 we had a real hot Summer and a glut of flying ladybirds. I got bitten all over by them.
>:(
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adrianhumph
Acre
Posts: 419
Camberley, Surrey.
Re: Flies that bite....
«
Reply #6 on:
June 16, 2007, 09:19:39 »
Hi all,
I have mentioned this before, but I use Avon dry skin relief. It seems to repel eveything ;D It is well known among stable workers as an effective insect repellent when working with horses. I have been using it for 2 years & always rub some in to the exposed bits ::) before going gardening. Have not been bitten since. You can get it direct from Avon`s own web site (just google avon ) Quite often it is on offer, BOGOF. It comes in a 150 ml pump action spray bottle & 1 bottle lasts most of the season.
Adrian.
PS i am not an Avon rep ;D
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queenfishface
Not So New ...
Posts: 25
Re: Flies that bite....
«
Reply #7 on:
June 16, 2007, 09:37:46 »
I have a real fear of horseflies. My first experience: I knocked it off my arm but it came back and then chased me around the garden!!!!
It was a horrible bite too - bad reaction.
Even those flying cockroach things in Asia (that once got caught in my hair then fell down inside my shirt!!) don't freak me out like horseflies do.
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shirlton
Hectare
Posts: 6,879
west midlands
Re: Flies that bite....
«
Reply #8 on:
June 16, 2007, 19:05:40 »
The worst pain ever is a bite by a horse fly. It's like being burnt by a cigarette stub. In fact I thought that was what it was until I saw the blooming thing. Some folks are affected more than others.
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When I get old I don't want people thinking
"What a sweet little old lady"........
I want em saying
"Oh Crap! Whats she up to now ?"
Deb P
Hectare
Posts: 4,724
Still digging it....
Re: Flies that bite....
«
Reply #9 on:
June 16, 2007, 19:13:41 »
I've found the reference to my 'cup of tea' treatment at last..............see, there is a scientific explanation for it all! ;D
http://www.newscientist.com/backpage.ns?id=mg18925332.500
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If it's not pouring with rain, I'm either in the garden or at the lottie! Probably still there in the rain as well TBH....🥴
http://www.littleoverlaneallotments.org.uk
flossie
Hectare
Posts: 892
Lincoln
Re: Flies that bite....
«
Reply #10 on:
June 16, 2007, 19:16:28 »
Got bitten just above my eye last night - it is swollen and half closed 8)
I am reluctant to use the hot tea treatment on it...
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Deb P
Hectare
Posts: 4,724
Still digging it....
Re: Flies that bite....
«
Reply #11 on:
June 16, 2007, 19:19:51 »
Ow! That sounds horrible....perhaps a small bit of cotton wool soaked in water as hot as you can stand it? It really does help, it would be worthwhile if you could work out a way to get heat on it without burning your unbitten bits!
Logged
If it's not pouring with rain, I'm either in the garden or at the lottie! Probably still there in the rain as well TBH....🥴
http://www.littleoverlaneallotments.org.uk
telboy
Hectare
Posts: 3,239
I love Allotments4All
Re: Flies that bite....
«
Reply #12 on:
June 17, 2007, 21:55:38 »
Have been bothered by the s*ds this year - but not bitten, yet.
In our area we have the 'Blandford fly'. It's a swine, for people who only want a pleasant walk by the river.
Very similar to your report DadnDom.
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Eskimo Nel was a great Inuit.
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Flies that bite....
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