Topic: Flies that bite....

[DadnDom]

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?

[Deb P]

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.

[asbean]

Ladybirds bite as well.  My OH didn't believe me - until he got bitten too.

[Deb P]

Oh dear! Shame they look so cute........ :-\

[DadnDom]

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

[cacran]

About Ladybirds! In 1976 we had a real hot Summer and a glut of flying ladybirds. I got bitten all over by them.

 >:(

[adrianhumph]

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

[queenfishface]

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.

[shirlton]

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.

[Deb P]

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

[flossie]

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...

[Deb P]

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!

[telboy]

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.