Topic: Midges, ticks and other annoying pests

[Mark S]

Hi people,

Moved into a new area a few weeks ago, and when I water late at night (after 10.00pm ish), I am being bite to death!

Never had this problem before (unlike my wife who stays out of the garden wherever we have lived), and have never been bothered when on holiday abroad ever!

Any ideas if it is just the area we have moved to, or could it be something we have int he garden that attracts the sort of bugs you don't want!

Hoping you can help me!!

[Unwashed]

It's mainly the area you're in - where are you BTW?  I get midges, mosquitoes, black flys, and horse flys in Newbury, and ticks too.

I hope you're not actually being bitten by ticks.  They carry some nasty diseases.  If you are bothered with them then cut the grass short and wear long trouses tucked into your boots, and if you have them, make sure your dogs are Frontlined.

Midges come out on still evenings and are troublesome, some species very very troublesome.  The Highland midge is the worst, but there are others to be found all over the country.  Smoking keeps them away a bit, but when the weather is right for them I just go home.  Black flys are nasty too.

Don't often get horse flys on the allotment, but they are about, particularly when it's hot and sunny in June, and the bite is nasty, but it takes a couple of days for you to realize you've been bitten.

OH swears by lemon juice to keep the biters away.

[Mark S]

Hi,

We are in the Telford - nothing special really, not by a swamp type area, no water in the garden, no shady areas etc.

Thanks for the info, I'll let you know how I get on!

[Borlotti]

You are probably got good blood, they don't bite me (often) as I smoke.

[goodlife]

oh dear you too... ::)I'm one of those that any insect that is capable to have a taste of flesh will bite..even those that are not suppose to do anything will test me what I'm made of..and I react quite badly for anything and everything..part wasp and bee stings..
And I've been same all my life..my dad was same..so any outdoor party I'm the one that will draw the unwanted attention..and it aint male sort... ::)
Every possible potion and lotion is tested..all sorts is been rubbed on clothing and skin..and nothing truly works...
So if I feel like showing a bit of flesh I have to carry with me some antihistamin cream..or being covered up...

[cornykev]

I was bitten 6 times on my legs last week in my back garden and twice on the lottie this week. They inching is terrible but if you rub raw onion on the bites quick enough I find it stops the itching, the ones in the garden were rubbed with the onion and they never itched or got badly affected, the ones in my garden were not onion treated as I didn't realise I was bitten, they came up in a red blotch and looked like a bruise after a few days. On the lottie I have a repellent and it seems to work, that's when I remember to put it on, I think its from Avon but not sure what it's called.  ;D ;D ;D

[Duke Ellington]

Avon sell a dry skin oil *SKIN SO SOFT* in the Aqua coloured bottle (original). They no longer do the body lotion but they do a dry skin oil spray. I swear by it for fighting off critters etc. .and I am one of those that gets bitten all over:(
I did read that the USA army use it as a mosquito repellent.

Corny Kev you must be one of those 'new men' :Pthat looks after his skin !! ;D

[goodlife]

Code: [Select]

*SKIN SO SOFT*..I swear by it for fighting off critters etc. ;D ;D..Oh..I can believe that.. ::)..the smell fights off me too... ;D Now that was new one to me..I'll have a go at that..if it only would smell like roses and still work too.. ::) ;D

[antipodes]

i don't know if this is true but a friend who lived in africa told me that there the people drink lemon grass tea - it changes the odour of your skin and the mozzies etc don't like it. I don't know if lemon balm doesn't work in the same way.

[goodlife]

I've done all trough mouth..through skin stuff..and no success...other than smelling like,,,hmm..I'll leave it to that... ::)
Once I read that rubbing onion on skin will do it...I did it while on rambling weekend in forest...and my skin did not smell like onion ..the smell chanced and it was like bad case of unwashed under arms... :-X
Eating lots of garlic....no...
Now citronella oil does work in my chicken shed..but I cannot try it on myself as I'm allways messing about...oh..handling..bees, and they do not like it... ::)
 In'Do you own drugs' program they did some repellent based on lemon grass..but that was to rub on..

[Duke Ellington]

Avon SKIN SO SOFT contains citronella!!

Duke :)

[goodlife]

 ::)...no wonder it stinks... ::) ;D

[Jeannine]

I agree 1 million % with Skin so Soft, and if you do get bitten and don't happen to have to want to carry half a cut onion in your bag or pocket,prepare ahead of time and buy an Itch Stick,,several brands under different name,ask at Boots or similar, looks like a pen , has ammonia in it, neuralises the bite.Stings which helps with the itch too.Really works , I carry them everywhere.

Burning a citronella candle if sitting outside will help.

I live in BC',full of lakes,   ;D

[Digeroo]

We have lakes on two sides of our allotments so there are thousands of midges.  Did stay late enough one evening to see the bats hoovering them up.  I do not tend to get bitten but have been told the garlic tablets are supposed to help.

[amphibian]

My allotment is just over my back fence. In my garden I do not get bitten, while on the allotment if I go at twilight I often get bitten by something very nasty. No idea what it is but I swell up to the most ludicrous degree. Last season I missed a week of work after my hand swelled up so much I couldn't move it.

My allotment is devoid of plants other than my crops and I use my garden as one of the rotations, so there is nowt there that is not here that would attract bugs, yet the bugs there are definitely different to the ones in my back garden.

Still have no idea what bites me, but I have no choice now but not to go there in the late evening.

As for ticks, take ticks very seriously. My wife, daughter and I all got bitten by ticks while on holiday in Wales, they're a fiddly nightmare to remove but you have to get them off asap, the diseases they carry are truly horrible and on the increase dramatically; probably because of the plague level deer population.

If you are getting bitten by ticks you need to protect yourself. They are not to be messed with and are the only biter that would make me turn to chemicals. Keep grass short, consider a gravel barrier between woodland and grass, wear rubber boots, tie hair up and check yourself frequently, all over, including crotch and scalp. They are just vile creatures and they ruin live, yet we seem to know little about the diseases they carry, we have little medicine to combat them and very little money is put into research of the diseases or how to control tick populations.

[non-stick]

I stopped gardening in shorts after an infected bite on the leg and suspected Lymes Disease. Still get done now and again with one last year on my arm requiring a trip to A&E and some really strong antibiotics.

All this in the swamplands of basingstoke

[Robert_Brenchley]

I got covered with ticks one weekend years ago, hillwalking in Knoydart. The place was overflowing with deer, which were obviously the source. The bites itched for weeks afterwards.