My teenage daughters had a mild trauma today when hand weeding. There's are thousands of tiny brownish swarming mites all over the raised bed compost/ soil mix. I take it they are friends not foe....even if they climb up shorts!
hand weeded 1 row of parsnips and 2rows of carrots today i know i have to do it but it really is a tedious task :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :BangHead: :BangHead:
Hector, no such mites here, just as well :BangHead: :sunny:
4 weeks ago I was bitten by tiny flies. The bite did not hurt at all, just a tiny speck of blood on my legs. I ignored it and in the end had about 20 bites on both lower legs. Later my legs swelled dramatically, turned very hot and red. I nearly went to A and E with it, but after a few days antihistamin cream took its effect. Now all fine, although still visible.
We looked the beasty up and it was a sandfly that did it. Apparently they have spread from the South and East Anglia and are certainly now in the Southern East Midlands as well. Horrible things. :BangHead:
Ooh, that sounds very unpleasant, Galina :( Glad it's improving.
I have never seen anything like these wee things in those numbers before. They are absolutely everywhere in the beds. When I water it's alive as they scramble around.
I suspect they live on either wee things in the soul or decaying matter....no bites on the weeding-daughters.
They are usually quite blasé about wildlife but youngest a bit more reactive after having to remove several ticks after a Scotland hiking trip.
Johnny....weeding is one of those things........try it with mites crawling up your shorts....makes you faster ;)