Midges

Quoted message said:

Stouts, gnats and midges inject digestive juices which cause the
irritation, I think stouts saliva is initially anaesthetic, which is
why such a big beast can sit on you making a big hole without your
noticing it.

Stouts??? Good grief.... what's that?!

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk

<[email hidden]> schreef in bericht
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 13:11:36 +0200, "theo" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

<[email hidden]> schreef in bericht
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Will midges climb inside clothing?

Yes, they do. Oh, and if you're camping <fx : shiver> check your socks
before putting them on :-(

I may have to retract my statement that I had no problem with midges
in Scotland then, is it possible I drove home with one eating my leg?

In '95 I packed my tent (covered with thousands of midges) near Loch Lomond,
went home and unpacked the tent 6 (!) days later.
About 20 were still alive. And yes, they did bite the first they saw. <fx:
scratching arms and legs>

--
Theo
www.theosphotos.fotopic.net

In article <[email hidden]>, Peewiglet
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm wary of people coming just to kill adders, they'll probably kill
slow worms or grass snakes in the pursuit but tq0161.

Erm.... kill adders? Where are you, then? Not in the UK, presumably?

Methinks there be a clue in tq0161 - that be near Woking...

--

Dominic Sexton

Peewiglet <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

I hate them too. I didn't really understand the way these preparations
are meant to work until I needed to find out quickly, due to the
hundreds of midge bites on my legs and bum after Wales. They told me
at the chemist that if I'd applied an anti-histamine shortly after the
bites then it should have prevented them from developing into the
itchy bumps that came up about 12 hours later. How long after the
bites did you apply the Anthisan? (I'm assuming that's an
anti-histamine.)

Yes. I apply it as soon as I find the bite, or nettle sting, etc.
I always have a tube in the rucksack.
I went for a stroll the other week after lunch with a mate, and we
walked through some vegetation to get the binoculars on some wagtails.

When I changed into shorts at home, I noticed one itchy bite, and
immediately rubbed some antihistamine cream on it.
By bedtime the irritation had gone, but next time I saw George he said
he was covered in bites on his leg, and they were still red a week
later.
He doesn't have antihistamine cream. ;-)
--
Gordon Harris

On 11/7/05 23:13, in article [email hidden],

Peewiglet said:

It's just not safe out there. I may take up needlework instead.

But the blighters will just conceal themselves amongst the thread and
material!

--
Andy Howell
Birmingham, UK

To mail simply put back the dots ...

On 12/7/05 21:33, in article [email hidden],

Judith said:

I also have about a dozen non-blistered bites. Despite regular Deet
applications I was dinner to many midgy things this weekend. I must
just be very popular in the biting insect community.

Some people just have it, and others - well they just don't :-)

--
Andy Howell
Birmingham, UK

To mail simply put back the dots ...

On 12/7/05 22:53, in article [email hidden],

Fran said:

Whatever it is it sounds like the things that have been eating me for
lunch recently. Low down and itchyouchy? Dunno what they were, but I
dunnarf wish they weren't.

Well, if it helps, there are loads of them here in Birmingham. Indeed, my
flat is becoming infested with the damn things - they must like all of the
damp foliage that surrounds the estate I live on. Waking up in the morning -
at the moment - is an interesting experience. It's like counting bites when
you're camping at the height of midge-ness.

--
Andy Howell
Birmingham, UK

To mail simply put back the dots ...

On 13/7/05 20:43, in article [email hidden],

Peewiglet said:

I hate them too. I didn't really understand the way these preparations
are meant to work until I needed to find out quickly, due to the
hundreds of midge bites on my legs and bum after Wales. They told me
at the chemist that if I'd applied an anti-histamine shortly after the
bites then it should have prevented them from developing into the
itchy bumps that came up about 12 hours later. How long after the
bites did you apply the Anthisan? (I'm assuming that's an
anti-histamine.)

I've always fund the Life Venture anti creepy crawly stuff to be pretty
effective. Smells a bit odd though.

--
Andy Howell
Birmingham, UK

To mail simply put back the dots ...

On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 20:43:24 +0100, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

They told me
at the chemist that if I'd applied an anti-histamine shortly after the
bites then it should have prevented them from developing into the
itchy bumps that came up about 12 hours later. How long after the
bites did you apply the Anthisan? (I'm assuming that's an
anti-histamine.)

Probably not soon enough - perhaps 3-4 hours afterwards ..... because
I was slogging uphill with sweat dissolving my suncream and I didn't
feel each individual bite as it happened. That's the problem with
stupid instructions - they're really not practical. Grrrr, rant!

I think hydrocortisone cream is probably best for me as I can apply it
as a soother hours and days afterwards.

Judith

On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 20:39:33 +0100, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm wary of people coming just to kill adders, they'll probably kill
slow worms or grass snakes in the pursuit but tq0161.

Erm.... kill adders? Where are you, then? Not in the UK, presumably?

The last bit of my post is a OS reference to a grid square, put it
into the search facility at getamap and you will see the spot where
she was bitten (note she was walking on a white sandy path, in
sunshine and wearing moccasins). The adders shelter in the adjacent
heather but need to bask in the reflected sun to get themselves going.

I help manage the place.

AJH

On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 20:47:27 +0100, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Stouts??? Good grief.... what's that?!

Horsefly aka cleg

AJH

On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 10:32:32 +0100, "Sid B" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"Alan Bremner" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Even commercially available DEET-based repellants aren't a universal
panacea. I'm convinced that some areas spawn midges that actually
*like* the taste of DEET-impregnated skin!

Quoted message said:

Very true. On one midge-infested outing, the little b******* attacked a
walking companion who was drenched in the stuff far more than they did
me, and I hadn't used anything that day.

Hehe, I have a friend like that, who acts like a midge magnet no
matter what he uses as a repellant. :-)

Quoted message said:

I've found that whatever you use, sometimes it seems to work a treat
but sometimes not at all.

I've seen one brand work very well in one area, yet in a different but
nearby place a week later it was completely ineffective.

Quoted message said:

There's a fortune waiting to be made by anyone who finds the "final
solution". 🙂

I have a cheap 'midge hood' that goes everywhere with me between May
and October. It makes you look a right numpty, can be uncomfortable in
warm weather and makes eating/drinking impossible, but for those times
when you *can't* escape the midges (changing before or after a walk,
pitching a tent etc) it's invaluable. I can suffer numerous bites to
my arms and legs with typical Highland stocism, but one midge up my
nose or in an ear drives me into an instant frenzy!

Al
--
[This space intentionally left blank]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Stouts??? Good grief.... what's that?!

Horsefly aka cleg

Duh! I read that as stoAts and I thought "I think you'd know if one
had bitten you ..... although in the wrong light you might conceivably
think it was a weasel"

Judith

Sid B said:

Yes, they do! Here on the South Coast we have flourishing populations
of Steatoda nobilis, which can and do bite humans.

Well in my defence, they are an immigrant from the Canaries first
recorded in ... well 1879 actually, which is before my time. The truth
is of course I'd never heard of them!

Then again, my mother is always telling me about the trapdoors,
funnelwebs, and redbacks that were around when I was a baby.

<fx accent> strewth, call that a bite?</fx>

Andy

Dominic Sexton said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm wary of people coming just to kill adders, they'll probably kill
slow worms or grass snakes in the pursuit but tq0161.

Erm.... kill adders? Where are you, then? Not in the UK, presumably?

Methinks there be a clue in tq0161 - that be near Woking...

Doh... thanks 🙂

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm wary of people coming just to kill adders, they'll probably kill
slow worms or grass snakes in the pursuit but tq0161.

Erm.... kill adders? Where are you, then? Not in the UK, presumably?

The last bit of my post is a OS reference to a grid square, put it
into the search facility at getamap and you will see the spot where
she was bitten

Ah, I see thanks.

Quoted message said:

(note she was walking on a white sandy path, in
sunshine and wearing moccasins). The adders shelter in the adjacent
heather but need to bask in the reflected sun to get themselves going.

I help manage the place.

It sounds lovely. I can't see why anyone should be planning to kill
adders because someone was bitten, though. Are they not protected?

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk

Quoted message said:

On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 20:47:27 +0100, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Stouts??? Good grief.... what's that?!

Horsefly aka cleg

Ahaa.... nasty things.

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk

Judith said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Stouts??? Good grief.... what's that?!

Horsefly aka cleg

Duh! I read that as stoAts

Me too, initially 🙂

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk

On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 20:43:30 GMT, Andy Howell

andy.howellNOSPAM@ecotrendDOTorgDOTuk said:

On 11/7/05 23:13, in article [email hidden],

Peewiglet said:

It's just not safe out there. I may take up needlework instead.

But the blighters will just conceal themselves amongst the thread and
material!

<Gulp...>

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk

Judith <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Stouts??? Good grief.... what's that?!

Horsefly aka cleg

Duh! I read that as stoAts and I thought "I think you'd know if one
had bitten you ..... although in the wrong light you might conceivably
think it was a weasel"

Judith

Memories of dear old Richard Whitely when he was a young interviewer
talking to the ferret expert, and one bit his finger and wouldn't left
go.

Ferret man: "It's ok - he won't hurt you".

Whitely: " He IS HURTING ME"!
--
Gordon Harris