Kitchen Garden Forum

Hard to say exactly when I'm being bitten - my husband is also being feasted on. We look as though we have chicken pox - never had it this bad before

Olbas Oil is the stuff you inhale for colds etc. It's "a mixture of essential pure plant oils" and it really does take the itching away

I'm still being bitten every time I go out whether to the plot or for a walk!!

My body is like a busy beach on a sunny bank holiday weekend!!

http://www.independent.co.uk/environmen ... 91303.html

Maybe relevant?

That is scary.
Haven't had any botes for a while touch wood! I didn't feel anything bite me though and haven't noticed blackflies

glallotments wrote:Hard to say exactly when I'm being bitten - my husband is also being feasted on. We look as though we have chicken pox - never had it this bad before

Has the problem returned again this year, Glallotments?

The bites started appearing again on me a couple of weeks ago - the third year in a row that this has happened.

At the moment, having spent the day trawling the internet, I am beginning to suspect that the Harvest Mite could be the culprit!

This is what one website says about it: The preferred feeding locations on people are parts of the body where clothing fits tightly over the skin such as around the belt line, waistline, under socks etx, aor where the flesh is thin, tender or wrinkled such as the ankles, in the armpits, back of the knees ... or in the groin ...!

Add to that the fact that late summer/early autumn is when the problem is most likely - which is exactly when I have suffered for the last couple of years!

Also: Infestation in human beings generally occurs by way of the ankles when walking in areas where the mite is common; sitting or lying on infested ground offers even better oppportunities to the mite.

Sounds like as gardeners, we are prime targets!!!

Yes - both my husband and I are covered again. The description of where they bite certainly fits. Like you they started about a couple of weeks ago.

I do sit on grass when I am weeding etc too.

I did it give any advice on how to tackle the problem other than staying indoors!

glallotments wrote:Yes - both my husband and I are covered again. The description of where they bite certainly fits. Like you they started about a couple of weeks ago.

I do sit on grass when I am weeding etc too.

I did it give any advice on how to tackle the problem other than staying indoors!

Have a look at this site - it reads as if it is aimed at America, but clearly states that "the harvest mite is widely distributed in the British Isles":
http://www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/th5i.htm

There is also a picture of the bites there. I must admit, mine don't really have that 'bullous' appearance - but another site describes the bites as " itchy lesions that are sometimes bullous ..." so there is room for some variation!

http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Insect-Bites-and-Infestations.htm

And one other site:
http://www.nutwoodsurgery.co.uk/Documents/harvest%20mites%20handout.pdf

I am visiting my GP tomorrow and am going to show him the bites - I suffered in silence last year and the year before, but enough is enough!!!

Let us know what the doctor says - mine don't really blister but they do sometimes have a tiny spot filled with water in the middle of the itch.

I don't like the thought of the things being attached for 3-5 days - makes me feel itchy just thinking about it!

I don't think the doctor had a clue!

To be honest, by the time I got around to mentioning this particular problem, he was already starting to look at his watch, and was happy to go along with what I suggested just to get me out of there. He at least said that they aren't in the sorts of places where you would expect bed bugs, which was my greatest fear when this first struck three years ago.

When I mentioned harvest mites, he said it was very plausible. When I asked if there was anything I could do to avoid it, he suggested 'not living in the countryside". His other suggestion - to get some lotion for the bites if they are very itchy - wow, I wouldn't have thought of that!!!

Hmmm, so realistically it looks like I am going to have to live with the problem, assuming of course that it really is harvest mites. I'm not totally convinced - I would like confirmation from an expert, but doubt very much that 'experts' in harvest mite attacks even exist.

The one thing that I will be doing is showering and changing my clothes immediately every single time I get back from the allotment (although of course the problem might be in my garden!). You never know, that might be all that is needed to solve or at least alleviate the problem. Definitely worth a try.

I was worried that it was something in our bed too when we had the bites last year and vacuumed everything and washed all the bedding.

Showering and washing clothes ever time we visit the allotment would mean washing nearly every day.

I had bits of string tied round the bottom of my trouser legs today!

If it is harvest mites I wonder why we have them and they are not on other plots!

They prefer a better class of plot of course.

The weather is a tad warm to be wearing protective clothing, so I sympathise Gallotments, bugs always find me tasty too, and I react badly, though my partner seems to be immune. Hopefully when the weather cools they will disappear

Are you still being bitten Mouse?

My husband and I are still covered and getting more bites all the time.