Kitchen Garden Forum

Four days ago I was feeling smug - no bites in over a week. And then I got four new bites Friday/Saturday!
But I don't think I had a shower after I went to the allotment on Thursday, so maybe ....

I've been having hot showers too but my husband hasn't and we have avoided bites for a day or two but then again haven't been at the plot as much. I put wellies of to pick blackberries and didn't get my body near to the bush as I read that mites like it around blackberries. I must have looked stupid in wellies!

My OH was recently bitten by an unknown insect (possibly a mosquito?) and within a few hours, his leg had swollen up like a balloon and the area of the bite had grown from a pinhead to the size of a half crown. Within 24 hours he could hardly walk and an increasingly large area of his leg was turning bright red. Apparently these kinds of bites can be quite dangerous if left untreated because cellulitis can set in and he had to go to his GP who recommended drawing a biro perimeter mark around the red area to enable him to check how quickly the infection was spreading. Thankfully after a massive dose of antibiotics, the swelling reduced but it has taken five days and the area of the bite is still looking slightly ugly.
So don't leave those bites untreated!

glallotments wrote:I've been having hot showers too but my husband hasn't and we have avoided bites for a day or two but then again haven't been at the plot as much. I put wellies of to pick blackberries and didn't get my body near to the bush as I read that mites like it around blackberries. I must have looked stupid in wellies!

If I remember rightly, one of the websites stated that harvest mites don't bite exposed skin - so maybe we are tackling this the wrong way by covering up!!! But I don't fancy trying the 'naked gardening' method around those brambles though.

Primrose:
Sorry to hear about your husband's bite. There have been quite a few newspaper articles recently that say that this type of problem is on the increase.

Last week I was stung by a sleepy wasp; bare legs. so it got me inside the knee, and was crawling up inside my thigh when I evicted it. It had left the sting in. The pain was incredible; we think it hit a nerve. And the swelling. Tried vinegar, bleach etc. The only thing that helped was ice packs ie frozen blackberries. And Tylex and anti-histamine. It took days to settle. Then the itching started.

We now realise that there is wasps nest by that path,

Irish midges are famous and the only way is to cover up and stay in if there is no wind.

This thread has me itching!

They're back!
It's that time of year again, and suddenly I'm covered in bites. To this day, I've never seen the culprits, but they don't half make their presence known.

Dear Bert, over the last week, they have been dining on my sweet blood too, and there was me thinking we were going to get away with it this year.....

Me too.

When I go to the plot I have been spraying myself and it's kept things at bay but I haven't bothered when I have been in the garden and the things seem to have got me then.

I'm mostly bitten by horse fly, until I came to Pembrokeshire I had never been bitten by a horse fly. I manage by taking anti-hystamine and dabbing bite-stick on the bite if I catch it early enough.

If it's windy I don't get bites, right now the weather is warming again and the wind has dropped so it's time to be wary. I mix citronella oil with any stuff I can find to rub on, best is a non greasy cream from the chemist that we bought for my grandson. It takes the citronella oil and I stink so bad even people avoid me, it does work and I tested my system in Scotland regularly during midge season. I also tested it in SW Ireland, it works on Irish midges.

A small bottle of citronella oil is less that £4 and goes a long way mixed with body oils, creams or sun-block.

citronella is good Richard, but be careful with the % that you add, as it is high in allergens (citronellol, citral, limonene, linalool). I need to check my safety assessment for max % for leave on products (such as creams) and I'll get back to you.
My sister had one of those huge red swollen bites on her leg a few weeks ago. She did visit the doc, as she's had cellulitis from a bite before.

Ever since I ended up in A&E after being bitten by something i'm very preventive-cautious, and, cautious when i'm bitten.

Thanks for the warning, I place two drops of citronella onto a blob of cream about the size of a 20 pence piece in the palm of my cupped hand. (Got the idea ?)

I'm surprised the lady at our health food store didn't warn me.

A mixture of Lemongrass 8 drops, and 4 of each of thyme, lavender and peppermint is a good insect deterrent. If applying to the skin dilute 2 drops of the blend to a dessert spoon of vegetable oil or any skin cream etc. you use, or put 5 drops of the blend to 1 tablespoon of witch-hazel and then shake it up with 4 tablespoons of water. Just shake it up before applying it to body. You could also use vodka to dilute the blend instead of witch hazel but use a dessertspoon instead.

If you've been bitten any combination of Lavender, Chamomile, Eucalyptus or Thyme is good, the best being lavender as it can be applied neat to stop the pain/itching and as an antiseptic. The others need diluting.

Just putting some of the repellent oil around the bottom of your trousers or on your socks can work. It just depends what you are wearing.

It also smells nicer than Deet

Thats all very interesting, i'm fond of lavender and peppermint oils. Mostly I use lavender in all sorts of situations but the peppermint oil isn't as useful for me yet.

scotkat wrote:Must tell them about olbas oil had not heard of that before.

Sorry, I missed this.

Some years ago I decided to have an annual tour of Scotland whilst I can still drive that far, midges were the stumbling block. After a little research it turned out that Avon "Skin-So-Soft" keeps midges at bay. "Skin-So-Soft" comes in two products. A cream and an oil, Avon changed whatever it was that kept midge at bay in the cream which was a bit of a shame because it wasn't very greasy. Last year we bought the body oil because the grapevine told us that IT retained the secret ingredients that made it so effective that the Army guys were using it but I can't cope with that oil on me.

What I do is use the Avon Skin-So-Soft Fusions which did have the original ingredients and I add a drop or two citronella. We bought a box full of this stuff because I spend a lot of time in Scotland and the on the Islands.

Pink is new blokes colour.

Just as I posted this I had an update, early this year we bought Skin-So-Soft oil that had again been modified to reduce the oil-y-ness. It's called, "Soft-And-Fresh". Thats what we use on Tiree and parts of the mainland earlier this year.

Ricard with an H wrote: After a little research it turned out that Avon "Skin-So-Soft" keeps midges at bay. "Skin-So-Soft" comes in two products. A cream and an oil, Avon changed whatever it was that kept midge at bay in the cream which was a bit of a shame because it wasn't very greasy. Last year we bought the body oil because the grapevine told us that IT retained the secret ingredients that made it so effective that the Army guys were using it but I can't cope with that oil on me.

Pink is new blokes colour.

Just as I posted this I had an update, early this year we bought Skin-So-Soft oil that had again been modified to reduce the oil-y-ness. It's called, "Soft-And-Fresh". Thats what we use on Tiree and parts of the mainland earlier this year.

After being bitten lots last year I am using Skin-so -Soft too but use the spritzer type oil spary which I don't find at all oily. It does seem to work.