Bug bites. Any ideas?

[Scout1071]

Every time I go into my yard, even if only for a moment, I come back with small, welted bug bites...and several of them. They aren't chiggers and they don't appear to be mosquitos.

Any ideas as to what they could be? They are really starting to piss me off.

[Not_Giving_Up]

1. Are you possibly allergic to grass?

Or does this only happen in your yard?

[Scout1071]

8. No grass allergy. They are definitely bites.

[tjdee]

2. For some reason all my mosquito bites look like welts this season.

My kid got some the other day and at her day camp they put bandaids on them because they weren't sure what kind of bites they were and didn't want her to scratch, LOL. She looked like she had a big knot on her forehead.

But after a day or two they look like regular mosquito bites.

Maybe for you too?

I'm thinking of getting that Off "put it in your yard and kills all the bugs" thing. I can't take it. My (not up yet) pool's out there and the idea of stepping outside makes me sick.

[Scout1071]

9. It could be, but I've seen mosquitos this season. The ones in my

yard have been huge and clearly visible when the land.

I can't see anything landing on me and biting in this case.

[Rick Myers]

3. We are having an outbreak of gnats in Minneapolis

Janet and I were out in the yard for about a 1/2 hour and both got bit close to a dozen times. It's strange, because gnats usually appear AFTER mosquito season.

[caty]

4. We're supposed to get

a bumper crop of fleas this summer.

[Scout1071]

11. It could be fleas, but I haven't seen my dog scratching.

You think that he'd be attacked.

The only thing that has bothered him so far this summer have been some mean ass biting flies.

[SmokingJacket]

5. Biting flies?

Or maybe fire ants, if they're on your feet.

[obxhead]

6. noseeums.

[Blue Gardener]

7. Minute Pirate Bugs

Although according to this article it seems a little early for them to be in the yard. Maybe they show up earlier in your part of the country. They are nasty little buggers though.

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin/minutep.html

[UTUSN]

10. Have I Got the AnswerS for You!

I don't know what's biting you, but this past Spring, the same sort of thing was happening to me. Without going into details, I *had* to wait til dusk to do my watering, and these bites were torMENTing me. And not only that, but the bites turned into nasty little sore spots with lots of itching, and then they would scab and itch some more.

Two answers, or three. 1) For the itching, 1%Hydrocortisone ointment. This is one instance when the generic kinds can be JUST DANDY. Since it's going to be a permanent feature, just get whatever. The one I've got current includes aloe, which is even better.

2) To PREVENT the biting to start with, something with DEET in it. Regular OFF didn't work. REPEL has varying amounts of DEET---23%, 27%, 40%. This is also going to be a permanent feature.

3) Alcohol and Hydrogen Peroxide for speeding the healing of existing bites.

Really, a few weeks ago I was pretty much covered with bites and scabby things and I'm all clear now. Whether in the morning or dusk, I spray the REPEL on if I'm spending more than a few minutes out there.

[Lilyhoney]

12. Stop putting Deet on yourself.

Stop putting it our enviornment. Please.

Try going to the healthfood store and buy a bottle of citronella oil extract. Put it into a spray bottle along with some water and keep it by the door you go out of. It smells nice and really works. Must be reapplied often.

Also the mosquitos come out at dusk and go to bed at dawn. Watering your lawn at dusk is only inviting bites.

[Der Blaue Engel]

13. They say you should use DEET in areas where West Nile is likely

Personally, the stuff scares me and I agree with you, but I might use it if I thought my life was in danger. (I'm prone to "catastrophic thinking" and no amount of telling me the odds will convince me that I'm safe.) Luckily, I live in San Francisco, where the biting things are few. However, I recently went up to the Russian River area where the mosquitos were out in force this year, so I brought this with me, and it worked like a charm:

Half Avon Skin-So-Soft, half rubbing alcohol, in a squirt bottle. Avon has its own DEET-added Skin-So-Soft product, too, now that they've heard all of the stories about people using SSS as an insect repellent, but this was the plain 'ol bath oil and it worked just fine. As an added plus, people kept wanting to smell me. }(

[UTUSN]

15. Well, There IS West Nile in My Area n/t

[Lilyhoney]

18. Most people with west nile

develope no symptoms. You could have wnv rite now and not know it. So maybe you should be taking the medicine to treat it. Just incase.

[UTUSN]

22. 1/3 of Americans Use This Product. I've Used It Less Than 1 Month

so I haven't single-handedly destroyed the environment. And I am not soaking myself in it, just a couple of spits. I'm sure you care.

*******QUOTE*******

http://www.bug-spray.com/DEET.htm

.... ...Boyd Bush, president of Tender Corporation, a New Hampshire company that manufactures insect repellents both with and without DEET. "It is important for people to know the facts about DEET and about the risks involved with not using a repellent so they can make informed choices.....

What About DEET?
DEET was developed by the US government in 1951 after testing 11,000 compounds for their effectiveness in repelling insects. It is approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an insect repellent and no other substance has been found to be more effective. Repellents with DEET are used by an estimated 200 million people worldwide each year, including 100 million individuals in America. According to a bulletin issued by the EPA in 1989, less than 10 reports of adverse side effects are received annually, and most of these stem from repeated use on children, which manufacturers like Tender Corporation strongly advise against.


Beginning in 1985, a consortium of companies that manufacture and market products with DEET began conducting DEET health-effects studies, including short-term, long-term and human exposure studies. To date, 34 such studies have been done and no unreasonable adverse effects to people or the environment have been found from the suggested use of DEET. When reactions to DEET are reported, they are generally limited to eye irritation from inadvertent exposure to the eyes and infrequent skin reactions from sensitive individuals.

"The bottom line is that DEET repellents can be used confidently by following label instructions," says Bush. "In a study by the American Association of Poison Control Centers, only 0.16 of 1% of calls made to the Poison Control Centers over a five-year period involved DEET products. Of those, the majority were inconsequential. And of these few reported calls, no correlation was found between the number or severity of reported incidents and the concentration of DEET in products." ....

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has notified industry that all single-use insect repellent formulations of DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) are eligible for re-registration provided labeling is amended as specified by the agency. DEET is the active ingredient in most insect repellent products sold in the U.S. and is widely considered preferred and only scientifically proven effective protection against biting insects.

EPA approved continued use of currently available DEET insect repellent products after a comprehensive review of 11 years of extensive independent research into potential DEET human and environmental toxicity. In its evaluation, the agency concluded: "_normal use of DEET does not present health concerns to the general U.S. population;"

DEET is "not classifiable as a human carcinogen" and "_no toxicologically significant effects in animal studies" could be identified;

Despite some allegation that DEET use can lead to adverse health effect, "the incident data are insufficient to establish DEET as the cause of the reported effect;"

"The application of DEET insect repellents to the skin and clothing can help prevent bites form ticks and other biting insects that may cause disease."

********UNQUOTE*******

[Lilyhoney]

23. Calm down.

No need to get all worked up. My concern for you is genuine. My sense of humor may not be to your liking (re:taking meds), sorry.

We just do so much as a culture because the commercialization of products. For example, dog food. Dog food became a product at the end of ww2 because alot of large dogs were used as worker dogs and it became easier to feed them kibble and processed foods. Thru saturation of theese foods, people think that this is how dogs should eat. Well, it is not. They need a much different diet than what is normal to give. We feed our dog what dogs should eat, what she wants to eat.

Same thing with harmful products like deet and the like. The skin is the body's largest organ. It absorbs so much of what comes in contact with it. Thru the skin is direct access to the bloodsteram. You are putting poision into yourself. This is put on children and adults year after year. Cumulative affect? You tell me.

People can also landscape and plant better. You can repel mosquitos and biting flys by planting lots of marigolds. You can also plant other plants that attract the good bugs and birds that eat biting insects. But people don't want to follow this logic.

But whatever, you showed me the proof that it is safe.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

14. nosee'ems

[Scout1071]

16. I'm sorry? Say again?

Not sure I speak that language.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

19. native americans call them "nosee'ems"...bugs that bite but you never see

of course no-see-ems are those biting gnats you can barely see, ... The reason no-see-ems are so common now is that their larvae develop in water, ...
www.backyardnature.net/n/01/010708.ht

NATCHEZ NATURALIST NEWSLETTER
MOSQUITOES & NO-SEE-EMS
This week the mosquitoes were not as bad as last week, though I still must prepare breakfast in my outside kitchen wearing winter clothing and a beekeeper's hat with veil.

As the mosquitoes diminish in numbers, the no-see-ems increase. Of course no-see-ems are those biting gnats you can barely see, who can pass right through a trailer's screen-wire windows and doors, and whose bite hurts worse than a mosquito's. The reason no-see-ems are so common now is that their larvae develop in water, mud and decaying vegetation, and during this last rainy week that's exactly what has been around my forest home. I'm curious as to how their bites can hurt more than a mosquito's, though they are a small fraction of a mosquito's size

The experts give this advice for dealing with no-see-ems: "Avoidance, habitat modification, chemical control, personal protection." In other words, either stay away from them or nuke them. My strategy is a compromise: Around dusk when they are so bad I wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers, and just put up with a few bites. You can see a highly magnified picture of a no-see-em at http://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/fuortes/63111/ARTHROP/sld042.htm

[Scout1071]

21. Wow......it has been a long day.

I can't believe I didn't pick that up.

[MissB]

20. I was thinking no see ums too

For the itchy bite, try something called Sting Stop. It's sold at natural food stores, and it is the only thing that reduces the welts for me (and keeps me from itching).

[Chichiri]

17. Bite them back.