# Is anyone else getting bitten by mosquitos?



## mell61 (17 May 2006)

In the past week I've managed to accummulate about 10 painful bites while sleeping.   I've managed to swat a couple of the little pests and  checking a couple of the corpses and they are definitely mosquitos...   since when did they start appearing in Ireland!
I've sprayed the room before going to bed, eaten garlic and had a beer (the last 2 are suggestions for avoiding being bitten), but still have a new welt this morning....

Is anyone else finding them around the place, or have I landed myself in some weird microclimate!    
Any suggestions for avoiding being bitten?


----------



## TarfHead (17 May 2006)

mell61 said:
			
		

> Is anyone else finding them around the place, or have I landed myself in some weird microclimate!


 
any time we have had problems with mozzies, there's usually stagnant water nearby. Check out your garden.


----------



## Lorz (17 May 2006)

They are attracted by several things, including heat (infrared light), light, perspiration, body odor, lactic acid and carbon dioxide.  After she (only the females bite) has bitten you, some saliva remains in the wound. The proteins from the saliva evoke an immune response from your body. The area swells  and you itch, a response provoked by the saliva. Eventually, the swelling goes away, but the itch remains until your immune cells break down the saliva proteins. 

To treat mosquito bites, you should wash them with mild soap and water. Try to avoid scratching the bite area, even though it itches. Some anti-itch medicines such as Calamine lotion or over-the-counter cortisone creams may relieve the itching.  You could also try burning Citronella candles in your bedroom before you go to bed - available in most shops.


----------



## aonfocaleile (17 May 2006)

There's a spray called Mosi-Guard available from Chemist which works really well. I was a target of the dreaded "midges" during our summer a few weeks ago (which I'm presuming is now over) and this stuff really kept them away. I've also used it abroad and come home bite free


----------



## Lauren (17 May 2006)

Where are you located Mell61?


----------



## aquila (17 May 2006)

I'm in the west and have accumulated a number of nasty bites over the past week while gardening. I didn't see the culprits, but they are definitely not midges as I get a different kind of allergic reaction from them.


----------



## geri (17 May 2006)

Was home in Sligo at the weekend, and my brother was complaining of what he though were hives. He doesn't normally suffer from hives, so maybe it was mozzie bites.  He was doing some work last week in a house he's moving into which is located beside a river in a rural area so could explain it?


----------



## MissRibena (17 May 2006)

I'm ruined with hives at the moment.  I get them every year but this year seemed especially bad.  Went to the chemist and she reckoned half the countryside has them, particularly at this time of year. 

Rebecca


----------



## Cashman (17 May 2006)

Guys,

Two of my friends purchased a "midge" machine last year..... there amazing as it cleared their whole area (about 0.50 acre) for them.

However, I do believe that the machines are expensive......

They got them from midgesandmowers.com

Hope this helps

PS I have absolutely no connection with this product or company

Cashman


----------



## wavelength (17 May 2006)

I havent gotten any but as someone above outlined they can be attracted to different things. when I was travelling,  I kept getting bitten in the first stop while my friend completly escaped any bites. however a few weeks on my friend kept getting bitten while I didnt at all. However when both of us used creams or sprays to keep them away It worked. I know it might be annoying to put on cream every night but if nothing else helps... They can be got in any chemists.


----------



## woods (17 May 2006)

I am a bit of a health freak so I do not like to apply any product to my body that may contain harmfull chemicals. I go to Florida a lot and for the first few years they had me destroyed. 
I have got a little battery operated gadget that is about 2 inches by 1 inch and about a quarter of an inch thick. It vibrates at the same frequency as one of their predators and they leave me alone. I no longer have the packaging so can not tell who makes it but if you come across it in a store then you should pick one up.


----------



## SecurityDoor (17 May 2006)

Can these really be mozzies?   Out here I'm plagued with them every Summer but in Ireland!!!!!!???????


----------



## mell61 (18 May 2006)

Definitely mossies... I'm considering keeping the corpses as I reckon at least 50% of their body weight was formerly my blood!
I'm living close to a few building sites, so I guess there are a few water filled trenches around the place growing the darn things!
Thanks for all the tips, I've bought a roll on thing that is supposed to keep them away, and so far no bites last night!
Global warming, don't you just love it


----------



## delgirl (18 May 2006)

This is dreadful news - I haven't seen any, or been bitten, yet (Wicklow), but they 'love me' so I'll be a definite target if they're around. 

When visiting my husband's in-laws, we have to put pieces of tomato plants on the window sills at night to stop them coming in.  They don't care for the smell and at least there are no chemicals involved so it's not doing us any harm either.


----------



## earwig30 (18 May 2006)

It has been warm and humid in the west for a week or two which would favour them ahtching out. Some claim that a lack of B vitamins emits a insect-favoured odour that makes us more attractive to biting insects such as midges and mossies and that a course of B complex will solve the problem for most people. Loads of web-pages on the topic if you do a google search. Personally at home I use a UV insect trap bought in Lidl last year - have had to have it on now for about 10 days.


----------



## Lorrie (19 May 2006)

I haven't come across any in the West - but was eaten alive in Cyprus recently. No-one else was bitten. Still have signs of the bites on arms and legs. I am deficient in vitamin B12 and have to get injected every month. So the lack of B vitamin certainly makes sense...


----------



## lukegriffen (19 May 2006)

MissRibena said:
			
		

> I'm ruined with hives at the moment. I get them every year but this year seemed especially bad.


 
I thought hives were caused by eating too much sugar ??  That's what my mother always told me when I was a kid.  Can't believe I fell for it.


----------



## Thirsty (19 May 2006)

Hives are generally a sign of an allergic reaction.  As for the mozzies, two things you can do - buy a plug-in device that you can use at night to keep them away, you replace the little blue tablet each night, they are available in Dunnes and similar places where they have the 'travel' items stands.   Alternatively (and the more eco-friendly option) use a mozzie net.  Available from most camping stores or you can get them on line as well.


----------



## justsally (19 May 2006)

I get these xxxxx bites every Summer when I'm in the garden. I never see the blighters or feel them, but next day I know I've been visited and have the evidence to prove it.  Recently,  one day, after I brough some stuff, bottles, plastic, paper etc. to the local re-cycling unit my left arm was home to quite a few bites. Hmmmm, I am left handed so I was filling the bottle bank etc. with my left hand/arm. Could that be the source this time!!!. All those mozzies or whatever hanging around the re-cycling plant....I didn't realise they were so interested in re-cycling.  



Justsally


----------



## Sue Ellen (19 May 2006)

This thread is making me itchy. Can't stop scratching now. Eczema will start acting up again


----------



## Teabag (21 May 2006)

aquila said:
			
		

> I'm in the west and have accumulated a number of nasty bites over the past week while gardening. I didn't see the culprits, but they are definitely not midges as I get a different kind of allergic reaction from them.



There are many different forms of midges. I am also in west and in countryside and I get attacked each summer by tiny black midges. I dont remember seeing these kind of midges when I was a young lad but I lived in a town then.They are usually gone by the time you notice the bite but they are aggressive little buggers. I am near bog and a lake so its midgey heaven. I use mozzie/insect spray (DEET) I've had for years and it works but I am sure its bad for me in some other way...


----------



## aquila (21 May 2006)

It's midge heaven here as well as I'm also near a bog and a lake.  Of course I can't be a hundred percent sure that these aren't midges, but the bites are sore smallish lumps as opposed to the huge flat white one's I usually get.

As it happens, a relative of mine has been to hospital this week due to a severe reaction to a mysterious insect bite. He's well used to being eaten alive by midges, but he doctors aren't sure what caused this problem.


----------



## Sue Ellen (22 May 2006)

have a few different options on keeping them at bay maybe bands, spray or roll-on.


----------



## justsally (27 May 2006)

*Mosquito - Muiscit Anopheles maculipennis - 6mm body length. There are eighteen species of mosquito in Ireland. The females of a few of these species can (and do) bite humans. They breed in standing water such as drains, ponds and unemptied jars of water in the back garden. While some of our Irish species are capable of carrying malaria, winter temperatures up to now have been low enough to ensure that this doesn't happen*. from the "Mooney goes wild" supplement in R.T.E. guide.



There ye go


----------



## BillK (28 May 2006)

When we were in Trinidad we used a mix of Citronella Oil and Johnsons Baby Oil mixed to a pale straw colour. No bites even when cruising the Caroni Swamp. (Didn't keep the cayman away mind!)


----------



## mo3art (28 May 2006)

There is a particular breed of midge/mosquito that can be found in the Malahide/Portmarnock/Swords estuary area as the former Lord Talbot (owner of Malahide Castle) imported some plants for his gardens and the mosquitos came too.  It gives a far larger allergic reaction than normal!

We normally keep all the windows & doors closed at night.  Then only go out in the dark, via a dark room - i.e. only exit/enter when the lights are turned off.  It prevents the pesky beggars from getting attracted to the house.  Likewise, we only turn on a light in the room when the blinds & curtains are closed.

When going out at night, we normally wear long loose clothing & don't sit outside in the damp.  Stay away from stagnant water as somebody else has mentioned.


----------



## MissRibena (29 May 2006)

Re my hives (!): it's definitely a seasonal thing. I get them every year at the turn of Spring and Autumn. I have worried about all the allergy stuff down through the years but could never identify anything causing it as I eat all the usual suspects year-round: tomatoes, nuts, dairy, oranges etc. and don't generally have sensitive skin (to make up, washing powder etc). It might possibly be pollen-related or similar to a heat-rash but in any event there's little you can do to eliminate the trigger (the climate!) and treatment for the symptoms is usually not great either. There's loads about hives as seasonal allergies on the net.

Wish the bloody weather would settle down because they won't go away until it does. 

Rebecca


----------



## ClubMan (29 May 2006)

woods said:
			
		

> I am a bit of a health freak so I do not like to apply any product to my body that may contain harmfull chemicals. I go to Florida a lot and for the first few years they had me destroyed.
> I have got a little battery operated gadget that is about 2 inches by 1 inch and about a quarter of an inch thick. It vibrates at the same frequency as one of their predators and they leave me alone. I no longer have the packaging so can not tell who makes it but if you come across it in a store then you should pick one up.


 Have you not heard how deadly _RF _radiation is!


----------



## justsally (3 Jun 2006)

Hello 

Aldi's Sunday Specials (to-morrow 3rd June) include Citronella Oil and Citronella candles.


Cheers 


Justsally


----------

