bitten !!!

Nothing works for me except Germolene.

Like Elegran I use Afterbite (with ammonia) which usually does the trick. Ive been munched by every type of bug this summer but the worst is a sting on the big toe 2 weeks ago by a tiny ant and nothing has helped. Its only just beginning to improve having become infected (too much scratching ). I have been applying Lucas' Paw Paw ointment to soothe it. Great for all wounds

I have heard that it is bicarb for bees and vinegar for vasps (wasps)

As for gnats and mosquitoes - whatever is best for you.

"MamaCaz Fri 10-Aug-18 19:46:21

That's interesting, Fennel. How quickly does the itching subside after pricking and applying antiseptic?"
Almost straight away. Make sure the spot is bleeding and squeeze. I think the mite is actually inside the spot so you need to get him out.
I only used antiseptic as a precaution.
The little b......rs were prolific in France, called aoutats, from Aout, August.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trombicula_autumnalis

Elegran

It seems we should strip off as soon as we come in from the garden or from a walk in long grass, have a hot shower with plenty of soap, and wash our clothes on a hot wash.

I can vouch for the fact that the shower works. When I had an allotment, I adopted that practice, showering as soon as I got home. Unfortunately now that I grow my veg at home instead, I am in and out of the garden all day long do it is no longer practical.

The advice about washing clothes is interesting, but is different from the advice that I have been following, which said that hanging your clothes up in the sunshine for a while would work, as the resulting dryness would dessicate the mites. It seems to work.

Dispute nine years of severe attacks, I have still never actually spotted one of these blighters!

A paste of bicarb and water - my MIL put one on a really nasty bite I had years ago and it worked miracles.

I use rubbing alcohol on the bites. It stops the itch longer than anything else.

Elegran Yikes!! this sure makes you feel itchy Lol.

If you aren't scratching now, read this and you soon will be - www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/th5i.htm

The bit about the Harvest Mite (Trombicula autumnalis) is about half-way down the page. I can see why Fennel and I have had success with our methods.

It seems we should strip off as soon as we come in from the garden or from a walk in long grass, have a hot shower with plenty of soap, and wash our clothes on a hot wash.

I must have a unsppitising blood or something as I rarely get bitten even when I lived in the tropics I ve had a couple of wasps stings over the years and one been sting and a few moskies but the amount of time I spend in the garden and beach I m surprised I don’t get badly bitten

When we were kids, spending the holidays in Fife where we picked berries in granny's garden, berry bugs drove us crazy and the best remedy was a dip in the North Sea at St Andrews. Apart from that, we went to bed at night covered in calamine lotion which was probably the only remedy in those days. Even the dog got bitten - you could see the bites through a boxer's short coat. Mercifully, at home on the West Coast, we didn't have those awful mites.

I find that once the bite is opened up, either by Fennel's method or, in my case more like Elegran's method, the itching eases quite quickly once Anthisan is applied. But with the horsefly bite that I had earlier this year, oral antihistamines and an antiseptic ointment were the only thing that helped. And it took weeks to properly heal up too.

Tiger Balm is OK but, if desperate, antihistamine tablets are the only answer.

I got told off by DH today for frantically scratching my leg ….. we were out at the time and I had no Anthisan with me. In fact, it's started itching again now, is it psychological?

Tiger Balm.

I dread gardening in August when the harvest mites (known here as berry-bugs) are about. Usually I do accidentally more or less what Fennel does, but not as hygienically - more like scratching like a frantic mutt until the top is off them. After that they start to gradually cool down.

This year I had at least twenty after a short spell of deadheading. I did a bit better than usual. I had bought something called "After Bite" which has a sort of felt tip at the end of a tube with something sloshing around in it that smells like ammonia. If you can rub that on as soon as possible, the itch vanishes at once. You do have to repeat it when they start up again, and if you have scratched off the top it stings when it touches. Antihistamine tablets help too, plus Anthisan cream as a back-up.
Amazon has After Bite

That's interesting, Fennel. How quickly does the itching subside after pricking and applying antiseptic?

muffinthemoo have tried antihistaminne tab but to no avail. The area around the bite seems to be getting bigger and hard, feel like a lump now. I will pop to the chemist tomorrow and see if they can suggest something. Thanks for all the tips everyone.

Probably not a scientific method, but with really itchy bites I prick the centre with a pin to make it bleed and try to squeeze out the nasty stuff. Antiseptic afterwards.
MamaCaz harvest mites - they are the worst for itching! We used to have a lot of those and that's when I started pin pricking.

Anthisan works well for me. I once applied it immediately to a wasp sting and felt nothing from then onwards.

For a quick fix for insect bites use a little antibacterial hand gel.

For the last eight years, I have been bitten to death by what I think, from researching it, are harvest mites. They climb aboard while I am gardening, then work their way to parts of my body where the clothing is tight ((knicker lines, waistline, bra-line) before biting me. The bright red, itchy spots appear from 12 - 24 hours later, and other than showering and changing my clothes every time I come in from the garden (difficult when I am in and out of the garden all day long!), I haven't found a cure, so if anyone else has, I would love to hear it.

I'm with Jalima, Anthisan works for me. I get bittten to death by anything that's feeling peckish!

If you happen to have an aloe vera plant, break a piece off. Split it down middle and apply to the bite. Rub gently so the watery sap goes all over the area. It was very soothing on my horse fly bite

Be careful with tea tree oil - wonderful stuff but I don't think it should be used neat on the skin.

I use tea tree oil

I have loads of bites and continue to be bitten - the chemist said rather primly, I thought, that 'prevention is better than cure'.
Too late and I don't want to smother myself in insect repellent, even a natural one, every time I venture out.

I find that Anthisan is probably the best, but it needs applying three or four times a day at first. Boots sold me a bite relief cream, but its hydrocortisone and I'm reluctant to use it.

I used to use Fucidin, which is an anti-biotic cream but it is no longer available off-prescription. That, combined with taking an anti-histamine tablet at night will help if all else fails It was the only thing that gave relief when I got really bad sandfly bites.