[Auntie]

Hello everyone, I am a total newbie to this site, but reading through items for many months and I can see there is a wealth of help and knowledge within.

HELP........
Please can anyone give me some ideas how to combat midges eating me alive, little black flies come out when it's warm, when I get warm and sweaty from digging and towards dusk and are totally attracted to me, I have tried Jungle formula insect repelant, citronella oil, lavender oil, but the little darlings just come in and bite, when they do I swell up beyond belief,    I never knew something so small could do so much harm.

I was told Avon did a body cream that worked well, any sensible ideas would be very welcome.
Thanks

[Rob the rake]

The avon product is Skin so Soft . I do a fair bit of fishing and used to get eaten alive before I started using it, so I can attest to it's effectiveness.
A million midges can't be wrong! Doesn't leave you smelling like a toilet product either, which has to be a bonus.

[wildeone]

I'd use jungle formula and take B vitamins or eat marmite everyday.  Me and my dad are affected in the same way and one tiny bite can swell up hugely .  I got a bite on my forehead last year and couldn't open one eye or breathe through my nose for a week!!! :shock:   Also i tuck my trousers in my socks (I know I look daft but hey it's gardening not a fashion show) stops the little * going up my trouser legs!!!  HTH but if you do get a bite take priton tablets and that will stop the reaction to a point.

[Rob the rake]

Oh, and welcome Auntie, by the way! Mustn't forget my manners.

[paintedlady]

I have to use an insect repellant - the ones in the supermarket have been effective so far.  Where I have forgotten or decided not to bother (and then seriously regretted it!), Boots do a cream (with a mild anaesthetic) for relieving insect bites and stings that has worked well for me.

PS  I understand if you eat a lot of garlic it is supposed to be a natural repellant (and also a bit anti-social )

[noshed]

Avon Skin So Soft Soft & Fresh Dry Oil Body Spray werks fer me but you have to spray it on all exposed skin. I find that sweat washes it off so reapply. I presume it works by just making it hard for the insects to bite, rather than actually repelling them so you could use repellant as well. The oil spray smells OK too.

[agapanthus]

How about tea-tree oil?......mix a few drops with sweet almond oil (or other) and slather on.....smells a bit but most insects don't like it

[wellingtons]

... and I've actually been bitten so badly by mozis that I have been unable to walk.  I swell up like billy-o.

The Avon Skin So Soft does actually work, but you do need to really apply every 3 or 4 hours to keep them at bay.

I found it years ago when I went to Florida, it was sold in all the supermarkets as a repellant to their teeny weeny mozis, that they affectionately call "noseeums".

If I do get bitten then it's antihistamines all the way, although I did get told by a pharmacist that the best way to relieve the itching is to put the part of you that's been bitten in as hot a water as you can stand for just a few minutes.  Apparently it naturally disperses the histamines.   I haven't had many bites though to try it out ... thanksto Avon and holidays in mozi free zones ...  

[Trillium]

In case you're wondering, Auntie, it's the Skin So Soft bath oil that works, not the cream or lotion. There's something different in the oil that makes it work.

We also get a different form of black fly, one that gives a vicious bite, so this past year I invested in a special anti-bug netted outfit. Its very lightweight and clear, with eleastic at the wrists and waist, and its very open for keeping you cool, yet the bugs can't get through. Something else to consider.

[wellingtons]

... Trillium right ... it is the oil you want ... in the US I think you can get it in lots of different sizes and formulations, but here you've only got the actual body oil or the dry oil spray.  They do shower gels as well, but they don't work on their own, in my experience.

[mashauk]

I don't know if it's true but I've heard that vitamin B6 helps as it leaves a smell (yeast) that they don't like, this would be why OH doesn't get bitten and I do, either that or they fall off him drunk before they can bite!

[cooperman]

I drink a lot of beer - that seems to do the trick - more likely my blood group  is not attractive enough as I never get bitten.... bzzzzzzz

[mashauk]

Perhaps there is something in beer then, or like OH says they fall off drunk   The other theory I heard is that we all get bitten the same amount, only some people are allergic to the bites and some aren't, that seems to also make sense.

[Fat Hen]

What about Neme oil, it appears to be in thing where bugs and beasties are concerned with people recomending it for a variety of situations from a greenhouse bug killer to anti nit treatment for kids.

You never know it might just work for the midges.

[Clampit]

I drink a lot of beer - that seems to do the trick - more likely my blood group  is not attractive enough as I never get bitten.... bzzzzzzz

You never get bitten? Or you never feel the bites?