Yesterday I was outside potting up some seedlings when I felt what was like a needle sticking in my arm. I looked and saw what I thought was an ant on my arm. I squashed it and could then see it was a fly. The fly when squashed was full of blood and I could also see a small hole on my arm which started bleeding.
I've never known a small fly biting this before and last week I had two bites on my arm within two days, both of which swelled up. Last night I was watering the garden and they were around my face and bare arms and you could lash out but they still came back.
The fly was about the size of an ant and looked like a fruit fly so I looked it up on the net. The nearest I could see was what's called a black fly (not aphid) or Blandford fly. Apparently these are small flies that have invaded from the continent. They breed in clear water so maybe that's where it got it's Blandford name from because of the Dorset chalk streams. It did say they are in plague proportions in places and there is a pesticide that kills them but it is too expensive to use.
It now looks as if they are heading north because they have reached us and are probably breeding in my fish pond. If bitten you will soon know about it because it itches like hell. I was up twice last night sat with my arm in a bowl of cold water. I did put anti-histamine cream on straight away and that seems to have stopped most of the swelling which I got with the other bites.
These voracious biters put Scottish midges in the shade.
Anyone else encountered them?
I've never known a small fly biting this before and last week I had two bites on my arm within two days, both of which swelled up. Last night I was watering the garden and they were around my face and bare arms and you could lash out but they still came back.
The fly was about the size of an ant and looked like a fruit fly so I looked it up on the net. The nearest I could see was what's called a black fly (not aphid) or Blandford fly. Apparently these are small flies that have invaded from the continent. They breed in clear water so maybe that's where it got it's Blandford name from because of the Dorset chalk streams. It did say they are in plague proportions in places and there is a pesticide that kills them but it is too expensive to use.
It now looks as if they are heading north because they have reached us and are probably breeding in my fish pond. If bitten you will soon know about it because it itches like hell. I was up twice last night sat with my arm in a bowl of cold water. I did put anti-histamine cream on straight away and that seems to have stopped most of the swelling which I got with the other bites.
These voracious biters put Scottish midges in the shade.
Anyone else encountered them?
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