Little black flies

[Hamlet]

A few weeks ago - and again this morning - I got badly bitten in Dulwich Park by some little black flies. They look like small flying ants - definitely not your average mozzy. The thing is, last time I had a really bad reaction to them that took two weeks to clear up. Anyone know what they are - and how to avoid them?

[????]

Two bees or not two bees?

*Gets coat leaves*

[woodie]

yes Hamlet, me too although not this year. thought they were flying ants too. this was in a pub garden, i wont say which it wss,i was bitten a lot. they seemed to just drop out of the sky on you right? plop bite! one landed on my sunglass lens and for a really short time my eye seemed to focus on it, a plump little abdomen it had. thats when i realised it wasnt a flying ant. I think we have them for a very short time each year. At about 8.30-9pm they go into attack mode, if they werent b4. Thats when i noticed they are now biting. The bites took ages to heal and got nastier for a while before quietening down. My neighbour got a reaction to them.

[Hamlet]

Glad to know it's not just me they're picking on, Woodie. Yes, they get in for the bite in seconds. And within a couple of minutes, each bite has a developed a big itchy, inflamed patch of skin around it. Then the bite blisters. Hideous.

[kford]

Gnats?

http://kaihaan.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/gnat.jpg

[KalamityKel]

Tis always wise at this time of year, although quite annoying to have to, to carry around anti-hestamine tablets or cream and perhaps invest in some suntan/after sun lotion containing bug repellent stuff. Darn bugs get ya when ya guards down (when you're out enjoying the warmer weather) (tu)

[Hamlet]

No, I don't think it's gnats

[Ted Max]

Saharan Sand Flies. They come in as eggs buried in imported builder's sand as used in local construction sites, and hatch in the warm weather. Their saliva contains an enzyme that can melt a camel's hide, which is why their bites are so sore. All the builders at the Harris Academy site are on anti-histamine for them.

[woodie]

whoa! thats sounding like them. they're hardy lookin things. i can see them buzzing round camels eyes , insistent annoying.

[annaj]

*fixes Ted with a steely glare*

*holds up card saying BLUFF*

[Hamlet]

Yes, I think that's them - thank you, Ted Max

[Ted Max]

Bah!

[HonaloochieB]

I'm also giving Ted some blue steel on this one.

Would the builders in question by any chance be using the sand to install chimneys?

'Special' chimneys.

Re: Chimney use in London

Posted by: Ted Max May 12, 02:14PM

You can use your fireplace but the smoke must not go up the chimney as it is now deemed a hazard to nesting birds. Most people have special extractor pipes fitted into the fireplace which vent the smoke through wall-mounted filters that clean the smoke and expel it as clear exhaust. You need to change the filters about once a year.

Mind you on that occasion there was an even bigger bluff, I remember one joker trying to convince us there was such a thing as 'smokeless' coal, and you sending him away with a Saharan Sand Fly in his ear.

[Moos]

HonaloochieB Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I'm also giving Ted some blue steel on this one.

Magnum!

[Ted Max]

I see I've got my just deserts on this one.

[Muley]

Loved the notion of the Harris Academy being partly Saharan. A Fez should be part of the new school uniform

[Moos]

Ted Max Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I see I've got my just deserts on this one.

Did you hesitate on how to spell deserts?

[Ted Max]

Don't get gobi, Moos, it doesn't suit you.

[Moos]

Sahara's to obey, Ted.

[paulino]

i am getting bitten to pieces by these things too. people at work must think i have flees, given the amount i am itching and scratching. i keep meaning to put repellent on in the evenings but always forget.

i am finding that i am getting particularly badly bitten near grass and fields/parks.

[reetpetite]

Hamlet..I fully sympathise I have been bitten for weeks now .First time on my leg which turned very nasty and I was on anti-biotics ,then they struck again last week same place and my arm, same reaction. This time my gp gave me cortisone cream and taking antihistamine as well. Then the little Ba****** got me this morning on my hand which now looks like an inflated rubber glove and I'd just covered myself with insect repellant.I'm so fed up with it,never had this sort of reaction ..terrible itching burning skin red turning to purple .I can only put it down to the fact that this summer Ihave been using the outdoor gym in Peckham Rye park every morning and walking round the park so am a prime target me thinks!.

[Nero]

Ted,

Any idea how widespread this is? Is it just the poor builders at the new school, or is it builders in general around Britain?

Ta.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Outbreak started in Penge.

[skwirt]

don't know if this will assist - but being a Scot (from mozzie teratory) I have found one of the best insect repellants is actually Avon's 'skin so soft' moisturisers. This was recomended and has been tested by lots of people who spend lots of time in the scotish wilderness. Might be worth a go in the environs of Peckham Rye......

[JohnL]

Sand flies exist, here's one

http://www.armymedicine.army.mil/news/photos/fullsize/lg_sandfly.cfm

but are they with us, in ED.