Blasted horse flies

[mikehill]

Is it just me ? Got bitten 2 weeks ago and a big reaction. Large swelling covering whole forearm. Went to pharmacy and he sent me to walk in centre. Antibiotics cleared it a week later

Three days ago it happened, this time other forearm, bicep and shoulder ! Got sent to A & E and got IV antibiotics and anti histamines and steroids. Swelling still not going down.

What’s going on ? I never had anything like it on 55 years

 

[Toddy]

Horrible things. We call them clegs up here.
Your reaction is my normal reaction to their bites. I carry an epi-pen because of the blighters now.

Over the years I've learned that my best recourse is to as quickly as I can, take a 4hour antihistamine tablet and ibuprofen. That reduces the histamine and helps reduce the swelling. Four hours later take a 24 hour anti-histamine and more ibuprofen....and for heavens sake do yourself a kindness and buy some Eurax cream. It stinks, but oh it stops the damned itch, it really does.

I hope the bites heal quickly, and cleanly, for you.

M

 

[mikehill]

Thanks Toddy, I’ll look for the cream tomorrow. The doctor at a&e has put me on a daily antihistamine for life now. The itch is worse than the pain

 

[Toddy]

Oh it sure is. When you find yourself daydreaming about finding the nailbrush to scrub your skin, it's time to find the Eurax. Camilosan used to be good too, but we can't buy that in the UK now. Anthisan cream works too, but the Eurax beats them both I reckon.
The Ibuprofen helps, it stops the swelling getting any worse, and it helps reduce it much more quickly too.
I end up with a red hot swelling, as thick as a thick pancake (dropped scone type I mean) with a tight hard white line around it, and often as wide as a saucer. It can totally imobilise a joint, and it's the itchiest damned thing imaginable.

They say there's a place for everything in the web of life. I can't see any good reason for horseflies, I really can't.
Someone on an earlier thread said just to leave them to bite and let them get on with things. I kill every damned one that comes near me, if I can spot them. Sleekit wee blighters.

Beautiful eyes though.
https://bushcraftuk.com/community/index.php?threads/clegs-eyes.76201/

 

[Robson Valley]

I do my part.

Picea nigra= Black Spruce. The needles are only 1 cm long and every one has a barb at the base.
Insert one needle into the posterior of a horsefly, just beyond the barb.

Release the HorseFly. It is now butt heavy. All it can do is fly straight up.

 

[mikehill]

Well ... I’m having to stop the steroids as my face started changing shape and dizzy spells ensued Thanks to Toddy the Naproxen seems to help and the Eurax is a little better than bite & sting spray.
Still no idea why I have just suddenly reacted to bites like this ?

 

[Nice65]

Well ... I’m having to stop the steroids as my face started changing shape and dizzy spells ensued Thanks to Toddy the Naproxen seems to help and the Eurax is a little better than bite & sting spray.
Still no idea why I have just suddenly reacted to bites like this ?

I’ve been fine with mozzie bites all my life, just an itchy spot for a day or so. Bitten in recent years and I get a much more severe reaction that needs ibuprofen and Piriton. In Portugal I either had to elevate the munched upon leg indoors, or stay in the cold pool water.

 

[mikehill]

We’re all just getting old then

 

[Nice65]

We’re all just getting old then

Yep

I reckon there’s a general thing going on, lots of people these days seem to be more sensitive to foodstuffs like gluten and lactose. Lots seem to get dramatic reactions from bites and stings. We’ve grown up in contact with cleaners, fragrances, oil based products, fumes etc. All sorts of alien chemicals that may be messing with our natural immune systems. I don’t know for sure if it’s the case, but it could be.

 

[Broch]

Unbelievably there are over 4,000 species of 'horseflies'. The cleg (Heamatopota Pulvialis) is the silent one and is well known for causing an allergic reaction in some people. I keep getting bitten by them when I'm cutting the grass .

This one (Tabanus Bovinus) is a monster and over 2cm long but makes such a buzz you can't fail to notice it and, I'm told but don't trust, it doesn't bite people - only horses and cattle!

 

[Nice65]

Unbelievably there are over 4,000 species of 'horseflies'. The cleg (Heamatopota Pulvialis) is the silent one and is well known for causing an allergic reaction in some people. I keep getting bitten by them when I'm cutting the grass .

This one (Tabanus Bovinus) is a monster and over 2cm long but makes such a buzz you can't fail to notice it and, I'm told but don't trust, it doesn't bite people - only horses and cattle!

View attachment 54872

We have loads of big bovine ones in the house at this time of year, have done since we moved here. We’re in a valley, surrounded by pasture and plenty of damp ground which they need to breed, as do clegs. Like you say, the buzz is crazy, their flight is crazy, they crash around the place all the time. Never once had one land on me or attempt a bite.

Well, assuming they’re females, the males don’t bite. I’ll have to catch one and check if they’re males.

 

[mikehill]

What got me is I didn’t see it or feel a bite... only noticed the pain some 8 hrs later. Both times occurred while cutting the grass in the grounds at work.

 

[Rabbit leg]

The Tiger mosquitoes are getting out and about a bit more. A lot of people get bad reactions to them and blame spiders.

I get 2 hours of itchy. Then it clears for 24 hours. Then I get an itchy blister/boil for 5 days.

Horse flies don't even bother me. Sharp ***** but no itching.

 

[Nice65]

What got me is I didn’t see it or feel a bite... only noticed the pain some 8 hrs later. Both times occurred while cutting the grass in the grounds at work.

I never see or feel Horseflies land or bite, they’re persistent yet very stealthy. They drill a hole and gob anaesthetic in it. It’s only the swelling later, and the red abrasion in the middle that lets me know I’ve been bitten. The buggers spikes penetrate clothing easily, and if you swat one away it just zips straight back in for another go.

Want a laugh? This came up on another forum, so I’ve nicked it. Glue a dead one on the palm of your hand and spend the day whacking your boss on the back of the head.

@Rabbit leg, I haven’t seen the big stripy mozzies for a while now, I hope not to. The bite, for me anyway, is similar to a cleg bite. I got one under my forearm by the elbow a few years ago, sat hot and sweating in woodland on a work break it sneaked up on me and grabbed its baby formula. Came up like a small water balloon, and itchy as hell.

 

[Billy-o]

AfterBite and Benadryl works for us ... our youngest get a more than average reaction. Also, the oral Benadryl works wonders.

 

[santaman2000]

Wouldn’t it be great if horseflies and mosquitos sucked fat instead of blood?

 

[Janne]

I am lucky to be immune to mosquito bites, I get no reaction to the bites.
The only efficient way against other suckers or biters is to wear covering clothes. A summergrade, well wasked cotton clothes are fine even in summer, doing heavy work.

I alway think that I am encroaching in their home, and that I am part of the food chain!

 

[Sundowner]

Getting older doesn't help, in my case anyway

 

[Toddy]

I am lucky to be immune to mosquito bites, I get no reaction to the bites.
The only efficient way against other suckers or biters is to wear covering clothes. A summergrade, well wasked cotton clothes are fine even in summer, doing heavy work.

I alway think that I am encroaching in their home, and that I am part of the food chain!

Clegs eat through clothing to get to our skin....and that's literal truth, not an apocryphal story.
I look on clegs as torments getting in the way of me being happy and busy outdoors through Summer.
I freely admit that I kill every one I can.

Sundowner's right too though, getting older doesn't help, the bites still flare up, and if anything take longer to resolve.

M

 

[santaman2000]

Getting older doesn't help, in my case anyway

Clegs eat through clothing to get to our skin....and that's literal truth, not an apocryphal story.
I look on clegs as torments getting in the way of me being happy and busy outdoors through Summer.
I freely admit that I kill every one I can.

Sundowner's right too though, getting older doesn't help, the bites still flare up, and if anything take longer to resolve.

M

Yeah. The horseflies here (whatever their actual species is) also bite right through all but the heaviest clothing. I think th aging thing is because our skin is getting thinner and our immune systems aren’t what they were when we were younger.