Horsefly bites

[Mouse040]

I'm not sure if its the same everywhere but this year seems to be ripe for horseflys and I'm getting eaten alive leaving me looking like the elephant man

Whilst out today I was just talking random rubbish with a old boy walking his dog when the mother of all horseflys landed on my hand and stuck right in my reaction was to brush it off but the old feller grabbed my arm and told me to let it have its fill ,so I did he then handed me a alcohol wipe and told me to clean the puncture he then told me that upon having its fill the fly sucks out the nastys it puts in to start with :confused:as of yet no lump I'm not going to lie it was difficult to not react but it's better than the normal lump

Has anyone else done this

[Tigger004]

interesting stuff

[BJ]

I have an unholy urge to kill any insect that bites me and I'm not sure I could resist.http://yoursmiles.org/ssmile/quarrel/s0610.gif (http://yoursmiles.org/s-quarrel.php)

[cuppa joe]

I was bitten on my shin and elbow whilst bike camping along side the Leeds Liverpool canal , my shin was so swollen I could push my finger an inch into the swelling and when I removed it the indentation I had made stayed for minutes.
My elbow was so swollen I could hardly bend it without fear of my skin splitting and the itch on both bites was all consuming.
I don't know what it was that bit me but there was livestock (Horses and Cows ) in the fields around me , I was camping near Gargrave at the time in the wooded corner of a field under Anchor bridge .
It's experiences like this that make me take a my head out of cloud cuckoo land and plan properly , really think about what may be needed on a night out wild camping.
All I needed was a good antihistamine and some decent insect repellent and I took neither lol that was a few years back and I've not had a problem since but the swelling took around 2 months to go down .

[MadZ]

never scratch em they only persist to get worse, i find slapping them works best, also i found that i get bitten often and me mate who drinks ale, and other things of the like never gets bitten maybe something in the ale they dont like.

personally if i come back from a night or two out with no bites its a bonus but i feel its a natural thing thats going to happen at some point and i dont really care for the use of insect sprays and repellants, i just make sure i cover the main of me when i bed down hat, hood, sleeves rolled down, have even gone as far as to tuck me trousers into me socks but this does not always work as the last time i was out i still eaten alive, ill have to try this though

cheers for the info mouse

Madz

[Ehecatl]

The most effective thing I have found to stop the itching is to dab toothpaste around the area that is swollen and discoloured. I collected six really good sized bites from the last Essex meet and the toothpaste was better than antihistamine cream.

I've also been told that eating marmite daily a week before any trip deters the night time biters as they don't like the smell of vitamin B.

M@

[JonnyP]

It has been a good (bad) year for horseflies. They call them greyflies around here, n we got loads of them in the fields, but they seem to be going now. I could not let one have its fill on me. A bit of tea tree cream sorts out the itch.
I got a pic of one once starting to drill into my finger. Lucky for me my fingers take some drilling n I got the pic before it got me..

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/4abb0d28.jpg (http://s152.photobucket.com/user/jonpickett/media/4abb0d28.jpg.html)

[jus_young]

I know everything in nature has its place, but why do the damned things have to keep placing themselves on me!?! On going daily battle with these things but rather that than being in an office every day.

[shepherd]

never done that before, but i just try my best to kill everyone that lands on me, being eaten alive at the moment. me and my mrs were out on the horses recently and hers started to whinney and rear up, on close inspection found a couple of horse flys stuck fast to its chest, she had to reach down and get them off by hand before the poor sod would calm down.

[cuppa joe]

just saw this http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/328667/Horsefly-bite-kills-devoted-dad

[beermaker]

some interesting info and worth reading. Not sure I could resist killing the little vermin to be honest! We have over 30 horses at work so lots of horse flies and my arms and legs look like they've been machine gunned! I was bitten by a horse the other week and I swear a horse fly is still worse! It does seem a bad year for them this year. I've been using Zam-Buk ointment on the bites. It's very old fashioned and getting harder to get hold of but it knocks spots off germolene!

[MadZ]

fresh cut Alder is good as well, use the sap/juice that comes from fresh cut twigs and branches, good things about this, readily available, cost nothing, no fancy chemicals that would require a scientist to explain what they are and do

hope this helps some one out

[Mouse040]

fresh cut Alder is good as well, use the sap/juice that comes from fresh cut twigs and branches, good things about this, readily available, cost nothing, no fancy chemicals that would require a scientist to explain what they are and do

hope this helps some one out


I know that the leaves can be placed directly on a sore to reduce swelling and I've seen the bark pulped to make a tonic to treat sore throats and mouth ulcers but not heard of the sap being used ? By juice do you mean pulped leaves does this amplify the anti swelling properties ?

[MadZ]

hey mouse

the sap/juice, if you cut a twig or branch it should produce a liquid to an extent from the cut surfaces, not like a tap in a birch tree where you have a tap like flow, but just rub the juicy bit of the fresh cut twig/branch around the bite this will stop the itching, fresh juice from pulped leaves also works. the native Americans used alder alot for various reasons and a few where to stop itching, and for some skin conditions, The inner bark of Alder is used in poultices to stop swelling.

but heres a few more: Alder bark is prepared for medicinal use by carefully scraping off the dead outer bark and using the green, living tissue underneath. Alder bark can be simmered in water to make a wash for very deep wounds. The leaves and bark are simmered into a bitter tea for tonsillitis and fever. The leaves are used in poultices to dry up breast milk.

The Penobscot Indians used Alder bark tea to stop cramps and vomiting. The Mohegan used Speckled Alder twigs in decoctions for sprains, bruises, headache, and backache. Alder bark tea can also be used in the vagina as a douche or in the rectum for hemorrhoids. god only knows how the would have administered this treatment

another good little tip for the leaves, Alder leaves were once gathered while they were still damp with dew and used to cover the floors of a house plagued by fleas or other insects. Adhering to the leaves the insects died.

hope that sheds a bit more light for you dude

cheers Madz

[Mouse040]

Thanks madz great info cheers for sharing

[Ashley Cawley]

I'm lucky with these blitters, they don't tend to focus on me so much, more other folk I'm with, especially if I'm with jus_young who is just a magnet for everything that flies/bites.

[jus_young]

I'm lucky with these blitters, they don't tend to focus on me so much, more other folk I'm with, especially if I'm with jus_young who is just a magnet for everything that flies/bites.

Yep

(he says whilst typing with frequent breaks for scratching various parts of his body due to swellings, sores and pustulating pores!!!)

[Mouse040]

Always good to have a sacrificial mate to feed to them

[roberts]

I know how you feel , I was overnight on Dartmoor weekend before last and was myself eaten alive too, hands, legs, forehead.

[luresalive]

hey mouse

the sap/juice, if you cut a twig or branch it should produce a liquid to an extent from the cut surfaces, not like a tap in a birch tree where you have a tap like flow, but just rub the juicy bit of the fresh cut twig/branch around the bite this will stop the itching, fresh juice from pulped leaves also works. the native Americans used alder alot for various reasons and a few where to stop itching, and for some skin conditions, The inner bark of Alder is used in poultices to stop swelling.

but heres a few more: Alder bark is prepared for medicinal use by carefully scraping off the dead outer bark and using the green, living tissue underneath. Alder bark can be simmered in water to make a wash for very deep wounds. The leaves and bark are simmered into a bitter tea for tonsillitis and fever. The leaves are used in poultices to dry up breast milk.

The Penobscot Indians used Alder bark tea to stop cramps and vomiting. The Mohegan used Speckled Alder twigs in decoctions for sprains, bruises, headache, and backache. Alder bark tea can also be used in the vagina as a douche or in the rectum for hemorrhoids. god only knows how the would have administered this treatment

another good little tip for the leaves, Alder leaves were once gathered while they were still damp with dew and used to cover the floors of a house plagued by fleas or other insects. Adhering to the leaves the insects died.

hope that sheds a bit more light for you dude

cheers Madz

That's exactly the sort of info we need on the forum...excellent, thankyou!

[rawfish111]

A bloke died over in Brixham a few days ago from an Anaphylactic reaction to a horsefly bite so if anyone is predisposed to suffer please be aware.

These buggers have nothing subtle about them and take no notice of most insect repellents and if you are not allergic they are a pain in the arse (literally at times)

[rawfish111]

sorry Joe hadn't read your link when posting .... Doh!