Do bugs bother you in the warmer months?

Ronni

Ronni

Well-known Member
Location
Nashville TN
Omg so much truth! I am a big magnet, I have bumps and welts all over no matter what products I use to keep the bugs away! šŸ˜– My ankles, forearms and neck have red spots everywhere from the bites of mosquitoes and no-see-ums! As much as I love the summer, Iā€™m so ready for no-bug weather!!
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I'm like you Ronni, mosquitoes love me, thankfully they have died down in my neck of the wood, were pretty bad during our wet spring and summer. In areas with no seeums, I'm also attacked. They seem to leave my husband alone, lol. Guess they like women more. I love a nice breezy day when the bugs aren't so bad, and now that fall is approaching, I'm thrilled to have the cooler weather of the season.
 
We got lucky here in my part of Michigan this year. Our climate balanced out overall but we had periods of cool and dry and then hot enough that the skeeters were no threat through most of the season this time around. I wish I could say the same for the last few weeks when they've managed to thrive, but I try to count my blessings. When I try to work outside right now though I keep wishing I had a 3rd hand for slapping and shooing.
 
I saw a fly here yesterday. There are mosquitos here, seriously though it's rare for me to see or feel a mosquito.
Being more susceptible to mosquitos is real..
Why Mosquitoes Bite Some People and Not Others.

When we had a boat stored at Fortescue marina in N J there were nasty flys that bit. For whatever reason they ignored my wife & kids but seemed to like going after me.
 
Knight said:
I saw a fly here yesterday. There are mosquitos here, seriously though it's rare for me to see or feel a mosquito.
Being more susceptible to mosquitos is real..
Why Mosquitoes Bite Some People and Not Others.

When we had a boat stored at Fortescue marina in N J there were nasty flys that bit. For whatever reason they ignored my wife & kids but seemed to like going after me.
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Thanks for that reference @Knight! I heard of pretty much everything listed over time, but hadnā€™t ever seen the list gathered together in such a comprehensive list before.

According to research, you are more at risk for mosquito bites if you:

  • Are pregnant
  • Are obese or overweight (because you might exhale more CO2)
  • Have an O blood type (you attract more mosquitoes than friends with Type A or B blood)
  • Have recently had alcohol (this increases your metabolic rate and the amount of CO2 you produce)
  • Have a higher body temperature
  • Have sweat on your skin
  • Produce more lactic acid, uric acid and Octenol through your pores (these are attractants mosquitoes detect through their antennae)
  • Have recently exercised (your raised metabolic rate increases your CO2 emission)
  • Are moving (itā€™s easier for mosquitoes to spot you)
  • Are wearing dark clothing (dark colors stand out more to mosquitoes)
  • Havenā€™t showered in a day or more (old sweat is more appealing to mosquitoes, especially to the species carrying malaria)
Well, only one of those points applies to me. Iā€™ll sometimes have had a drink. But plenty of other times not, and Iā€™m still attacked. Iā€™ve been this way my whole life, and for most of my adult years I didnā€™t drink and was still attacked. Iā€™m not overweight, not pregnant, blood type B-, I hardly sweat, my lounge around clothing (what aid be wearing if I were sitting outside) is light, my body temp tends to run low, I often shower twice a day, always at least once, and I exercise early in the am but am bitten the worst at dusk.

Pretty sure my lactic acid production is normal. I donā€™t exercise hard enough to overproduce it.

I guess it might be a uric acid issue. I donā€™t eat a lot of foods high in purines, but I also donā€™t consime much salt which can raise uric acid in the body.

I have no clue what my octenol levels are but as theyā€™re a key component in human sweat and as I donā€™t sweat much, I doubt itā€™s high.
 
oldaunt said:
Mosquitoes seem to be pretty rare around here in spite of the number of farm ponds, all of which have fish and frogs. I do support an abundance of various types of dragonflies who live on small flying insects. Then, we have the nasty ticks and chiggers, which can REALLY get to be a problem
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Did you know that Dragonflies cannot close their wings and Damselflies can? Folk get them mixed up.
 
Not a problem in the South of England generally... we're the hottest part of the UK, and we get the occasional Mosquitoes near standing water ..or still lakes... but on the whole were not bothered by Bugs.. except the usual house spiders, which I have to remove all their huge Webs every morning from the garden... amazing how busy they are during the previous day weaving such intricate designs ...and Moths at night if we have lights on and windows open..
 
The bugs don't really bother me until end of July into August when the bees show up.
At times sitting in our community garden with other residents ,we use dryer sheets to keep them away,it works
 
I am pretty much impervious to mosquitos in moderate numbers. But not those little black flies! Thankfully, both have been gone for a while as it has been so dry. And those maddening deer flies are gone too. So nice now - enjoy it while I can as the beginning of winter will be here in less than two months.
 
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It was very dry here this summer, so not many mosquitos. But, we are seeing a new pollinator moth on yellow wildflowers all over the place. I think this is the critter.

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Clearwing moths (family Sesiidae) are also referred to as wasp moths due to their resemblance to bees and wasps (Figure 12). Most species have clear or partially clear wings and bodies that are black or are brown striped with yellow, orange or red. The legs are usually long and wasplike. Their flight is generally characteristic of the bee or wasp they mimic. They feed on flower nectar, sometimes of the same plant for which their larvae are a pest. Some, such as the peach tree borer and squash vine borer, are especially known as pests of orchards, berries and vining vegetables.

We also have Blue Mud Wasps that we let in our house. They can bite if squished, but don't sting. They eat spiders and we have plenty of them, including the Brown Recluse.

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They used to drive me nuts but now before I go out I spray myself with 100% undiluted apple cider vinegar and ALL bugs leave me alone, even those big huge flies that take chunks from the skin. I use it on my dogs also but make sure to cover their eyes. The vinegar does smell a bit at first but dissipates as time goes on but I donā€™t mind the smell.

I save small little spray bottles for this very purpose and stick one in my little 5 x 7 shoulder strap purse in the bug annoying seasons. Itā€™s like magic.

I use Bragg apple cider vinegar with the mother in it. Even horse owners Iā€™ve known add some to the water their horses drink which decreases the amount of flies around them.

If you have a problem with fruit flies, put out a dish of water with some of this in it and they will all go to the dish and drown. We donā€™t have that problem but some people do and it works perfectly. IMG_2326.jpeg
 
Wasps of various sorts have been abundant in British Columbia late in the summer and so far this fall, but not in my particular area. Some years, they are. We had an incredibly annoying year for what some people call "cedar bugs' and others call "stink bugs". Mosquitos are around every year, though 2023 was moderate that way. Dragonflies consume them, and we see those on our place every year.

Patty, a few years ago we learned the cider-vinegar method for fruit flies, and it's helped.

Two years ago, I found a couple of spiders that had the coloring, form & size of a brown recluse. It's the only time I'd seen ones like that. Could have been a similar looking spider, because BRs are not common (though not unknown) in my part of the world.

As to bees, both honey & wild, we like to have them around. They're pollinators.
 
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