NVR deer fly bites
I am covered. They have blistered and look like chickenpox, but I have had chickenpox (ohhh did I have chickenpox!). My throat, my hands and feet are puffy, and my eyes feel screwy like I can't focus. I have taken some Benadryl because this is looking like an allergic reaction to me. I actually called in sick at work for the first time in 10 years. Golly, I even have bites on my hands and the soles of my feet.
I am told that short of trying to bomb the yard with toxic bug spray, I am stuck with these things. I was told to use OFF spray on myself when I go out, but I know from experience that it breaks me out. Avon Skin So Soft has proven to be worthless as well for these bugs. Either I am eating something that attracts them and I need to eat something else instead, I am highly allergic and should find some sort of lotion to put on or something.
Help!
i am definately not an expert but ive heard that: Lemongrass oil, citronella & tea tree will keep insects at bay????
that sucks because right now I am dealing with the same thing. I just went camping for the weekend and I have always been sensitive to fly and mosquito bites but I have baseball sized (I am not kidding ):( swells alll over my body. I tried oatmeal baths but I am still in pain. I need help too :o
I can relate LadyDragonfly1,
That is exactly what happened to me while camping. Within the first day I was covered in welts. About 4 days later the rash all over that resembled the measles or chickenpox. I have now been home since July 13th and I still have scabs where the welts were and I still have some of the little measles looking rash things. I have always been highly sensitive to bug bites. Most probably an allergy. I only use Cactus Juice for mosquitoes, no see ums and sand fleas. Works wonders on those. Didn't help at all with the deer flies. They were all over Cali and the other dog we were with. The rest of the people got bitten but other than the 'ouch' when they bit, no rashes, welts etc. Antihistamines didn't help me much either. I have just been riding it out. I tried citronella. Didn't help a bit. My holistic vet recommended putting eucalyptus oil on Cali for mosquitoes and Cali definitely wasn't bothered by them but the deer flies....
I think the deer flies even played a role in her immune system failing while we were there, which in turn allowed her body to pick up a secondary skin infection and now the mange again.
I don't remember ever being bitten by a deer fly before and they are horrendous as to what they did to my body. I don't even know what to suggest because if you use some sort of bomb, many other critters will suffer. All I can suggest is maybe taking baths in warm water with sea salt in the bath water. Or Epsom salt. I think both draw out infections. Vinegar in bath water might help with the itch. My neighbour told me rubbing lemon juice on bites can help too.
I will be thinking of you because I never want to see a deer fly again.
Keep us posted.
Wow, it does sound to me like you are having an allergic reaction to the bites, LDF (and Redjen and Di, too). :o I'm sorry, I'm not sure what holistic advice to offer but LDF since you mentioned they are all over out in your yard, I thought this site my be worth checking into.
http://www.spalding-labs.com/whatAreTheFlyPredators.php
These are Fly Predators, which are little black bugs that look like a little baby houseflies that do NOT bite humans or animals. They basically eat the pest fly eggs/pupa (horn flies, house flies, stable flies- so I'm guessing that they would also get deer flies) before they hatch, which stops the cycle of the biting flies and the population in that area is stopped. These little fly predators are already out there in nature on their own, but they don't have as long a lifespan as the biting flies so they are usually outnumbered by the pest/biting flies, so ordering more ups the number to get the pest fly population controlled .
I used these flies (and this site to order them) for a couple of summers on our horse acreage and it worked GREAT!! (We sold our place and I board my horses now so don't have to worry about it now.) I saw ONE horse fly all summer which you'd know is amazing if you've been around horses much in summer. Maybe if you contact them they can give you advice if it may work for your situation. I think it would, I'm just not sure exactly where you would sprinkle the little guys. (It' super easy to do. They mail a little clear package of little eggs in sawdust and a couple/three days after you get them in the mail, you will see the little tiny flies have hatched in the package. Then you would normally go and sprinkle them around fresh horse droppings so they can go after the pest fly eggs.) Since you don't have horses or horse droppings, ;) I'm not sure where would be best for you to distribute the young predators. Somewhere where flies would naturally breed and lay their eggs- rotting organic matter. Not sure if you have that somewhere near your home that could be attracting the deer flies to populate your yard. Could be just from the natural wildlife offerings near you. :) I was pretty skeptical how much it could work, and I am really sold on them now! All natural and it works fantastic.
Thought it might be worth checking into for your situation... ???
Goodl uck and hope you feel better soon!