[Ollie1946]

the original post is ancient, but the bites continue? you have bedbugs. they are tough to get rid of. you will almost certainly need professional exterminating because they get into tight places and they are hard to eradicate.

my 2 cents.

[Tushana]

No see ums or bedbugs. How do you know which is which? I am assuming my bites were no see ums.

[mquintana]

When I lived in Marathon (the Keys), on Coco Plum-the no see ums were so bad that they would litterally swarm and attack you. I used Off-but it only helped, not prevented. Funny enough, I kept moving around and they couldn't catch up with me I guess...

[FREDkanada]

I wish I knew about this site before relocating to Florida. I happened upon it as my children and I are the lastest dishes on the menu. We live in a State Park with a river running through it and after a $400 Urgent Care visit and $100 in prescriptions, we're learning the hard way. I'm spreading the news so for future reference, you may want to check out these sites also

[URL="http://pelotes.jea.com/AnimalFact/Athropod/NOSEEUM.htm"]http://pelotes.jea.com/AnimalFact/Athropod/NOSEEUM.htm[/URL]

[URL="http://news.ucanr.org/newsstorymain.cfm?story=1105"]http://news.ucanr.org/newsstorymain.cfm?story=1105[/URL]

[URL="http://undercurrent.org/UCnow/articles/TheSkinny200709.shtml"]http://undercurrent.org/UCnow/articles/TheSkinny200709.shtml[/URL]

[FREDkanada]

[URL="http://pelotes.jea.com/AnimalFact/Athropod/NOSEEUM.htm"]http://pelotes.jea.com/AnimalFact/Athropod/NOSEEUM.htm[/URL]

[URL="http://news.ucanr.org/newsstorymain.cfm?story=1105"]http://news.ucanr.org/newsstorymain.cfm?story=1105[/URL]

[URL="http://undercurrent.org/UCnow/articles/TheSkinny200709.shtml"]http://undercurrent.org/UCnow/articles/TheSkinny200709.shtml[/URL]

try reading these sites as they offer product tip dos and don'ts. My children and I just moved to the same "area" and are bitten hourly. I am almost never outside. My fiance, the reason we're here, is a ranger at Lovers Key and works on the beach, where the bugs populate AND we live in another State Park that has a river running through it and my kids go to the dock frequently, where the bugs populate...or they used to. My conclusion was that my fiance and children are bringing them home where I then become the main course. I spent nearly $1,000 (including useless ointments, gas, time, etc) for a pratictioner to tell me we're being bitten by no-see-ums and to stay away from the water, and don't go outside at dusk and dawn. The original post I responded to was almost a year old but this issue will remain timeless. My children and I, as one of the articles relays, are the exceptions to the rule as we may have allergies to the toxins the no-see-ums inject. Oh and the kicker, we switched to sea salt years ago, so I think the bugs like us moreso. My fiance doesn't get bit at all. I don't see our neighbors scratching either. Just us. We have very very sensitive skin. I, myself, wear long sleeves and pants year round anyway. SCREENS don't keep the buggers out, either. Read the sites above. I was truly educated this day.

[FREDkanada]

I'm also thinking of buying spider plants and putting them outside as I learned years ago how these plants naturally repel mosquitoes. Another memeber mentioned Citronella candles, lanterns, etc. On one of the sites I list, the CDC offers alternatives to DEET. One site strongly advises against DEET. I'm going to try the vanilla nect ties as one member posted. I love vanilla. We moved to Florida Dec 2008 and got bit just a bit. The itchyness went away but then started again with a vengence...probably as breeding season is kicking in (another site stated). Now we've been the main course for about 4 months. Hopefully these sites can offer some comfort.

[URL="http://pelotes.jea.com/AnimalFact/Athropod/NOSEEUM.htm"]http://pelotes.jea.com/AnimalFact/Athropod/NOSEEUM.htm[/URL]

[URL="http://news.ucanr.org/newsstorymain.cfm?story=1105"]http://news.ucanr.org/newsstorymain.cfm?story=1105[/URL]

[URL="http://undercurrent.org/UCnow/articles/TheSkinny200709.shtml"]http://undercurrent.org/UCnow/articles/TheSkinny200709.shtml[/URL]

[BCrain10]

I want to thank the person that suggested using borax to get rid of no see ums. I had some borax laundry detergent and I sprinkled it into my carpet and in 2 days like they said they were gone. Thanks for posting this tip.

[iamsosurprised]

small bowl or glass of vinegar with some dishsoap in it.... the little pests go in but cannot excape due to texture of dish soap and they LOVE the smell of vinegar which they dive in for.... will help out a bit

[RVlover]

Has anyone got a good remedy for Fire Ant stings ? I put my foot in a Fire Ant nest 2 days ago and got stung about 10 times simultaneously. Some of them are red welts with a white pusy looking head on the top. I applied Cortizone for itching so it doesnt itch too bad anymore, but, how do i treat the welts ? I just moved to Florida. Thanks.

[mango23]

Originally Posted by RVlover

Has anyone got a good remedy for Fire Ant stings ? I put my foot in a Fire Ant nest 2 days ago and got stung about 10 times simultaneously. Some of them are red welts with a white pusy looking head on the top. I applied Cortizone for itching so it doesnt itch too bad anymore, but, how do i treat the welts ? I just moved to Florida. Thanks.

The first thing you do is apply ammonia, it stops the bite from getting any worse and usually makes it go away in a brief time. Not sure what it will do a few days later. That is the treatment for many kinds of stings. Years ago we also used gasoline on stings. There is a product on the market called After-bite or something like that. All it is is ammonia in a marker pen you rub on the bite. They charge you $3.59 for one cents worth of ammonia.