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#1
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Hello all.
We have a problem in our garden that is so bad now that it is preventing us from going out! Something is biting us badly. Take yesterday for instance, our 6 year old went out into the garden for about 30 minutes with normal trousers and shirt on, so not that exposed. Later that night, we noticed that she had about 15-20 big red itchy spots all over her body. The same thing happens to me. I can go out for just 1 minute and I am attacked. It's not a midge or anything flying as it travels up the trouser leg, under arms etc. Now we live in the country with cows and all sorts of animals just feet away the other side of the fence. We do have a cat who spends a lot of time under the seats and bushes just outside. I would assume it is cat fleas, but I didn't realise they lived outside to this degree. Both the cat and the house are regularly treated with flea treatments. It really is as bad as I say and we are swarmed when outside. Are there any treatments available for the garden? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks. |
#2
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nomy writes
Hello all. We have a problem in our garden that is so bad now that it is preventing us from going out! Something is biting us badly. Take yesterday for instance, our 6 year old went out into the garden for about 30 minutes with normal trousers and shirt on, so not that exposed. Later that night, we noticed that she had about 15-20 big red itchy spots all over her body. The same thing happens to me. I can go out for just 1 minute and I am attacked. It's not a midge or anything flying as it travels up the trouser leg, under arms etc. Now we live in the country with cows and all sorts of animals just feet away the other side of the fence. We do have a cat who spends a lot of time under the seats and bushes just outside. I would assume it is cat fleas, but I didn't realise they lived outside to this degree. Both the cat and the house are regularly treated with flea treatments. It really is as bad as I say and we are swarmed when outside. Are there any treatments available for the garden? Any advice would be appreciated. I must admit my first reaction was 'cat fleas', but you would expect to be attacked as much, if not more, inside than out. I do notice that cat flea bites don't appear immediately - it's always some time after the flea has left that the bites start to irritate (it's possible that fleas have some anti-irritant substance in their bites, in the same way that leeches have an anti-coagulant). So the first thing to do is to eliminate the possibility that it's not simply that you are receiving the bites at any time, but noticing them after you've been outdoors. You could also check your cat for fleas and droppings - the type of nit-comb which has metal teeth is excellent for this. Once you have eliminated cat fleas, then you are back to some sort of insect/invertebrate outside. Ridding your garden of insect/invertebrate life is not practical. So you are down to insect repellents whenever you go out. DEET is regarded as most effective, but you might not like applying this in quantity to your child's skin. Finally, if it really *is* outside, one of you venturing outside minimally clad and keeping a good watch ought to be able to identify the culprit ;-) -- Kay |
#3
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Quite a number of garden insects bite-flea beetles(as on cabbages, grass
etc) have a go at me, leaving a small red spot. There is a small speckled bug slender about 1cm long that attacks when I'm picking raspberries. A little 3mm round black beetle has a go in the summer. From the nature of your spots I would suspect biting flies from the cattle. Their modus operandi is rather sly and one can often be bitten without being aware of it. It could be your little girl has reacted badly to bites that would perhaps only leave a small red blemish on the majority of the population. We had severe allergy problems with one of our children, whom we had to treat with anti histamine medication. Regards David T "nomy" wrote in message ... Hello all. We have a problem in our garden that is so bad now that it is preventing us from going out! Something is biting us badly. Take yesterday for instance, our 6 year old went out into the garden for about 30 minutes with normal trousers and shirt on, so not that exposed. Later that night, we noticed that she had about 15-20 big red itchy spots all over her body. The same thing happens to me. I can go out for just 1 minute and I am attacked. It's not a midge or anything flying as it travels up the trouser leg, under arms etc. Now we live in the country with cows and all sorts of animals just feet away the other side of the fence. We do have a cat who spends a lot of time under the seats and bushes just outside. I would assume it is cat fleas, but I didn't realise they lived outside to this degree. Both the cat and the house are regularly treated with flea treatments. It really is as bad as I say and we are swarmed when outside. Are there any treatments available for the garden? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks. -- nomy |
#4
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![]() "nomy" wrote in message ... Hello all. We have a problem in our garden that is so bad now that it is preventing us from going out! Something is biting us badly. Take yesterday for instance, our 6 year old went out into the garden for about 30 minutes with normal trousers and shirt on, so not that exposed. Later that night, we noticed that she had about 15-20 big red itchy spots all over her body. The same thing happens to me. I can go out for just 1 minute and I am attacked. It's not a midge or anything flying as it travels up the trouser leg, under arms etc. Now we live in the country with cows and all sorts of animals just feet away the other side of the fence. We do have a cat who spends a lot of time under the seats and bushes just outside. I would assume it is cat fleas, but I didn't realise they lived outside to this degree. Both the cat and the house are regularly treated with flea treatments. It really is as bad as I say and we are swarmed when outside. Are there any treatments available for the garden? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks. -- nomy As K says it does sound like animal flea bites.These things lurk around outside awaiting a host which can be any animal including you. Pay particular attention to areas where animals lounge outside. Cushions on outside benches are a favourite area for flea infestations. |
#5
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#6
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Thanks for your replies. Sorry I haven't showed my appreciation earlier, only we have just returned from our holls.
Having spent the last two weeks over in Florida with all sorts of insects, I was amazed to come back unscathed, only to venture outside in the garden for 30 seconds at best and yep, I was bitten again. This time I felt something just after I came inside. I found it and it was a flea. I said we do have a cat, I should also have said there are a lot of farm cats around here which are not treated. For whatever reason, our garden appears seriously infested! Is there anything I can do out there? Is it right that cat fleas can live outside in the wet grass? I would expect a few, but have never experienced anything like this before. Thanks. |
#7
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#8
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![]() nomy wrote: Having spent the last two weeks over in Florida with all sorts of insects, I was amazed to come back unscathed, only to venture outside in the garden for 30 seconds at best and yep, I was bitten again. This time I felt something just after I came inside. I found it and it was a flea. I said we do have a cat, I should also have said there are a lot of farm cats around here which are not treated. For whatever reason, our garden appears seriously infested! Is there anything I can do out there? Is it right that cat fleas can live outside in the wet grass? I would expect a few, but have never experienced anything like this before. Do you have floor boards and carpets? That's were the fleas are. I don't think they're in the grass at all. You've brought some in, via a visitor to your house, they multiplied and now you think they're in your garden. A possibility is that you could have been 'jumped on' on your way to the garden and got bitten once outside. A possibility, off course. A friend of mine had an infestation like this. She had no animals but knows lots of people with them. Just by standing in her living room, your feet would be covered in seconds. She has floor boards and I was surprised they lived in there. Now is the time for fleas, when the temperature warms up. I use spot on on my two dogs and two cats. |
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