Red Dots?

[Mynock]

'Round my area it's mostly the mosquitos you have to worry about. Six legged blood sucking SOB's have been insanely bad the last coupld of summers. Last year I swatted one that no shit had a wing span as wide as the palm of my hand.

[Boggy Man]

'Round my area it's mostly the mosquitos you have to worry about. Six legged blood sucking SOB's have been insanely bad the last coupld of summers. Last year I swatted one that no shit had a wing span as wide as the palm of my hand.

It was most likely a crane fly. Those flies, which are harmless, look like gigantic mosquitoes:



Actually, in addition to midges (noseeums), we also get wood ticks, horseflies, deerflies, blackflies, mosquitoes, and sandflies, although my sandfly encounters have been few and far between. And, West Nile has finally reached the Okanagan the past couple years. Then, there are leeches in the cleanup water. Mother Nature is out for blood!

[nachtjaeger]

No Chiggers up here in NY. We have the Blackfly- all the charm and personality of a chainsaw.
In years when the water is low and there are fewer water-spawning Blackflies, that means more of the Deerfly, which lays eggs in damp sand (figures.) Less numerous than Blackflies but bigger. Those raise either a small lump or make your whole limb swell up, depending on your sensitivity. Get stung by one of those between the eyes, and you will be mistaken for an alien.
And, forgetting all the tall tales for once, I have actually been bitten by our local mosquitoes through the wall of a nylon tent.
Up around Buffalo/Niagara Falls NY, they have plagues of gnats, so bad they will burn out one of those "bug-zapper" lights in 24 hours.

And they can itch for weeks. Down here they're just part of life during the summer so as kids you get used to them. When we're shooting the ladies are rarely bothered because they wash off several times a day and the critters never have time to latch on.

[SmileyMcDeath]

You can make a sort of homemade bug repellent by mixing one part alcohol to one part scented bath oil in a spray bottle. The downside is that it's sort of heavy and can feel a bit oppressive in hot weather. But it does serve to keep insects at bay.

[Nessie]

It was most likely a crane fly.

Whoahh, lookit the size of THAT!

Those flies, which are harmless, look like gigantic mosquitoes

Harmless?

You sure?

Ah...okay...WHEW!

Nessie

[MuddyEddie]

Harmless?

You sure?

Actually, they can be quite helpful. If you get stuck in a deep pit, just hold up your arms and they'll come carry you out!

Eddie

[Vivian Basterd]

Here in Blighty there was a story inthe press about a bunch of stdents who staged a charity mud wrestling tournament; they got a sack of soil from a garden centre for the mud, but after using it they all came down a nasty case of red dots; it was diagnosed of a form of Urticaria (that's medical speak for "a rash") caused by exposure to duck excrement! So if you want to go mudding, avoid places where Donald, Daffy and Co. are likely to have been "doing their business"!