horse flies!!

[armchairarborist]

gotta be attractive to something though, right?

[tommer9]

This stuff is the business:Deet Insect Repellent Spray Bottle 100ml

[ben-jammin]

Boots own brand Wasp strength insect repellant has worked well for me so far (labelled as horse fly strength to), plenty of willow bogs ventured and not a bite since I started using it, prior to that i felt like prime meat to them!

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

Tried 50% deet spray but it had the wierd effect of making my skin have prickly heat. Lemon balm soap and mint rub apparently

[tree_beard]

currently sporting about 6 bites... they particularly like the back of my hands and knuckles, or just bite my shoulders straight through my shirt.

 

catch them, hawthorn spike through the abdomen and send them on their way (usually straight up or down)

[David Goss]

be a man and take the bites, they are only little things:001_tt2:

think yourself lucky its not midges that is your problem, have a bad day with them and they are in your eyes, up your nose, in your ears and in your mouth, and you count the bites in the hundreds not one or 2 here and there! you dont even notice the cleggs when the midges are out in force:sneaky2:

[JimM]

Autan works for me. Used it all over the world for the last ten years or so. It comes in a speedstick type applicator.

[scottythepinetree]

Deet is really bad for you long term. Citronella... buy it in any chemist. About 25 drops in 2 litres of water.. give it a good shake. Get 2 good handfuls and cover yourself as much as possible. Repeat when wears off in an hour or 2.. Job done... Really works a treat.

[Daniël Bos]

Well said mr Goss, just take it like a man!

If you get stung, leave them! When they sting they inject a bloddthinning agent into you to stop the blood clogging as they gorge themselves. If you swat them off after you've been stung this stuff is in you and it is this that causes the itching. Leave them to it, the damage is allready done and when they consume you they take most of the "anti-clog" back out again as well, leaving you with less to scratch at by the end of the day.

I've also found that after the first 50-odd stings of the day they become much less annoying.

[Treeworld]

My uncle used to get bitten all the time until he started taking Brewers yeast available at any health store/ chemist now he says he can't remember the last time he was bitten. I twisted his advice and take a couple of pints of good ale full of good yeast extract and although I still get bitten from time to time it don't half taste good:thumbup: