Tuesday, June 9, 2015

My Name Is Mama Pea and I Am A Bug Magnet

I am unhappy.  We have a lovely, sunny, warm (low 70s . . . yippee!) day.  And I am inside.

You see, along with the lovely, sunny, warm day we also have black flies.  Black flies rejoice and do the happy dance when they see me.

I was sure there would be no biting critters to make my life miserable on a day such as this but as of now, at 2:30 p.m., I've tried twice to go out and work in the garden and both times I've been driven in by the black flies.

No, wearing a head net and my (expensive) bug shirt do no good.  They bite me right through layers of clothing.  Always have, probably always will.  Insect repellants don't seem to work on me.  

Currently, I have a small rivulet of blood running down my left calf where I got nailed right through my jeans.  The inside of my right ear is swollen where one of the black devils weaseled his way in.  I have two huge welts on the back of my neck.  And one on my upper arm.  The inside, soft, tender part.

It is humid and there is the threat of severe thunderstorms later today so I suppose those conditions are prime for the black flies.  They're sure not good for me getting anything done in the garden today.

I am unhappy.  And I'm a bug magnet.  And I'm cranky.  And I needed to complain.  Done.  Thanks for listening.

27 comments:

Angela said...

Bless your heart! They sound awful! Angela

Tracy h said...

Oh mama pea that's awful, I am a mosquito magnet so I feel for you much hugs xo

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

Oh I feel your pain!! I got a bite right below my eye and it looked like I had a black eye for a few days! But don't worry, when the black flies go away, the deer flies arrive (I call them triangle flies, don't know if you know what I mean). Take care! -Jenn

DFW said...

I too feel your pain Mama Pea. We have biting gnats (no seeums) here but at least they don't leave whelts just annoying to the point where you can't be outside long. We have about 3 weeks of yellow flies (deer flies, horse flies, etc.). Now those do leave marks on me for about 3 weeks. I think we are past those now though. Hope the rains come & wash those biting black flies away.

Lisa B said...

LN seems to attract gnats that are all over a friend's property. 3 others sitting beside her have no issues. Other bugs love her too. At 4-H camp near the beach mosquitoes get her bad. It must be all that sweet blood you 2 have in you.

Marie said...

me too! only it's the "no see 'ems" ... they gnaw away, I itch, I scratch and then arrives the welts ....

currently on the lip and eyelid ...

Carolyn said...

Well, at least we don't have THOSE buggers to contend with. Wish you lots of luck in getting out there. Maybe you can make a scarecrow with what black-fly outfit you'd normally wear and then go out dressed like PapaPea?

Sparkless said...

Ohhh I hate black flies. They take chunks out of you. We don't have many of them but a few are all it takes. Sorry to hear all your attempts to thwart their attack on you didn't work out. I get big welts from mosquito bites and seem to be a magnet for them. I'm just lucky we don't have many around our house. Hopefully the weather will kill them off and you can get out there in the garden soon.

Sue said...

So sorry to hear "they have arrived". It's the most dreaded time for us northerners! Daytime gives us blackflies and nighttime brings mosquitoes. Lovely.
Not.

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Reminds me of living in Wisconsin - mosquitos, black flies and the lake flies - oh the lake flies. I've seen sides of houses plastered with thousands of the lake flies - which were brought to this country by a man who wanted to experiment with them - and they escaped and are a constant bother now that they are so rampant. I can't tell you how many outdoor summer events were ruined by black flies - those pesky little things. We had to keep our kids indoors a lot during black fly season. However living in NW Washington state we have almost no annoying bugs. We get one or two mosquitoes during the summer and now and then a fly will get into the house - outdoors the flies tend to their own matters and never bite.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Oh man...I have tried my herb infused bug oil (for people) and like it so far. I have not used it around mosquitoes, but it seems to keep small flies and gnats off me.

Mama Pea said...

Angela - They ARE awful. Just came in from trying to work in the garden . . . but can't do it again. Clouds of the black flies. Ugh.

Mama Pea said...

Tracy h - The mosquitoes LOOOOVE me, too. Also the no see'ums we have up here. Hopefully, the season will be short this year. :o/

Mama Pea said...

Jenn - I've seen a few of those triangle flies, but they don't seem plentiful around here. (Yay.) Black flies, mosquitoes and the no see'ums are quite enough, thank you!

Mama Pea said...

DFW - I think what we need to get rid of the biting buggers is some lovely, sunny, dry weather! It's overcast this morning and the black flies are awful. (That's why I'm in here at my desk!)

Mama Pea said...

Lisa - I can so relate to LN! When we are outside in bad bug conditions, people have been known to use me for "bait." They can be standing right next to me and not be bothered while I'm covered with the bugs. Yes, LN and I definitely have blood that is way too appetizing to biting insects!!

Mama Pea said...

Marie - Isn't the sting of the no see'ums just awful? And it's not fair that you don't even see them until it's too late!

Mama Pea said...

Carolyn - Papa Pea was cutting wood while I was trying to garden yesterday and he wasn't even bothered. Sigh. Same this morning. I had to come in because I couldn't stand it, but he's just gone out to do some more wood work. Frustration!!!!

Mama Pea said...

Sparkless - Have you ever seen the black flies under a microscope? It's scary. They have a nose or mouth or whatever they bite with that looks just like the blade of a saw. No wonder you end up with blood running from a bite!

Mama Pea said...

Sue - Lovely. Not. That's the understatement of the day!

Mama Pea said...

JoAnn - That settles it. I'm moving next door to you!

Mama Pea said...

Kristina - If anyone can find a natural repellant, it would be you. If you could market it, you'd be rich!! (And I'd buy most of it!)

Sandy Livesay said...

Mama Pea,

I recently read something about a product called Crocodile Insect Repellent. It apparently works in the everglades and black flies hate it. It's a combination of rosemary, thyme, and peppermint oils. I can't a test to how this works, but does sound interesting. I bet you could make something similar with these oils yourself. You may have to test the strengths a bit though.
Another good oil would be catnip oil to try against those little B _ _ _ _ _ _ _, lol......

Susan said...

Oh, GEEZ, do I hate them! There must be something about us, Mama Pea, that rings a dinner bell. I had the same experience twice this weekend - two beautiful days - with me inside, swabbing my wounds. As far as I can see, there is no reason for them to exist. Other than to torment me.

Mama Pea said...

Sandy - Thanks for the good tips! We mixed up about four different "potions" last year, all made with natural oils and herbs which I've been trying. The one I used today worked pretty good but you have to reapply it every half hour . . . which I forget to do when I get involved . . . until I start getting bit again. Another couple of weeks and most of the little B______ will have lived out their life cycle. I can hardly wait! :o}

Mama Pea said...

Susan - We're just too sweet. (Huh? No? Oh, I thought that was it.) There's not enough calamine lotion in the world to stop all my itching! :o/

Anonymous said...

JoAnn, We moved to northeast Wa from Mn and always have to laugh when people here complain about mosquitowas and ticks--there virtually none--I tell them they have nothing to complain about: ) Forgotten Corner JoAnn