When we moved to Fredericton (we moved in July) I was absolutely eaten alive by Wee Bitey Things; David got a few bites as well, but nothing to what I had. I don't think they were quite so bad in the ensuing summers, but still bad enough - horrid little buggers.
Despite liberal application of insect repellent I managed to get a few bites on holiday in Italy last week. The anti-histamine I was taking at the same time seems to have prevented them from becoming too nasty. I still have the scars from a trip to Venice about twenty years ago.
I now have 4 tick bites, a mosquito bite and nettle stings. I managed to rip one of my fingers on rose thorns, discovered I'd been sitting next to a wasp nest under a manhole cover in the garden, and my car battery went dead overnight. That was Tuesday the 13th.
I have survived all this and discovered how to charge a car battery myself without blowing up the car or doing any damage (and thereby saving on callout fees), got the pest control man in for a brisk, efficient dispatch, and the rest will heal. Life is like that sometimes.
There is something in the area, I think it's the Blandford Fly, which can leave quite incredible bites. You don't notice at first but then they itch like crazy, swell and spread. I had blisters from it last year when it took over much of my arm and needed antihistamines. I've never had anything like that kind of reaction from bites before. This is their season but so far none this year, thank God.
You don't notice at first but then they itch like crazy, swell and spread. I had blisters from it last year.
I used to get some bites like that at our last place, in NW Essex. You don't feel the bite, nor see/hear the varmints, but the itch starts, and the redness , and swelling, which spreads to a surprising size. Eventually a blister forms, which bursts and scabs - and becomes infected if you are not careful. They really are the most horrible things.
I found an unusual treatment which suited me.
Although not intended for that purpose, but in lieu of anything else at all suitable in the house, I swabbed it with a tea-tree oil mouthwash (on the basis that if it was gentle enough for the inside of the mouth it wouldn't do much harm to external skin),
It was cooling, which was what I was seeking, and surprisingly quick and effective in healing the sores, and even preventing the blistering if used soon enough.
Since then I have used Tea Tree Oil mouthwash (various brands) successfully as an antiseptic on all sorts of bites and minor skin blemishes.
After we moved, and up to now, I have not needed it for those particular bites
Antihistamine tablets/liquids can work wonders. Check the flu tablets you're able to buy over the counter, but keep the dosage low.
I'm curious, in Australia can you not buy cetirizine, loratidine etc off the shelf? Diphenhydramine is more commonly used for sleep aids here rather than flu tablets - pseudoephedrine is a very effective decongestant without the drowsiness and the UK is one of the few places where you can buy it over the counter. Some night time specific flu medicine contains diphenhydramine still though.
I was told that the best solution for allergies is to use a variety of antihistamines and alternate the types you use in order to target different mast cells. Personally I find nasal antihistamines eg Beconase combined with a tablet (Benadryl Relief, the UK version which is non-drowsy acrivastine is excellent) works best.
Mosquitos do not seem to like me for some reason, yet Mr. Image can sit next to me with the same bug spray and be eaten up. It would be interesting to know if there is a reason or just some strange luck.
Mosquitos do not seem to like me for some reason, yet Mr. Image can sit next to me with the same bug spray and be eaten up. It would be interesting to know if there is a reason or just some strange luck.
It's due to the amount of carbon dioxide in your breath.
I've heard that lemon eucalyptus oil (not a mix of lemon and eucalyptus, it comes from the lemon eucalyptus tree) and neem oil are both better deterrents than citronella oil. Such deterrents basically render you invisible to mosquitoes rather than killing or deterring them as such - good enough for me and avoids DEET killing fish or birds, and leaves mosquitoes for bats and birds to eat.
Horse Flies. Their bites are painful and cause bad reactions.
YES. The wee cleggy bastards try to kill me once every couple of years. Industrial quantities of anti-histamines and usually antibiotics as well. I still have scar tissue from two bites.
Antihistamine tablets/liquids can work wonders. Check the flu tablets you're able to buy over the counter, but keep the dosage low.
I'm curious, in Australia can you not buy cetirizine, loratidine etc off the shelf? Diphenhydramine is more commonly used for sleep aids here rather than flu tablets - pseudoephedrine is a very effective decongestant without the drowsiness and the UK is one of the few places where you can buy it over the counter. Some night time specific flu medicine contains diphenhydramine still though.
I was told that the best solution for allergies is to use a variety of antihistamines and alternate the types you use in order to target different mast cells. Personally I find nasal antihistamines eg Beconase combined with a tablet (Benadryl Relief, the UK version which is non-drowsy acrivastine is excellent) works best.
Certainly, pseudoephedrine is readily available from pharmacies. I can't help you on being able to buy the other things at all, let alone if they're available off the shelf - never tried to buy them.
I found this and indeed I am type A and Mr. Image is type O.
Since, after all, mosquitoes bite us to harvest proteins from our blood research shows that they find certain blood types more appetizing than others. One study found that in a controlled setting, mosquitoes landed on people with Type O blood nearly twice as often as those with Type A.
When I lived in New Hampshire I had a terrible time with mosquito and blackfly bites until I started taking garlic pills. Before I was bitten far more frequently than the people with me. Afterwards I was bitten far less frequently. When I moved to Virginia, the garlic pills seemed to have no effect.
I don't know if biting frequency overlaps at all with mosquito bite allergies. I don't know my blood type (and I can't donate blood in order to find out as I've had ME/CFS which permanently excludes you from blood donation in the UK) but I do get 'skeeter syndrome' or big hard red welts from mosquito bites. However I don't get bitten more than others, the reaction is just worse.
I found this and indeed I am type A and Mr. Image is type O.
Since, after all, mosquitoes bite us to harvest proteins from our blood research shows that they find certain blood types more appetizing than others. One study found that in a controlled setting, mosquitoes landed on people with Type O blood nearly twice as often as those with Type A.
Not quite a controlled test, but close, proved again this evening while attempting some gardening. My wife is A+ and I am O-. I lasted about ten minutes while she stayed out for an hour with hardly any bites.
I don't know if biting frequency overlaps at all with mosquito bite allergies. I don't know my blood type (and I can't donate blood in order to find out as I've had ME/CFS which permanently excludes you from blood donation in the UK) but I do get 'skeeter syndrome' or big hard red welts from mosquito bites. However I don't get bitten more than others, the reaction is just worse.
Yes, I appear to be allergic to mosquito bites and some other flying insects and can have red welts and localised swelling for several days. On Wednesday, 2 days after the bite, my hand had the appearance of an infection but it looks better today. Once on a camping holiday I was bitten on the top of my foot and couldn’t walk for 2 days.
I am also type O+ and get eaten alive all summer long. I have been bitten so much that I seem to have developed a tolerance for them and they don't swell as much as they used to, but the tiger mosquitoes (those little tiny buggers that come out in the day and get right inside your clothes) still itch me to hell.
The army of skeeters flying straight out of Satan's bottom is one reason we are not spending the summer in the South this year.
On a completely different (and admittedly rather more trivial) tack, TICTH understaffed shops, specifically Boots in Linlithgow, where I had to queue for about quarter of an hour just to pay for some contact lens fluid and a toothbrush. Thank God the place has air-conditioning; otherwise it would have been very unpleasant indeed.
It's not a big shop*, but they could really do with another member of staff.
* certainly not big enough for a town with a population of around 15,000: for comparison, Boots in Kirkwall is about twice the size, for a population of about 10,000
On a completely different (and admittedly rather more trivial) tack, TICTH understaffed shops, specifically Boots in Linlithgow, where I had to queue for about quarter of an hour just to pay for some contact lens fluid and a toothbrush. Thank God the place has air-conditioning; otherwise it would have been very unpleasant indeed.
It's not a big shop*, but they could really do with another member of staff.
* certainly not big enough for a town with a population of around 15,000: for comparison, Boots in Kirkwall is about twice the size, for a population of about 10,000
That's not an entirely fair comparison, I feel, given the relative proximity of the two towns to other locations with more and larger branches.
Summer: the season of biting insects, hay fever, semi-perpetual barbecue smoke drifting over gardens and washing lines, thumping music from open windows, people squeezed into shorts that display pallid, flabby limbs and tattoos that look like mouldy graffiti, and a noticeable lack of deodorant and personal hygiene. It's hot weather. FFS at least have a wash in the morning before you go out and inflict your body odour on everyone in the vicinity from several feet away.
On a completely different (and admittedly rather more trivial) tack, TICTH understaffed shops, specifically Boots in Linlithgow, where I had to queue for about quarter of an hour just to pay for some contact lens fluid and a toothbrush. Thank God the place has air-conditioning; otherwise it would have been very unpleasant indeed.
It's not a big shop*, but they could really do with another member of staff.
* certainly not big enough for a town with a population of around 15,000: for comparison, Boots in Kirkwall is about twice the size, for a population of about 10,000
If the checkouts at Tess Coe are really busy, however, I might go to a self-serve Engine of Satan - but I plaintively ask the Nice Lady to help A Poor Feeble Old Man, and that usually works...
I once went to a conference in Nottingham. I realised I'd forgotten to pack a toothbrush so I went to Boot's to get a new one, as you do (or did 30+ years ago). It took ages, not because there were all that many customers but because they all had to have their staff credentials checked for discounts.
Reminds me of time - also some decades ago - when I needed to buy a towel in a hurry (on my way to local baths something like that). Selected towel and took it to the counter. The assistant and I had then to process to a lower floor where a chain-smoking senior assistant entered the purchase in a ledger before I was allowed to pay for it. No, the shop isn't there any more.
Maybe the Saturday staff member didn't turn up this morning?
It was on Friday afternoon.
No self-checkouts (and yes, they are the machines of Beelzebub) - there wouldn't be room for them.
Fair point, @Arethosemyfeet, but Boots is on my way home from work. There is another chemist in the town, but on the other side from where I live, and not particularly well-stocked. As for larger conurbations - would you really want to get on a hot, sticky bus after a busy day at work just to get a couple of things? Me neither.
"Please wait while we verify your bag"
"Surprising item in bagging area"
"Unexpected item in bagging area"
"Please place item in bagging area"
"Someone is coming to help you"
"Do you need more time for your checkout?"
"Don't forget to take your change."
"Don't forget to take your purchases."
"Ha ha, you forgot something on your list. Back you go. See you soon. 😈
It's the sequence that goes -
'Do you want to use your own bag?
Place your bag in the bagging area.
Unexpected item in the bagging area.
Please remove item from the bagging area'
particularly annoys me. Obviously all shopping bags must be completely empty and weigh no more than thistledown.
Mind you, after a week of navigating the crowded aisles and snaking queues of the local supermercado I may look upon them with more charity.
Yes, I usually have to unpack my bag before packing any newly bought items. However, our Morrisons seems to be set up to let you retain some existing light items that you already brought with you.
Around here, the shops that have the mechanised madness check-outs always have one or two extra staff standing by to rescue people from the machines. The economics of this system are unclear to me.
Around here, the shops that have the mechanised madness check-outs always have one or two extra staff standing by to rescue people from the machines. The economics of this system are unclear to me.
Quite. And they (have to) put on their security guard faces! - In comparison, how interesting that I don't risk being humilated at the human-staffed check-outs, where I can have a quick chat with them and exchange a few friendly words. I make it a rule to always thank them using their name, which most here have on display, and they seem to appreciate!
Around here, the shops that have the mechanised madness check-outs always have one or two extra staff standing by to rescue people from the machines. The economics of this system are unclear to me.
Indeed- hence my occasional wistful appeals to the Nice Lady on duty in the Mouth of Hell.
TBF, there's usually only the one Nice Lady to look after the eight Engines of Satan.
Around here, the shops that have the mechanised madness check-outs always have one or two extra staff standing by to rescue people from the machines. The economics of this system are unclear to me.
Quite. And they (have to) put on their security guard faces! - In comparison, how interesting that I don't risk being humilated at the human-staffed check-outs, where I can have a quick chat with them and exchange a few friendly words. I make it a rule to always thank them using their name, which most here have on display, and they seem to appreciate!
Yes. Sometimes, the Nice Lady (or Man) on the checkout is the only other Humming Bean I may speak to during the day, and very often they offer to pack the bags for me - which offer is always taken up, and is much appreciated.
Around here, the shops that have the mechanised madness check-outs always have one or two extra staff standing by to rescue people from the machines. The economics of this system are unclear to me.
Fewer than would otherwise be required I presume.
They're an absolute boon to some people with social anxiety.
Around here, the shops that have the mechanised madness check-outs always have one or two extra staff standing by to rescue people from the machines. The economics of this system are unclear to me.
Fewer than would otherwise be required I presume.
They're an absolute boon to some people with social anxiety.
Yes - as I said, there seems to be one staff member per eight machines at our local Tesco.
As to the social anxiety bit, yes, that too. I recently had a Funny Turn at Tesco, feeling very faint and wobbly. I was able to sit down and recover, whilst the Nice Lady dealt with my shopping. I managed to get home before collapsing in a Humpled Creep on the river bank, but at least I had supplies of food...
I'm still not too keen on the Machines of Beelzebub, though I admit they do have their uses.
Our Sainsbury's has replaced almost all its human checkouts with self-service or scan & shop terminals. There are now maybe 3-4 human ones left but not all are staffed at the same time.
A member of staff said she liked it because it freed staff up to do other things like stacking shelves. I can only say if that's where your interests and enthusiasm lie who am I to try to talk you out of it.
Btw has anyone tried the Amazon shops? They don't seem to do checkouts. I wandered into one in the City of London recently and had to ask to be let out again, not having bought anything.
"Please wait while we verify your bag"
"Surprising item in bagging area"
"Unexpected item in bagging area"
"Please place item in bagging area"
"Someone is coming to help you"
"Do you need more time for your checkout?"
"Don't forget to take your change."
"Don't forget to take your purchases."
"Ha ha, you forgot something on your list. Back you go. See you soon. 😈
All I can say is that I almost always find the self-checkouts easier and faster than going through to a cashier, and I rarely encounter any annoying automated messages.
I agree with BF about the human connection. Before I started going to St Pete's, I could occasionally go the whole weekend without speaking to anyone except the checkout lady/gentleman in Tesco's.
Combined with the commute from hell when I worked in Edinburgh, I don’t think it was terribly good for my general well-being.
Our local supermarkets appear to be trying to push us into a completely self-check situation. Not only have the stations doubled, but there are only two cashiers on duty (for a huge freaking BIG market) and the cashiers are always slower than molasses and don't know how to bag stuff. They are literally less than half the speed of normal cashiers pre-pandemic. I'm sure they are under instruction to take their sweet time... not realizing this is the higher-ups' way of pushing them out of a job.
I have very rarely had issues with self-service checkouts, I think some are just more intuitive to use than others. I'm with those who prefer them so I don't have to talk to anyone. Also ones that give options for using them in other languages are very helpful for tourists.
@Ariel please be mindful that summer is an extremely difficult time for people for whom wearing less is a mental health minefield, such as people with eating disorders and those with self-injury scars. Judgement about people having the audacity to be pale and less than perfectly toned while wearing shorts doesn't help.
I have yet to figure out how one unloads a trolley-load of shopping, and then packs four shopping bags at one of those things.
As the packing surfaces are too low for my back to cope with I never use them, and have walked out leaving my shopping behind when no alternative was offered.
Comments
I have survived all this and discovered how to charge a car battery myself without blowing up the car or doing any damage (and thereby saving on callout fees), got the pest control man in for a brisk, efficient dispatch, and the rest will heal. Life is like that sometimes.
There is something in the area, I think it's the Blandford Fly, which can leave quite incredible bites. You don't notice at first but then they itch like crazy, swell and spread. I had blisters from it last year when it took over much of my arm and needed antihistamines. I've never had anything like that kind of reaction from bites before. This is their season but so far none this year, thank God.
I found an unusual treatment which suited me.
Although not intended for that purpose, but in lieu of anything else at all suitable in the house, I swabbed it with a tea-tree oil mouthwash (on the basis that if it was gentle enough for the inside of the mouth it wouldn't do much harm to external skin),
It was cooling, which was what I was seeking, and surprisingly quick and effective in healing the sores, and even preventing the blistering if used soon enough.
Since then I have used Tea Tree Oil mouthwash (various brands) successfully as an antiseptic on all sorts of bites and minor skin blemishes.
After we moved, and up to now, I have not needed it for those particular bites
I'm curious, in Australia can you not buy cetirizine, loratidine etc off the shelf? Diphenhydramine is more commonly used for sleep aids here rather than flu tablets - pseudoephedrine is a very effective decongestant without the drowsiness and the UK is one of the few places where you can buy it over the counter. Some night time specific flu medicine contains diphenhydramine still though.
I was told that the best solution for allergies is to use a variety of antihistamines and alternate the types you use in order to target different mast cells. Personally I find nasal antihistamines eg Beconase combined with a tablet (Benadryl Relief, the UK version which is non-drowsy acrivastine is excellent) works best.
May I remind everyone that offering medical advice - or even appearing to - is Not Allowed.
Thank you.
Piglet, AS host
It's due to the amount of carbon dioxide in your breath.
I've heard that lemon eucalyptus oil (not a mix of lemon and eucalyptus, it comes from the lemon eucalyptus tree) and neem oil are both better deterrents than citronella oil. Such deterrents basically render you invisible to mosquitoes rather than killing or deterring them as such - good enough for me and avoids DEET killing fish or birds, and leaves mosquitoes for bats and birds to eat.
YES. The wee cleggy bastards try to kill me once every couple of years. Industrial quantities of anti-histamines and usually antibiotics as well. I still have scar tissue from two bites.
Certainly, pseudoephedrine is readily available from pharmacies. I can't help you on being able to buy the other things at all, let alone if they're available off the shelf - never tried to buy them.
Since, after all, mosquitoes bite us to harvest proteins from our blood research shows that they find certain blood types more appetizing than others. One study found that in a controlled setting, mosquitoes landed on people with Type O blood nearly twice as often as those with Type A.
Not quite a controlled test, but close, proved again this evening while attempting some gardening. My wife is A+ and I am O-. I lasted about ten minutes while she stayed out for an hour with hardly any bites.
The army of skeeters flying straight out of Satan's bottom is one reason we are not spending the summer in the South this year.
It's not a big shop*, but they could really do with another member of staff.
* certainly not big enough for a town with a population of around 15,000: for comparison, Boots in Kirkwall is about twice the size, for a population of about 10,000
That's not an entirely fair comparison, I feel, given the relative proximity of the two towns to other locations with more and larger branches.
(I do actually like summer otherwise)
Don't they have self-scan checkouts?
Aren’t they the devil’s invention?
If the checkouts at Tess Coe are really busy, however, I might go to a self-serve Engine of Satan - but I plaintively ask the Nice Lady to help A Poor Feeble Old Man, and that usually works...
It was on Friday afternoon.
No self-checkouts (and yes, they are the machines of Beelzebub) - there wouldn't be room for them.
Fair point, @Arethosemyfeet, but Boots is on my way home from work. There is another chemist in the town, but on the other side from where I live, and not particularly well-stocked. As for larger conurbations - would you really want to get on a hot, sticky bus after a busy day at work just to get a couple of things? Me neither.
Sorry - rant over.
"Surprising item in bagging area"
"Unexpected item in bagging area"
"Please place item in bagging area"
"Someone is coming to help you"
"Do you need more time for your checkout?"
"Don't forget to take your change."
"Don't forget to take your purchases."
"Ha ha, you forgot something on your list. Back you go. See you soon. 😈
'Do you want to use your own bag?
Place your bag in the bagging area.
Unexpected item in the bagging area.
Please remove item from the bagging area'
particularly annoys me. Obviously all shopping bags must be completely empty and weigh no more than thistledown.
Mind you, after a week of navigating the crowded aisles and snaking queues of the local supermercado I may look upon them with more charity.
Quite. And they (have to) put on their security guard faces! - In comparison, how interesting that I don't risk being humilated at the human-staffed check-outs, where I can have a quick chat with them and exchange a few friendly words. I make it a rule to always thank them using their name, which most here have on display, and they seem to appreciate!
Indeed- hence my occasional wistful appeals to the Nice Lady on duty in the Mouth of Hell.
TBF, there's usually only the one Nice Lady to look after the eight Engines of Satan.
Yes. Sometimes, the Nice Lady (or Man) on the checkout is the only other Humming Bean I may speak to during the day, and very often they offer to pack the bags for me - which offer is always taken up, and is much appreciated.
Fewer than would otherwise be required I presume.
They're an absolute boon to some people with social anxiety.
Yes - as I said, there seems to be one staff member per eight machines at our local Tesco.
As to the social anxiety bit, yes, that too. I recently had a Funny Turn at Tesco, feeling very faint and wobbly. I was able to sit down and recover, whilst the Nice Lady dealt with my shopping. I managed to get home before collapsing in a Humpled Creep on the river bank, but at least I had supplies of food...
I'm still not too keen on the Machines of Beelzebub, though I admit they do have their uses.
A member of staff said she liked it because it freed staff up to do other things like stacking shelves. I can only say if that's where your interests and enthusiasm lie who am I to try to talk you out of it.
Btw has anyone tried the Amazon shops? They don't seem to do checkouts. I wandered into one in the City of London recently and had to ask to be let out again, not having bought anything.
Combined with the commute from hell when I worked in Edinburgh, I don’t think it was terribly good for my general well-being.
@Ariel please be mindful that summer is an extremely difficult time for people for whom wearing less is a mental health minefield, such as people with eating disorders and those with self-injury scars. Judgement about people having the audacity to be pale and less than perfectly toned while wearing shorts doesn't help.
As the packing surfaces are too low for my back to cope with I never use them, and have walked out leaving my shopping behind when no alternative was offered.