Scottish Midges v Ozzie beasties!

[Guest The Angus Clan]

Well , we have waited months for the weather to improve slightly , and finally we have a Scottish summer of sorts - well it's milder and a bit drier! I have been desperate to get the kids outside playing , but now find they won't go out because the garden has been , in their words , "midgified!". Swarms of the little blighters have taken up residency in our back garden! So , the question is , will this stand us in good training for Oz??!! And which are worse- Scottish midges or Ozzie flies?!

[Guest Guest75]

It's not too bad here.

In the warm summer evening you can be unlucky and have the Mozzies around but it's pot luck really.Depends if there is open and still water near to where you live.

There are a few clouds of midgies in the late afternoon here at the moment.Not too bad but I notice I'm getting a little extra protein via my nose as I'm working outside:goofy:

[Guest Deb17]

If you live close to a beach you can find your house getting attacked by swarms of sand flies on warm evenings. In the summer we kept the patio door ajar but don't have a fly screen on it. Next thing we noticed was the ceiling alive and crawling with little hopping bugs. We had to get the Dyson out and hoover them off the ceiling, pesky little blighters. We closed the door and realized the glass was covered in them - they were attracted to the lamps on in the lounge.

Mozzie bites have made me ill and itch like hell.

Flies are around all year, but the blowflies are the worst. We've even resorted to fly papers at times. Bought those Baygon fly control cubes but they were a waste of money. Use a newspaper and squash the critters instead.

[Carole Jolly]

went to the national park near Darwin several years ago and never got bit by a mozzie, went to magnetic island, sat on the beach at night and was ravaged by sand flies, had someone count my bites, got to fifty and gave up.... i hate sand flies... wont be living too close to the beach then!!!

[The Monaghans]

Mozzies aren't too much of a problem if you take precautions, wear insect repellent and light some coils if you're outside. Or be really sensible and cover up at dusk which is when they do their worst. I have to agree it's the flies that are the problem. There is a beautiful children's playground just outside of Noarlunga but we stopped going there in the summer as the flies were a nightmare. They buzz around your face and try to get in your mouth or nose - vile!