GRRR! Biting Insects!!!

Extreme
Plenty
ITCHY!
Colossal

*Mini blog post re bloody annoying insects - feel free to ignore!

I am currently suffering from, what Kirsten has christened, manky-foot-itis, caused primarily by the amazing array of insects that bite over here.

Insects play a significant part in overlanding, something you just have to deal with. Therefore I've decided to dedicate a wee blog entry just for them.

The least annoying bite is that of red ants. Pain is instantaneous, over quickly and usually doesn't leave a big mark - just a pin-prick red spot. So far, me and the ants have played nice and I've only had two or three bites from them.

Next up is the mosquito. In my case, I get bitten and about 10mins later I'm aware that there is a raised angry white lump in a surrounding red area. Bites are slightly itchy but ignorable. I'm not really being affected by these as the repellant seems to be warding them off.

Third bugger on the list is the horsefly. Again this bite goes unnoticed, (by me at least), usually until the next day. Then a huge ugly red circle is visible and itches quite a bit. Again luckily, I have only had one of these bites to date.

Top prize for most irritating bite has to go to the f'ing sandfly, who has my poor legs destroyed. I've had plenty of bites over the past few weeks. Insect repellent does not seem to work on these persistent buggers. They bite, I don't notice, but next day there's an angry red welt that immediately blisters after a few hours (even without scratching). It also continuously weeps for days on end. They are horrendously itchy to the point of driving you insane. I've tried creams, sprays, toothpaste, oils and nothing can soothe or help heal the bite - fecking unreal!! Some of my bites are two weeks old and haven't yet healed, one even keeps reblistering. Reckon I'll have a few scars from 'em. Ken is also suffering badly from the sandfly. His blisters were more extreme than mine - one blister was colossal, about the size of a euro coin, and needed large gauze bandaging once it erupted to prevent infection. Yuck.

We have concluded there must be something fairly tasty in Irish blood. Nom nom!!