# Tiny biting black flies



## tasty12

Good Morning

My Husband and I are getting bitten by tiny black flies, the bites are even worse than mosquito bites. Does anyone know what maybe attracting them to our house and what they are as there are hundreds of the little things hanging around the windows of our house


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## The Skipper

tasty12 said:


> Good Morning
> 
> My Husband and I are getting bitten by tiny black flies, the bites are even worse than mosquito bites. Does anyone know what maybe attracting them to our house and what they are as there are hundreds of the little things hanging around the windows of our house


The Spanish will say they are mosquitos as that is what they call every small flying insect! There are, in fact, 2,000 types of mosquito and most of them bite. We have loads of tiny black flies where we live and at first we thought they were sand flies but our friend, a vet, tells us that sand flies don't go more than a few feet off the ground, so probably not. I regularly spray around the house with an agricultural insecticide which keeps their numbers down. It also kills wasps and ants and practically all garden pests, so well worth using. It's called Ralbi-10 and is on sale at agricultural wholesalers. You must follow the instructions carefully because it is powerful stuff! You will also need a sprayer, safety goggles and mask.


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## xabiaxica

We call them 'no-see-ums'

evil little blighters


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## xicoalc

Cou;d be nits?


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## Alcalaina

xicoalc said:


> Cou;d be nits?


Nits are the eggs of head lice. Fortunately they haven't learnt to fly!


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## Alcalaina

xabiachica said:


> We call them 'no-see-ums'
> 
> evil little blighters


Muerde huyes here (literally, bite and flee).


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## Gregorians

tasty12 said:


> Good Morning
> 
> My Husband and I are getting bitten by tiny black flies, the bites are even worse than mosquito bites. Does anyone know what maybe attracting them to our house and what they are as there are hundreds of the little things hanging around the windows of our house


A late reply, but you may find this interesting reading:

Spain hit by plague of blood-sucking black flies


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## angkag

These sound very much like the dreaded sandflies on the West Coast of New Zealand. As the Kiwis say, only way to keep them off is walk around carrying a penguin as bait, eating garlic, covered in Dettol and baby oil.


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## Alcalaina

angkag said:


> These sound very much like the dreaded sandflies on the West Coast of New Zealand. As the Kiwis say, only way to keep them off is walk around carrying a penguin as bait, eating garlic, covered in Dettol and baby oil.



Just to clarify, is it the penguin that is eating garlic etc? We don't have them here, would a cattle egret do?


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## Gregorians

Alcalaina said:


> Just to clarify, is it the penguin that is eating garlic etc? We don't have them here, would a cattle egret do?


Liking your blog, btw.


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## baldilocks

angkag said:


> These sound very much like the dreaded sandflies on the West Coast of New Zealand. As the Kiwis say, only way to keep them off is walk around carrying a penguin as bait, eating garlic, covered in Dettol and baby oil.


Sandflies fly fairly close to the ground (dog height)and carry leishmanosis so not sandflies.


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## Poloss

In the south of France, we're afflicted on hot, humid evenings by tiny, transparent flies. They're almost small enough to go through mosquito netting and don't even buzz to warn you they're coming for your blood. They often go for the face, around the eyes, but any exposed skin will do.

Locally here they're known as "arabis"
According to scientific nomenclature they belong to the Diptere group (two wings like flies & mosquitos), the Ceratopogonides family and Culicoides genus.

Midges. Common in Scottish Highlands, Canada and Scandinavia in the summer.

Traditional mosquito repellants don't stop 'em.
Apparently monoi (Tahiti tiara flower macerated in coconut oil) works. Smells good anyway.


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