Bug bites while at Paddock Square

[CSB1228]

Every time I've been to Paddock Square in the past 3 months I have been bitten with some little bugs. The bites don't appear until after about 24 hours. They itch something awful for about 3 days. This only happens after being to Paddock Square not the other squares. Anyone else out there having this problem???

[Uptown Girl]

I could be wrong, but if you are being bitten about the feet and lower legs, it may be those very tiny reddish ants the locals call
'p*ss- ants'.
You usually don't feel them on your skin until after they bite, bite, bite. Then it stings, or itches for days- sometimes causing tiny blisters where they chomped.
They are usually defending their ant hill, so in open places, it's best to keep
an eye to where your feet rest. (even cracks in the sidewalk)

I watch carefully now as I was bitten like crazy while choosing our palm at the nursery. I unknowingly stepped on the little ant hill, then stood there (in my sandals) admiring a tree. They got me good. :(

[CSB1228]

I could be wrong, but if you are being bitten about the feet and lower legs, it may be those very tiny reddish ants the locals call
'p*ss- ants'.
You usually don't feel them on your skin until after they bite, bite, bite. Then it stings, or itches for days- sometimes causing tiny blisters where they chomped.
They are usually defending their ant hill, so in open places, it's best to keep
an eye to where your feet rest. (even cracks in the sidewalk)

I watch carefully now as I was bitten like crazy while choosing our palm at the nursery. I unknowingly stepped on the little ant hill, then stood there (in my sandals) admiring a tree. They got me good. :(

Got me on my arms also. Don't think they're ants.

[tippyclubb]

It could be noseeums. Nasty little bugs with an awful bite that last for days as you described.

I get bit by them just about every time I visit Florida. I was pretty well bitten up by the time I reached TV in Sept so I really can't say if I was bitten at Paddock Square, or not.

The only thing that gave some relief was rubbing undiluted vinegar on the bites. Forget about buying any over the counter lotions as they do not work.

Are the bites mainly on your feet and legs, or do you have them on your upper body parts as well?

[tippyclubb]

Got me on my arms also. Don't think they're ants.

Okay sounds like noseeums and this is exactly what happens to me. Arms, hands, legs, feet and sometimes my face. Its very painful.

You can Google noseeums, but unfortunately not much can be done other than treating the area with spray chemicals. I tried using bug repellent with 25% deet and they still bite me.

[jbdlfan]

I've personally never tried this but have been told that dryer sheets will keep them away. People I golf with said they put them in their hats!

[buggyone]

Deep Woods Off is a very good spray-on protection against no-see-ums. I use it when I go to Sanibel Island where the no-see-ums will eat you alive if you go out at dawn or dusk.

[tippyclubb]

Deep Woods Off is a very good spray-on protection against no-see-ums. I use it when I go to Sanibel Island where the no-see-ums will eat you alive if you go out at dawn or dusk.


That is exactly what I use and it does not help. Hopefully, the OP can use it and it will stop the no-see-ums from biting. The bites are very nasty and painful. Good luck OP and hope the repellent works for you.

[tommy steam]

I could be wrong, but if you are being bitten about the feet and lower legs, it may be those very tiny reddish ants the locals call
'p*ss- ants'.
You usually don't feel them on your skin until after they bite, bite, bite. Then it stings, or itches for days- sometimes causing tiny blisters where they chomped.
They are usually defending their ant hill, so in open places, it's best to keep
an eye to where your feet rest. (even cracks in the sidewalk)

I watch carefully now as I was bitten like crazy while choosing our palm at the nursery. I unknowingly stepped on the little ant hill, then stood there (in my sandals) admiring a tree. They got me good. :(

I would say that these little reddish ants are fire ants. Very nasty little guys. They are all over . If you do disturb their mound they will swarm out and attack the offending party with nasty stinging bites. Google fire ants.

[cquick]

Every time I've been to Paddock Square in the past 3 months I have been bitten with some little bugs. The bites don't appear until after about 24 hours. They itch something awful for about 3 days. This only happens after being to Paddock Square not the other squares. Anyone else out there having this problem???

I have been chewed up at my house while putting out Christmas lights. I didn't even think about putting bug spray on. My legs, my arms, and boy did they itch! I put on spray yesterday, but I must have missed my neck, and I got nailed on the side of my neck.

I think they are mosquitos.

[jblum315]

i saw mosquitoes early this morning for the first time since I've lived here. Saw them on a white wall at Seabreeze.Very tiny mosquitoes and they did not attack me. I know TV sprays for mosquioes, so I was surprised to see them. Fire ants can be very nasty. Little spiders cause itchy bites too. Noseeums are the worst because you don't even know you've been bitten until it starts to itch c

[Golfingnut]

I could be wrong, but if you are being bitten about the feet and lower legs, it may be those very tiny reddish ants the locals call
'p*ss- ants'.
You usually don't feel them on your skin until after they bite, bite, bite. Then it stings, or itches for days- sometimes causing tiny blisters where they chomped.
They are usually defending their ant hill, so in open places, it's best to keep
an eye to where your feet rest. (even cracks in the sidewalk)

I watch carefully now as I was bitten like crazy while choosing our palm at the nursery. I unknowingly stepped on the little ant hill, then stood there (in my sandals) admiring a tree. They got me good. :(

Your talking about fire ants.

[SarFred]

They are probably no-see-ums. The thing that definitely works in deflecting them is Avon's "Skin so Soft!" We found this out on a trip to Ft. Myers.. they are really everywhere in Florida, but a gentleman who lived at the place we were camping gave us some Skin So Soft and voila! No no-see-ums!! It really does work.

[e-flyer]

I saw a pickup truck driving through Pinellas spraying insecticide on Thursday night around 8pm when we were taking a walk….ugh. This was the first time I've seen any spraying in TV. Not complaining about spraying for bug control, but wish they would have waited until midnight when the streets are empty so we didn't have to suck it in our lungs. The wind blew it right at us as he drove by.

[Carl in Tampa]

They are probably no-see-ums. The thing that definitely works in deflecting them is Avon's "Skin so Soft!" We found this out on a trip to Ft. Myers.. they are really everywhere in Florida, but a gentleman who lived at the place we were camping gave us some Skin So Soft and voila! No no-see-ums!! It really does work.

:agree:

Avon Skin So Soft began life as a bath oil. Then someone discovered that applying it to their skin right out of the bottle kept mosquitoes off of them.

As time went by literally dozens of other uses were found for SOS. One of the first ones I recall was removing the residue of band-aid tape from the skin. There is a web site that lists 100 uses, including personal use, household use, pet use and even polishing horses hoofs. That is at Household, Health and Beauty Uses for AVON Skin So Soft- Kitchen Crafts 'n' More (http://www.kitchencraftsnmore.net/skinsosoft.html)

Apparently, Avon has modified the SOS formula to enhance the mosquito repellent properties and now produces a SOS Bug Guard.AVON - SKIN SO SOFT Bug Guard Plus Picaridin Pump Spray (http://shop.avon.com/product.aspx?newdept=&s=AV_GGL_PLA&c=iProspect&otc=03674380_BathBody_insectRepellants&bnd=&pf_id=31314&level1_id=300&level2_id=303&pdept_id=344&dept_id=421) I can't attest to the effectiveness of the Bug Guard, but I have successfully used the original SOS as a mosquito repellent in the past.

:thumbup: