Insect bites

[matthew]

Keep getting bites on the ankle at night and it is unbelievably itchy.

We have no pets but gets very warm in my room so leave the window open quite often. Any idea what it could be? They f***ing love ankles.

 

[Hillian1]

Keep getting bites on the ankle at night and it is unbelievably itchy.

We have no pets but gets very warm in my room so leave the window open quite often. Any idea what it could be? They f***ing love ankles.

Sounds like bed bugs.

Is your bed a divan type bed? If yes, remove the drawers and shine a torch up into the corners, you may not like what you see.

 

[Doc Lynam]

First thought Vampire Bats.

 

[Titus]

Cat fleas I expect. Buy some Doom.

 

[Manx Shearwater]

Ankle bites suggest you are getting them from the carpet when you walk around, but they don't flare up until you go to bed.

It does sound like cat or dog fleas, but you say you have no pets? Has anyone brought their pet round recently, or a stray moggy nipped in through an open door while you weren't looking?

 

[mune ni kamome]

Sounds like mosquito bites to me. Keep the windows closed and use a fly spray about an hour before you go to bed.

 

[matthew]

Mosquito bites?!

Could be fleas my Nan's dog comes round oft times.

 

[Lady Gull]

Take an anti histamine tablet that will stop the itchiness but close the window tonight and see if it makes a difference - I very much doubt it's bed bugs if it's just on your ankles - the bites would be all over your body not just confined to your ankles

 

[salty seagull]

This happened to a friend of mine. At first, like yourself, it was just the ankles. He too didn`t have any pets so he assumed it was from something outside of the home and he tried to ignore it. Then one night he woke up and according to his wife he was screaming, Scrrreeeaaaammmiinnnggg in absolute agony. "Help me! Help me!, Heeeeelllllppppppp!!! Lord take me from this PAAAAAIIIIIIIN!!! "Anyway, you can say what you like about the Catholic Church, but they gave him a lovely send-off. Hope this helps. (ps, if you think your season ticket might be up for grabs soon, please pm me the details, thanks.)

 

[binky]

To check if it's fleas in the carpet, put a pair of white socks on and stand on the carpet. some will jump on attracted to the warmth, and they will be visible.
To check for bed bugs, put the electric blanket on, (or put a hot water bottle in the bed), to make it nice and cosy. Wait 20 minutes or so, then rip the covers off. You'll have a little less than a second to see the tiny black mites dissapearing.
It is said that you can use a bar of soft soggy soap to catch them as they scuttle off, but that's never worked for me, My reflexes are too slow.

Ankle bites do suggest it's fleas in the carpet though, which implies a cat infestaton as well as the insects.

Cats are a little easier to spot as they are slightly larger, although they are much wilier when it comes to hiding from view.
To check if you have a cat infestation, you must place some food irresistable to felines in a bowl in a well lit location. Bang a fork on the edge of the bowl, then hide behind the curtains. When the cat appears, you may take photographic evidence of the infestation for the authorities.

On no account attempt to deal with a cat infestation by yourself.
Cats are equiped with a number of deadly attack weapons, ranging from an endearing soft buzzing sound at one end of the scale to razor sharp paw appendages at the other.

 

[00snook]

Wear socks to bed?

 

[SeagullinExile]

could well be Mozzies if you have your window open at night, plenty around at the moment, even in the UK. I spend a lot of time in Asia, and really suffered with bites around my ankles at first. I realised that the locals were mostly untouched, i was told that it was because the locals eat a lot of chillis etc. I tried eating more spicy food and it seemed to work! Don't ask me why, but i'm hardly bitten at all now.

If any of you more medically minded out there know why this is the case, i'd love to know!

 

[terryberry1]

I got bit twice on my arm last week, at first I thought it was mozzies but when my arm swelled to double the size i went to the quacks. Was told that it is likely to be bites from a spider. Apparently because of all the rain we have had this year we have seen a massive influx of Mozzies and all sorts of tropical insects.

 

[Gullys Cats]

It's all the Poxy rain we have had

 

[Gazwag]

Probably mozzies, best thing to stop the itching is Cinnamon oil, works a treat, you only need a small dab of it on each bite.

 

[SeagullinExile]

Ankle bites suggest you are getting them from the carpet when you walk around, but they don't flare up until you go to bed.

It does sound like cat or dog fleas, but you say you have no pets? Has anyone brought their pet round recently, or a stray moggy nipped in through an open door while you weren't looking?

Mozzies love the ankles too...big fat veins to tap into when your body temp is high.