I hope someone knows the answer Bea because the same thing happens to me. Joe is not affected by whatever this is or mosquitoes either (who attack me something terrible).

Rhonda I'm sorry for you. It's awful.

Same here with mosquitos. Hubs barely gets bit, but fleas love him and not me. We spray our yard for fleas but if there is even one alve it fibds him. Me not so much.

I typically spend about 5 hours outside gardening daily and have to spray myself head to toe. I hate that. I'll probably catch some horrid disease from it.

Carol, thanks for this link. I bet that's what they are. I thought they might be midges all along but when I looked them up on entomology sites they said that all the species cause welts or rashes and said nothing about the burning sensation.

This site nailed it. So Rhonda, you and I are loved by midges…oh, joy! I so wish they'd hate us.

They love me too, so I always spray repellent on my feet, ankles and lower legs.

well dang it...that's what I was afraid they might be.

A little off topic but last week the news had a story on a recent study done to see why mosquitos like some people over others. They tried to say that mosquitos preferred type O blood and bit people with O blood the most. I don't agree. Joe has O and never gets bitten. My son and I both are A- and get attacked like mad.

Carol, interesting web site.... I learned that the biting midges are called “five-O’s (related to biting around 5 PM) in Florida and Alabama".

Bea, this year they are so bad in my yard except mid-day, that I have created an anti-bites costume: white/light colored, including socks, longish pants and long sleeved blouse. Spray deet on wrists and hands, on and above the socks, and wipe some along my chin.

Someone on this forum suggested this clothing ploy in a past year, but this is the first year I've had to resort to it full-time (except in strong breezes... I'm looking forward to hurricane activity!).

I'm looking at it as the price I have to pay for the warm winter and wet spring that has given me the most abundant flower production in my 17 years with this yard.

My new favorite fix for a bite is an ice cube.

I woke up last night with something stinging me painfully on my left ankle. It burned like crazy, and it kept hurting for a long time. I had gotten bit by redbugs on my other ankle the day before, but killed them easily with my castor oil/coconut oil/tea tree oil mixture. This was odd, though, and for awhile, I thought I had been bit by a spider. Finally, a small welt came up and it only had one hole, so not a spider. It never turned red, only had slight swelling. It just burned, even a ways up the side of my leg. I've never felt anything like that. Anyone have a clue what that might have been? There was nothing in the bed that I could find.

No see um are worst in the morning as the sun rises and sunset if there is no breeze. I find wearing lemongrass oil helps but not when they a real bad. I find the dry spray repellant work better than the wet ones. A lastly if you are going to be working in an area for a while bring a fan...they have battery operated ones that last for hours on some D cells. I have a good sized all metal fan and an extention cord.