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New Hampshire bugs 

By: Decomposed in 6TH POPE | Recommend this post (1)
Sat, 19 Jun 21 1:15 PM | 48 view(s)
Boardmark this board | 6th Edition Pope Board 		Msg. 18907 of 60008
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There is no shortage of biting bugs around here. The season generally begins in April with mosquitoes and ticks. If the weather turns dry and hot, the ticks go away. Otherwise, both bugs are a concern for the entire year.

Black flies emerge from streams in May and stick around until early June. They are just a little bit bigger than gnats and, like gnats, sometimes fly in swarms. Their bite is initially unfelt but itches like a flea bite the next day. An area the size of a 50¢ piece puffs up and lasts two weeks. It often leaves a scar. I've got a lot of black fly scars.

Deer flies last from June until ???? They are the size of houseflies but look like grey moths. These suckers actually take a chunk out of you. Their bites sometimes hurt but, more often, you won't realize you've been bit until you see that you are bleeding. For some reason, deer flies often go for my elbows. Online, it says that they are attracted to the highest point on a person's body and can be distracted if a person wears a hat with a feather or pinwheel in it. But, again, it's been my experience that they bite my elbows.

On Thursday evening, I needed to hook up the flatbed trailer for the first time this year. It's been in the middle of my front yard since last fall. One of its tires loses air. I needed to reinflate it with a bicycle pump. Doing that, and getting the truck attached, took 15 minutes.

My wife pulled forward a few feet so that I could remove the bricks behind the trailer's tires. It was then that I yelped (okay, cursed) as something stabbed me on top of my left hand. Sometimes when you get bit, it's subtle. If the bug gets away, you might wonder if you imagined it until a welt develops. Well, there was nothing subtle about this. It hurt, a LOT. Fortunately, it didn't hurt for too long. There was just the tiniest of marks.

My wife joined me. As I explained what happened, I cursed again. I'd just been bitten on the top of my RIGHT hand. I told her that deer flies were apparently about and we needed to get out of there. We were done anyway, so we went indoors. My hands were fine.

24 hours later both hands started to itch. Itching is not a deer fly bite symptom. Now, Saturday morning, both are still itching and the tops of my hands are swollen like you wouldn't believe.

I think I know the culprits and I'm feeling a little foolish to have not thought about them sooner. I've been bitten or stung by Yellowjackets both of the past two years and they're usually attracted to things that protect them from the rain. I'm about 90% sure that if I check the underside of the flatbed I'm going to find a sizable nest. Maybe more than one. I didn't see them Thursday because there wasn't much light - the sun was going down.

So, in the litany of New Hampshire pests, you can add Yellowjackets. I should have remembered. We've got them too.




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Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months


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