ANSWERS BACK - Q&A with Rentokil Entomologist, Matthew Green about biting and stinging insects - get ready to scratch...

[RachelMumsnet]

As we are entering the height of the wasp and ant season, we've called in Rentokil and we're running a Q&A with Rentokil's entomologist Matthew Green about biting and stinging insects.

To help parents manage the risk of wasps, Rentokil's interactive UKWaspWatch map tracks sightings of wasps to create a picture of wasp hotspots across the country. This year, Rentokil has teamed up with The Anaphylaxis Campaign (the UK charity focused on helping people living with severe allergies) and will donate 20p to the charity every time a person logs a wasp or wasps' nest sighting onto UKWaspWatch throughout the summer. The site also includes information on what parents should do if their child is stung. If you discover a wasp nest, Rentokil offer a next working day (Mon-Fri) service. Book on-line for a discount.

So if fleas have you hopping or you are worried about stinging insects or biting nasties such as bed bugs and mosquitoes turning a relaxing break into the holiday from hell please post your questions on this thread to Matthew before the end of day Thursday 28th July 2011 and we'll be linking to his answers from this thread in early August.

[Bibbit]

Help. I can't get rid of hide beetles! Please please please give me your top tips for getting rid. I have already had the council in to spray but they survived!

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

why do wasps and bees make a bee line for me? I get a large local reaction every time and the reactions are getting larger. Is there anything I can do to avoid being stung?

[DoodleAlley]

Why do I get bitten so much more than DH or DS? In fact DH claims I am his best anti bite solution because they are busy biting me.

Also most bites I have go red and solon to varying degrees and sometimes hard. In fact two weeks ago I got bitten by some nasty bug on Anglesey and it properly bled and over the course of a week the red patch elongated down the back of my arm. Two weeks on it still itches sometimes.

Should I be concerned of increasing sensitivity? This would be a great concern as I get bitten so much.

Thank you

[DoodleAlley]

"Swollen" not "Solon", sorry

[HauntedLittleLunatic]

I have 2 questions....one of which is similar to one being asked.

I have a 10yo that is petrified of flying /creepy crawly things - even butterflies...any tips to help her?

Second - dd3 seems to attract bites at night (presumeably mossies) to the point that she never gets just 1 bite and normally ends up looking like she has chicken pox. Are there any products I can use in her room at night/permanently (rentokil or otherwise) which would act as a deterrent? I know you can get the travel plug things for holidays but I was thinking about something which could be used permanently kind of like a glade air freshener block or similar (if it doesn't exist maybe that's a product development idea and you can pay me lots of money for the idea ). Anything would do....she is 5 BTW and don't really want to use a mossie net everynight as she is top bunk.

Thanks

[GreatGooglyMoogly]

I also have two questions:

What is the best way to remove a tick?

What is the best thing to apply to wasp/ bee stings?

[IwishIwasmoreorganised]

Please, please answer the ants in the garden question! We have red and black ants, and while the black ones are very unpleasant for the dc, the red ones are quite viscious when they're disturbed.

Also mosquito / other bitey insects seem to target me much more than DH, and this year when we were in Portugal, ds1 (aged 5 ) got botten several times for the first time ever. I took antihistimines for a few days before we went aswll as while we were there so didn't react as badly as usual. His swelled up nastily and really bothered him. He seemed to get some by the pool during the day, so the plug in things wouldn't have stopped them - I'm sure I heard once that taking vitamin b supplements for a couple of weeks before your holiday works as a preventative, is there any truth in this?

[fluffyanimal]

Hi, another question: do all species of bee sting, or is it only honey bees? I once heard that bumblebees don't sting, but I'm not sure if it's a myth.
thanks!

[B52s]

My question - why does nobody else believe me when I say I was bitten by a ladybird - it crawled up my leg and got me good in the nether regions. Is there a venom in ladybirds or is it the yellow stuff they can squirt out of their legs?

[Megfox]

RISK of wasps.....?

Oh, for goodness sake; teach your children to leave wasps alone and they won't be stung!

Very FEW people react seriously to wasp or bee stings, anyway. Why, then, would anyone fret thermselves so much about the remote possibility of a sting.....?

[fluffyanimal]

I believe you B52s! I've been bitten several times by ladybirds, they do have jaws for catching aphids after all, and they will nip if they feel threatened (though it's not bad and I'm pretty sure they don't inject any kind of venom). I think the yellow stuff is also a defence mechanism (i thought it was poo) - my DS discovered it this weekend, didn't stop him wanting to pick them up all the time however!

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Megfox, I have tried to teach that principle to my dd. I did not flap, I stayed very still and the bugger crawled up my armpit and stung me. I fear most of the county heard my shriek I seem to get stung yearly. Last time was quite exciting, the majority of my foot swelled for about 2 weeks and for several days I could barely walk on it. Getting a little harder to stay calm!

[VenetiaLanyon]

Hello,

Why do some people attract midges more than others, and what are the most effective preventative measures to take? (plug ins, sprays, wrist bands etc).

Also, I had some midge-looking bites a couple of years ago, after playing golf in a grassy field, which carried on itching for about a year; what might this have been?

Thanks

[curlywurl]

How harmful are fleas to humans in the UK? Is there anything nasty they tend to pass on in this country?

We have treated our dogs with Frontline Spot on but are still finding afew fleas on the lounge carpet. I don't really want to use loads of chemicals on the carpet where our baby rolls round all day.

The fleas we find are quite drunk looking or dead already so I assume that's the effect of the treatment we used on the dogs.

Are we best just waiting a while or is there something safe we can use on the carpet? Thanks

[Waltons]

megfox

But when they do, and suffer anaphylactic shock, it is life-threatening and totally terrifying - I have seen it and dealt with it at first hand. That's why people "fret themselves", and you don't know you are allergic to either sting until it happens.

Matthew, I have two questions for you, please?

The first is "on topic", which is what on earth are wasps for? Do they serve any useful purpose in the overall scheme of things?

The second question is "off topic". I fear that I have either a mouse or cockroaches in my house, because I am finding small black droppings here and there. A mouse wouldn't be a surprise - they have got in before and we are in a rural area, but I would be feeling really ill if it were to be cockroaches. I've only tackled them one before - imported from mum-in-law's house - and it was disgusting! Luckily I got on to it very quickly and drowned the lot. Would I see evidence of their activity, and at what time of day? Where do they tend to lurk? How can I identify the droppings of either? I have Googled, needless to say, but I am not much wiser from all the "photos with rulers".

Many thanks for reading this, and to MN Towers for setting up this Q&A.

[scrappydappydoo]

psst Haunted here :)

[HauntedLittleLunatic]

Ty perfect. Will look for it when next in Tesco.

[suzannened]

Hi, we have a problem with ticks which seem to be coming from the deer in the fields around us. We are trying to keep said deer out but is there a way of killing off the ticks that are already in the garden? DS has already had Lymes following a bite this year
Thanks

[Lippy1]

Hi Matthew
My husband is a very allergic person, and so I am completely mum-paranoid about my 20-month old daughter suffering from the same allergies as him. I'm worried about reaction to bee and wasp stings, is there anything I can do to arm myself to this effect?

[Kveta]

further to my original ant query, today my garden is a writhing mass of flying ants - my 22 month old has been eating them, which is beyond repulsive, as well as bringing yet more of the ruddy things into the house. Is there any way to rid ourselves of the winged ant problem without just nuking the garden? thanks :)

[Earwiggy]

Ants - last night I noticed lots of big flying ants in the kitchen and realised they were coming out from under the fridge. On pulling it put out I found about 2 inch deep sand piled up to the skirting boards. We shovelled it out and didn't find many more ants so perhaps not the nest itself? The ants appear to be nesting under the patio directly outside the kitchen but we can't see where they are coming in despite watching them for quite a while.

So is this activity likely to damage our house and why are they leaving piles of sand in our kitchen?

[RachelMumsnet]

Hi there

You can read the answers to the questions sent in at the transcribed Q&A here:

Q&A on insects and bugs with Rentokil's entomologist, Matthew Green

[HauntedLittleLunatic]

Bah can't believe he said he wishes he had taken art instead of history!