Getting bitten on the allotment

I am not sure whether this has any influence - and it might not be of any huge help - but this year there has been a significant increase in insects such as gnats, mosquitos and midges as the weather has been perfect for them. Bluetongue is now in the news in an outbreak near my hometown - it is carried by biting insects and has never appeared in our climate before. Times are a-changing. If you havent come out in big swellings with mozzies before - keep an eye out for horse-flies they can be nasty little watsits. Goodluck Darryluk - I hope you find the source of your problems

Are you sure you are being bitten? A fellow volunteer found that she had a bad reaction to parsnip leaves, so check what plants/weeds you have got.

My husband is allergic to Ivy - if he only brushes against it, he comes out in an itchy rash - like hives, sometimes worse. You could indeed have an allergy as vounteer says.

i have an allotment and am also getting bitten -its not gnats its not mosquitoes its something else that leaves a small red dot on yous skin then it becomes itchy and sor not at all like a mosquito bite then it swells over the next few days -this is my experience -i am trying to find what the thing is as it only starts to bite around dusk like a mosquito but i do know what a mosquito looks like - i did see a small fly about 5 mm long on my shin which did look as if it was trying to bite me but i killed it before time .i'm sitting here now with about 4 very sore itchy red inflamed areas on my legs and wrist - i will try and track down what it is - but by no stretch of the imagination is it a midge or mosquito

101 - did you ever find out what it was that was biting you? I've just dug in a load of compost / manure mix and now these flies have appeared and I'm getting exactly the same symptoms as you with the bites. Did they stay around long, how did you get rid of them, any advice gratefully received.