It had some sort of a hideout in my hose reel and when I attempted to reel in the hose on July 28, it bit me twice on my left hand, causing not only extreme pain and swelling but an ominous discoloration that made me seek medical advice by that Saturday.
The deer fly has no stinger, but instead uses scissor-like mouth parts to bite the victim and injects saliva that can carry disease if the deer fly has previously bitten a sick animal. Having heard tales of flesh turning necrotic from insect stings or bites, I was scared by the wound and glad to get a prescription for an antibiotic.
The swelling went down eventually, but there is still a patch of injured skin on my finger that is very slowly reducing in size. The bite near my thumb is still surrounded by a large circle of faded purplish skin.
The other day I saw the same insect on the hose reel and got a chill thinking of all the damage this small creature was able to do. Gardening has always been a pleasant escape for me, but now I am a bit wary of encountering the deer fly again. Apparently these bugs are resistant to insect spray and so retain the upper hand in their chosen territory.
Late summer is prime time for wasp attacks - add to that danger bites from the deer fly. We knew these biting insects when we lived in Millington near the Great Swamp, but encountering one in the city was quite a surprise.
--Bernice
Deer Flies and Black Flies are the "bane" of summer fun in the Adirondacks..they are everywhere. Deer Flies are notoriously aggressive and once they have you in their sights they will not leave you alone...My hometown in the Adirondacks treats for Black Flies, but nothing short of spraying ( illegal in the Adirondack Park ) will keep Deer Flies at bay..Some people are more effected by their bites than others..I don't react nearly as much as you did
ReplyDeleteWhat Rob said! Where I spent my childhood/teen years in the foothills of the Adirondacks, those deer flies were almost as prevalent as mosquitoes. I hope your bites heal soon.
ReplyDeleteOn a separate note, I (who rarely gets bitten by any bugs in the several years) am sporting 5, count 'em, FIVE bites of some type on my left knee/thigh. I have no clue what bit me but each bite looks rather inflamed. I'm going to blame it on wearing shorts back and forth to the surgeon and physical therapy appointments! I'm not a shorts-wearer! Thankfully it's not the new knee replacement knee.
@Jackie,
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the bites. Hope you can get something to stop the pain and inflammation. There are lots of mosquitoes around right now.