The biting activity of adult biting midges is mainly limited to the periods of dawn and dusk; they will remain inactive through very windy weather, finding shelter amongst vegetation. Biting midges will usually disperse only short distances from their breeding sites. Only female midges feed on blood, but both the females and males will feed on vegetable fluids and nectar. Adult midges are 1.5-4.0 mm long with stout short legs, and at rest fold their wings, which are often mottled, over the abdomen. Their mouthparts are short and projected down. Female midges may attack humans in large numbers, biting on any areas of exposed skin and often on the face, scalp and hands. Some species will blood feed on a wide range of animal hosts. The egg batches contain between 30-100 eggs and are laid on selected substrates such as mud, decaying leaf litter, damp soil or other vegetative materials, dependent on the species. The small eel-like larvae hatch in a few days; their larval habitat must contain a proportion of organic material with a high moisture content to provide optimum conditions for the larval stage to thrive and pupate. The whole life cycle takes 3-10 weeks, dependent on species and environmental conditions, particularly temperature.
Clinical Presentation
Biting midges are responsible for acute discomfort, irritation and severe local reactions. Itching may commence immediately after the bite, but often not for some hours later and most individuals are unaware of being bitten at the time. Biting midges have their greatest impact on people arriving to an area or tourists. Local residents seem to build up some immunity to the biting. In some sensitive people, midges can produce persistent reactions that blister and weep serum from the site of each bite and these reactions may last for several days to weeks. Biting midges are not known to transmit any disease-causing pathogens to humans in Australia
Vector Management for Biting Midge and Mosquitoes
In a similar way to Bistar, Brigade has extended residual
activity that controls target insects via contact and ingestion
for up to 8 weeks. The residual nature permits pest control over
longer periods when compared to traditional insecticides.
The odourless, liquid formulation is specifically designed for turf
managers to achieve uniform distribution across the turf
surface to enhance the degree of insect control. In addition,
the suspension concentrate formulation contains no harsh
solvents that have potential to cause damage to both the
turf and the environment.
Midge Control From $100.00 Call Paul 65815838 or 0433420014
