iaink

New research gives me hope that Canada could yet become a far more pleasant place to call home....


Is it just me or are the mozzies just awful this year; huge, hungry and more numerous than usual?

MillieF

iaink...they are terrible this year, and neither my husband or I can ever remember being bitten so badly. Colleagues tell me that it's the same every year if there is a long winter, and short spring....will the irritating vestiges of this winter never go away...just when you think you are finally free of it...it comes back to, literally, bite you in the bum

colchar

Since I am yet to see one this year I am going to go ahead and say no.

SchnookoLoly

We went to my cousin's for a barbecue on Saturday evening.

We all got eaten alive. It was completely ridiculous. The OFF will be applied more liberally than normal this year. *shudder*

Teaandtoday5

Completely agree. Kept inside this lunchtime by some really ginormous ones. Not sure I've got any blood left. Haven't found any repellent that seems to help much, long sleeves etc make no difference.

Oakvillian

Yup. Round here they've been much more in evidence than usual. Big hungry MoFo's as well.

I was at a Cub camp last weekend just outside Milton, everyone got absolutely bitten to pieces despite gallons of mozzie spray everywhere. Somehow the message of "keep your tent zipped up at all times otherwise the mosquitoes will get in and lie in wait for you" didn't get through to a bunch of overexcited boys - what a surprise! Most of the adults were OK, but some of the kids were absolutely covered in bites on the Saturday morning.

Novocastrian

Where is your cousin's place? I ask because, like colchar, we don't have any (yet?).

iaink

Glad to hear the restraining order has been lifted

Atlantic Xpat

Nar mozzies here on The Rock. The blackflies make up for it though....

SchnookoLoly

Burlington

BristolUK

Hopefully the guardian's Jessica Valenti won't see it or there'll be hell to pay.

Shirtback

Not been bothered here either yet.

We did get swarmed, devoured & run off a mountain by effing black flies last week. But that's par for the course/our fault for being up the darn mountain in "spring"...
S

Hawk13

None on the Island unless you're in the bush.

MikeUK

I have some DEET no longer needed....
can post it on if you need it

Oakvillian

you jest, but... Scouts Canada are absolutely paranoid about "propriety" - for good reason, frankly, given all the very unpleasant recent history of abuse.

It becomes a bit idiotic at times, though: a leader is not allowed to be in sole charge of a cub (except his own children) in any circumstances. That has some annoying implications. For example, this weekend, one of the cubs in my pack lives with his (single) mother and his elder brother. The brother is old enough to be responsible for him at home, but not old enough to drive. The mother works in a veterinary surgery and is often at work until 9.30 or so in the evening. Neither my co-leader nor I (who both live round the corner from this kid, who is in the same class as both of our boys) were "allowed" to offer to give him a ride to cub camp.

But it was quite alright for us to call another boy's father, who lives a bit further away, to ask if he'd be able to give him a lift, which he was happy to offer. This dad, of course, has no police check or vulnerable sector screen or whatever. But because he's not in Scout uniform, nobody bats an eyelid. Silly, really, but rules is rules and it's more than my job's worth etc etc etc...