Our grandson will be touring southern England, southern and south-west Ireland, and Cardiff, Wales, in June and early July, 2002. Are there biting insects anywhere there that would require carrying insect repellent? Any info would be greatly appreciated. W. J. Stell

Since your query has sunk to no. 81 without a reply, I'll provide one, even though my geography and schedule were a bit different. <BR><BR>Last summer, in late July and early August, we toured London, Stratford, Hay-on-Wye (Wales), Cardiff, Bath, and Salisbury. Never saw a biting or stinging bug even once, though at the museum of Welsh life near Cardiff there were plenty of flies. We stayed at a lovely townhouse in London that didn't even have screens in the windows. Four of us traveled for 3 weeks without a single mosquito (or other) bite.

Insect bites won't be a problem, unless we have a weird tropical heatwave and you decide to camp next to water. In the unlikely event of this happening, any chemist shop you come across (eg Boots) will be armed to the teeth with every possible repellant and and sting ease for the locals to take on their travels to warmer climes.

At that time of year and in those parts of the country you should be fine, but if you go to the Highlands of Scotland in August/September you will be eaten alive. It's best to wear a midge veil and to put on loads of insect repellent.

Wait and buy repellent over there, as the formula is different. It's unlikely he'll need it, but if he does any hiking, it's not a bad idea.

Ann, why assume that the formula over there is better just becaues it's different? There's also a chance that the British insect repellent is less effective than the US formula. I say buy both, put one on each arm to test!

There is one, and only one, chemical that has been shown to be both safe and effective as an insect repellant and it's in all of the major brands, so it's unlikely that the "formula" will be different in the UK or anywhere else. They all contain N,N-diethylmetatoluamide, better known as DEET, and the only real difference is how much a particular brand contains.<BR><BR>In anticipation of responses: (1)no, citronella doesn't really work much; (2) yes, permethrin works, but it's a mild insecticide, not a repellant; (3) and no, Avon Skin-so-Soft doesn't work either - or rather, it never used to work. It became so much of an urban (rural?) myth as a repellant that they actually changed the formula to include a little bit of a semi-real repellant (citronella, I think).

I lived in England for 5 years and never (except on a couple of summer trips to NW Scotland) needed any type of insect repellant - don't worry about it.<BR><BR>One thing to watch out for though are stinging nettles. I had never seen these before moving to the UK.

What are "stinging nettles"?<BR>Are they dangerous? Do they have them in London? <BR><BR>More info needed!!!!!

Relax, stinging nettles are a plant that you'll only encounter on wild country hikes.

There is a picture of a stinging nettle at http://www.fishing-in-wales.com/_pics/plantpic/sumrpics/stingnet.jpg<BR><BR>They are found in woods, hedge bottoms and on waste ground. The sting is quite painful but doesn't last long and you get urticaria bumps on your skin. In England we often call what Americans call "hives", "nettle rash". The traditional remedy is to rub the sting with a dock leaf. Oddly enough, the two plants often grow close together.<BR>As somebody else said, you're unlikely to meet any in London.

Thank you Suzy and Sylvia - Panic Over! (But I feel a bit foolish now actually). <BR><BR>So are there no nasties in England? (Going to London, York & Edinbirgh)<BR>What about France(Paris) and Italy (Venice?) Will there be stinging insects there at all? spiders? poisonous snakes? <BR><BR>note... must learn to relax more!

Jen, I never said (read my post) that one was better than the other.<BR><BR>Anyway, here is the basis of my premise: My sister has hiked all over the world, and works guiding tours in the UK at the moment. She used to do the same at various spots in the US. She said that she once made the mistake of using insect repellent that she had bought in England while in the US. She said it was completely ineffective. Curious, she tried it the other way, with the same results.

I live in Birmingham (UK), not far from Stratford. Just came back from the park 2 hours ago, and there certainly were midges there! I suggest he carry some insect repellant.<BR>THe stuff is international, I assure you.