My small flock seem to be plagued by midges. When I went out to check on them this morning I got bitten 3 times.
Bitten 3 times, huh?
Yesterday morning we were sorting the first of the fat lambs to go away this year (
) and the midges were out in force. The very idea of being able to identify
and count individual bites when every exposed micron of skin is swarming with the wicked things made me shout out loud with laughter when I read your post, HMcM!
My personal tactic is Marmite. I've been told that they don't like the taste of you if you eat Marmite. I still get bitten but seeing how the others around me are acting I suspect they are getting more bites than me.
I do tell the people that I work with about the Marmite. I just make sure I eat more of it than they do
As to the poor sheep, yes the things run them ragged - ours hide their heads in the reshes to get away from them. If it gets bad the wee lambies hide in amongst the stones of the Roman Wall, ruins of the fort buildings, etc, and rub their heads against the stones, sometimes to the extent of making themselves bleed
I have wondered about giving the sheep Marmite in one of those licky drums... However, I see that Blow Fly Repel can remain effective for up to 4 weeks in dryish weather - might look some out and give it a go.