No-see-um. Punky. Midge
Categories: Viii Little Foes Of The TrailerThere is another pest of the North Woods which the guides call the
no-see-um. It is a very diminutive midge resembling the mosquito in
form and viciousness, but so small as to be almost invisible. Night and
day are the same to the no-see-um; its warfare is continuous and its
bite very annoying, but it disappears with the black-fly in July or
August. By September the mountains and woods are swept clear of all
these troublesome things, except at times and in some places the
ever-hungry mosquito, which will linger on for a last bite in his summer
feast.
The only way to relieve the irritation caused by the bites of these
pests, including the mosquito, is to bathe the affected parts with
camphor, alcohol, or diluted ammonia. When there are but one or two
bites they may be touched with strong ammonia, but it will not do to use
this too freely, as it will burn the skin.
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