r/GardeningAustralia • u/nicoleskine • Nov 26 '24
What is biting me? 🐜 ID This Bug
A few weeks ago I got similar bites that popped up after gardening at a retirement village I work at. They went away after a few days. I went to my job yesterday again and similar thing has happened. At some point yesterday I had some black ants on me which I brushed off, Im thinking it was them. But when I google any bites fire ants come up and I'm sure it isn't fire ants. This is the fourth time it has happened now. Yes I wear gloves!! Only happens at this job. One time I know for sure it was ants as I had to go to the bathroom to make sure there weren't anymore under my shirt.
Has anyone else had similar experience? I went to the GP last time and she said folliculitis and gave me antibiotics but it's not that as there's no infection and they go down after a few days.
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u/FarFault7206 Nov 26 '24
Working with Grevillea?
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u/Suchisthe007life Nov 26 '24
That was my first thought. Wife loves grevilleas; grevilleas do not love my wife.
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u/Colossal_Penis_Haver Nov 26 '24
I remember at TAFE one day, a grevillea I was pruning left me with a very nasty rash.
I reckon you're on the money.
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u/Quiet-Hamster6509 Nov 26 '24
Contact dermatitis. Your body has encountered something it doesn't like, you're producing more hymistamine and having a reaction.
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u/CremaIsMyCrack Nov 26 '24 edited Nov 26 '24
I agree, I get contact dermatitis from a few different things, and it's usually near identical to OPs rash.
Edited to fix typo
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u/Ok_Construction8815 Nov 26 '24 edited Nov 28 '24
I get these on my shoulders from sweat and it's the pearly parts that look familiar. For me it's a histamine reaction and of course, scratching them makes them bigger. You say that you wear gloves, perhaps it's them that's the issue or maybe the gloves have mould in them. If I scratch my skin or graze it slightly it always ends up in a raised bumpy section. Could be bites too though. I also get the occasional flare up of dyshidrotic eczema which can look similar. Even using hair wax and not washing it off my hands creates this appearance. Maybe try avoiding oil, heat and sweat with different gloves and see what happens.
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u/nicoleskine Nov 26 '24
I also get eczema sometimes but looks different to this so I wasn't sure. Thanks I will try!
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u/Icy_Hippo Nov 26 '24
I get this for gardening, I noticed fluid filled ones in the 2nd photo? I get allergies from touching anything in the dam garden, I always wear gloves, long if you can handle it and a barrier cream, and take an antihistamine after if I start to feel itchy.
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u/invisiblizm Nov 26 '24
Could it be that something has got into your work gloves, either a bug or a chemical? Try a new pair and see if it happens again?
Noones mentioned dermatitis, which can flare up and disappear.
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u/ziamshawt Nov 26 '24
might be an allergic reaction to a plant- i got this all over my hands when i touched/pulled out grass (forgot im allergic) 🤦♀️
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u/MemeGag Nov 26 '24
My forearms look like I have the dreaded pox almost every time i garden. You'd be amazed at the lengths plants go to to protect themselves. Hairs, prickles, saps, oils - a veritable cornucopia of defence mechanisms. I also use cotton gloves so i can wash them on occasion.
But now I just live with the fact I shouldn't garden on days where I've planned on going somewhere 'nice' in the following 24 hours.
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u/penchimerical Nov 26 '24
Echoing others here - my hands look like this when I've been working with certain types of grevillea, though not as severe. It's possible that particular garden has a plant you're reacting too
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u/Jellyraven Nov 26 '24
I would see a dermatologist, gps won’t know anything. See if you can get a referal
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u/browsingforgoodtimes Nov 26 '24
See doctor. Get checked for scabies, may not be gardening related.
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u/K_Lavender7 Nov 26 '24
Kinda does look like scabies, doesn't it. I wonder if it is unbearably itchy?
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u/nicoleskine Nov 26 '24
I already have and they have checked for that, she thought it was an infection
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u/Han-solos-left-foot Nov 26 '24
Any ivy in your garden? I pulled a bunch out of mine unprotected and got crazy contact dermatitis. After a couple of days it went bumpy like that
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u/Nighteyes09 Nov 26 '24
What sort of gloves do you use? Probably not a bug bite from the look, but an allergic reaction perhaps? Either to something in the gloves or punching through them.
My son get exactly that kind of rash from hay.
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u/East-Garden-4557 Nov 26 '24
I get a reaction like that from the weed Cleavers, Galium aparine. Not everyone reacts to it like that, but for me it is worse than nettles.
I wear long sleeves when weeding. I cover my hands and arms in barrier cream, wash my arms as soon as I finish gardening, and take antihistamines.
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u/nicoleskine Nov 26 '24
Thanks for the tip looks like I'll have to do the same now
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u/East-Garden-4557 Nov 26 '24
Have a read about
https://dermnetnz.org/topics/allergic-contact-dermatitis
and
https://dermnetnz.org/topics/phytophotodermatitis
to see if any of it matches up to what you are experiencing. I would also take note of what plants you are in contact with to see if there is any pattern.2
u/veganblue Nov 26 '24
I thought it was just the velcro stems!
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u/East-Garden-4557 Nov 26 '24
They can cause contact dermatitis, it is not fun. I wish it was just their clinginess that bothered me.
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u/treeslip Nov 26 '24
Are you wearing gloves? I wear riggers while working with plants in the bush and long sleeves, there is always something trying to get your sweet blood or plants that cause rashes. Worst skin reaction I've had was from agave sap, felt like burns that would flair up for months.
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Nov 26 '24
I had this exact thing, little burns. I think it was from a citrus tree I was cutting. I thought it was bites at first
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u/PossibleExpert9414 Nov 26 '24
That’s not bites, that’s an allergic reaction. I know this because I get that often on my hands. It’s annoying and looks like little bubbles under the skin. It’s a type of eczema. You have to watch what you touch. If you’re near dust wear gloves and moisturise after you wash your hands every time. But a doctor will give you some cream to help.
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u/No_Tonight9123 Nov 26 '24
Work with any bromeliads, agave or ferns? They ones are some more common culprits.
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u/partytil930 Nov 27 '24
I get this reaction when I get multiple ant stings. One or two are fine but more than that, I get bumps like yours all over the limb that got stung. Antihistamine as soon as I know I've been stung stops it from happening
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u/vicms91 State: VIC Nov 26 '24
Saw a post just recently about how mean cycads can be. They are prickly beggars but I haven't had any bad reactions to them yet. Intend to be much more careful in the future.
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u/licoriceallsort Nov 26 '24
I just picked up some arm protectors/sleeves for when weeding horrible rye grass (always end up with welts) which are working well.
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u/SaladInternational33 Nov 26 '24
It could be contact dermatitis from a plant. I had something similar last spring, but mine was redder and lasted for more than a few days, and was unbearably itchy.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Egg592 Nov 26 '24
Have you been pruning anything? I get this from cat’s claw vine in my garden. (Don’t worry everyone - I hate it too but eradication isn’t easy.)
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u/GlamByHelenKeller Nov 26 '24
Bedbugs most likely
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u/nicoleskine Nov 26 '24
Not bed bugs as only I have been getting the reaction, my husband isn't getting it
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u/ConsiderationLeft226 Nov 26 '24
I get this exact same reaction from some bracelets/jewellery. Time to take an antihistamine and slap on some calamine!
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u/Deep_Curve7564 Nov 26 '24
I think I am way off the mark based on your response to questions asked.
My hands look like this after I have been working on some of my cactus, ones with lots of tiny hair like spikes.
So do you have any plants with tiny micro thin spikes?
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u/SarrSarz Nov 26 '24
Did you see a gp? Might be shingles it’s common at age care front however looks like hives or
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u/Terrorfarker Nov 26 '24
Chiggers or some kind of mite? Do they itch straight away while at work or it starts overnight?
In a new place I moved to I got bites over arms & legs over the first spring/summer I was here, couldn't work it out, actually thought I had bed bugs at one point and turned the bedroom upside down looking for signs, but then the bites stopped for 6 months when it cooled down, but now they've started again recently.
I still don't know what it is for sure but suspect it's chiggers or some other kind of mite, possibly in the pea straw mulch I use in my garden but our new place is also near wetlands so could be that.
Unlike yours though, mine take a week to stop itching and 2 weeks to heal.
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u/nicoleskine Nov 26 '24
The itching more starts overnight. I thought bed bugs too but only I have been getting these not my husband. The last batch I got has been around similar time frame now, about a week to stop itching 😞
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u/Terrorfarker Nov 26 '24
Same thing for me, I think they start coming up early morning as i've been woken up with itching a few times, but then by 8am I have full welts.
I dunno, could be so many things and may be hard to pin down, does not look at all like bed bug bites though.
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u/narrtasha Nov 26 '24
This literally sounds the exact same situation i had about a fortnight ago. All i was doing was alot of hanging around the chicken coop and then my friend pointed out that our lemon tree had alot of small mozzies around it and it could be from that!? The other thing that’s weird is i got them up both arms under my shirt too and i can’t remember if i had long sleeves or a tshirt on but they also got a couple on my mid section (though not as bad as my forearms) my chicken do have mites and so does the coop so i thought it was that. I haven’t been out in the garden much since then but now everytime i need to see the chickens i make sure i’m either wearing long clothes or i am super quick. I just kept trying to moisturise the bites to stop them itching and i still have some small scars 2 weeks later, that I am waiting on them to fully heal! Man they were so itchy. Also i have 31F if that matters. South West VIC coast climate.
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u/narrtasha Nov 26 '24
Also i’m reading all the suggestions people have said and what it lines up with, with what i touched in my garden prior to getting the same reaction to you (and i was in a singlet this day and also got sunburnt on my back lol) was: Ivy, Citrus, Star Jasmine, Grevillea, Mites from chickens, a variety of aussie natives. So coulda been any of them too!
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u/moth337_ Nov 26 '24
Chigger bites do flare up itching at night. And they bite in clusters, often at cuffs/where clothing is tight. Sometimes they can blister/form the pustules in the centre of the bite. Best thing you can do once you’ve finished working in the garden is to have a warm shower and wash yourself all over with soap, and then put all your clothes in the wash too. Chigger larvae attach for a couple of days and the longer they are on, the worse the bites. But warm soapy water will get them off.
Edit to add that chigger bites also can take a day or so to show up.
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u/QueenJennifer350 Nov 26 '24
Do you have wandering jew you in your yard? it can cause similar looking reactions in humans and dogs.
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u/Crowthistle Nov 26 '24
Um...are you on the crapper? With toilet paper and wipes on the floor?
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u/nicoleskine Nov 26 '24
😂😂😂 no just using toilet paper as tissue paper for my nose during the night hahaha
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u/Comfortable_Mud5261 Nov 28 '24
Noting the white tops it looks a lot like Monkey Pox. Maybe see a Dr.
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u/rodgeramjit Nov 26 '24
That amount of swellings suggests you might be getting poked instead of bitten. I think you may have an allergy to one of the plants you are gardening. Unless you are finding a lot of ants inside your gloves, this would be a crazy amount of bites to receive.