it would seem that the moment one steps outside a city, one is attacked by these little tiny black bugs that are so small, they can only been seen after they’ve bitten you and are engorged by blood.
They’re bite is itchy and your skin swells. xiǎo Hēi wen… ( spelling ??)
incredibly annoying…
has anyone found a natural solution in getting rid of these from around outside your house… ?
I live in the countryside… sorrounded by them…
That’s a pity, I have no idea how to solve the problem myself. They are different from mosquitoes in that they are active in strong sunlight and in the daytime. I think it is an interesting but sad case of one of the many pests that are spreading around the world. They only arrived in Taiwan a few years ago and have spread almost everywhere. Fireants are another concern although I have yet to come across them.
[quote=“sleepingtiger”]it would seem that the moment one steps outside a city, one is attacked by these little tiny black bugs that are so small, they can only been seen after they’ve bitten you and are engorged by blood.
They’re bite is itchy and your skin swells. xiǎo Hēi wen… ( spelling ??)
incredibly annoying…
has anyone found a natural solution in getting rid of these from around outside your house… ?
I live in the countryside… sorrounded by them…[/quote]
Stay indoors! Very natural … or wear long sleeved shirts and long trousers … deet!
I think what you are referring to are called 黑金剛 (hei1 jin1 gang1), lit. ‘black king kong’. I’ve heard people call them 小黑蚊 (xiao3 hei1 wen2) too, but that name can also refer to the very small black-and-white-striped tiger mosquitoes. Anyways, regardless of the name they are actually an invasive species of biting midge a.k.a. no-see-um, and they’re really bloody annoying. :fume: I’m pretty allergic to them, so bites can swell and itch for a week. However, over the last couple years, I’ve noticed my sensitivity has decreased so there is hope. Sadly, the only way to avoid getting bit is to wear socks, pants and and long-sleeved tops. Obviously, this can get hot but it almost always stops them. Also, they don’t have much range and tend to breed or hang out near damp, mossy rocks, tree trunks, dead wood, etc. so avoid sitting/standing/staying still around those areas. Mosquito repellent should work on them but if you want to kill them off by spraying poison around, it’s probably a losing battle.
these things are a blight on all our outdoor spaces in Taichung
I do believe I have found an accepted solution to these Midgets… before I was using a non toxic citronella spray.
Today I bought non toxic Bert’s Bee’s spray… and it last 3 times longer that the citronella spray… and nary a bite. !!!
I think I’ve seen these things, but do not recall getting bit by one. My blood must be fairly noxious, as mosquitoes seem to biting me less this year.
They exist in Taiwan (probably coming from China or New Zealand), but the government has been carefully exterminating them decade ago. So far there are no current reports of such blood sucking flies in Taiwan major cities. There are a few articles I found that might be useful but don’t quote me on it as I only lived in Taipei for a year 
chinapost.com.tw/news/2007/0 … midges.htm
zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%9A%8B
idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pcbitingflies.htm
lonelyplanet.com/taiwan/prac … ion/health
One type is indigenous to Dadun mountain in Taichung and have spread all over Taiwan in the last five years, into the cities and tourist spots.
[quote=“sleepingtiger”]it would seem that the moment one steps outside a city, one is attacked by these little tiny black bugs that are so small, they can only been seen after they’ve bitten you and are engorged by blood.
[/quote]
I wonder if you are taking about “black flies”, which is what they translate the English name (when I ask) and then argue they must be different than a fly to which they repeat “black fly”. They are very small and itch like hell. I get bitten by them all the time when I play tennis which is next to a lake in Taichung but in the middle of the city on my legs and back (when I change shirts). Several other tennis players also complain about them, same story, middle of the night scratching like hell.
Xiao Hei Wen (小黑蚊),that’s the correct term here. They are a real plague around the hotter parts of Taiwan now, especially in Summer. Really itchy little f%$kers, they draw blood.
Hualien is suffering from 小黑蚊. I have almost given up wearing shorts anywhere. Locals believe you build up a certain tolerance over time in that bites are not so itchy and the itch goes away sooner.
I heard locals say 小黑蚊 lay their eggs in lichen. So in some places they burn away the lichen along the side of the roads.
[quote=“JamesMovieFanatic”]They exist in Taiwan (probably coming from China or New Zealand), but the government has been carefully exterminating them decade ago. So far there are no current reports of such blood sucking flies in Taiwan major cities. There are a few articles I found that might be useful but don’t quote me on it as I only lived in Taipei for a year 
chinapost.com.tw/news/2007/0 … midges.htm
zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%9A%8B
idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pcbitingflies.htm
lonelyplanet.com/taiwan/prac … ion/health[/quote]
I’m from NZ and we have nothing like these little suckers.
My legs after leaving Taipai for the weekend
Ouch, that looks brutal. This won’t help newbs and visitors, but two years after my last post in this thread, I can confirm that you do build an immunity to these little fu… suckers. They’re around our neighborhood now on the street and even on our roof, but when I get bitten, it’s just like a slightly longer-lasting mosquito bite. I used to get swollen, red welts that would last a week and itch like the devil.
Wear pants instead of shorts.
Electric rackets help.
Turn on fan even in low setting also help. Their wings too weak to resist even the slowest breeze of wind.
Electric zapper lamp even better.
Put plants outdoor if possible.
Living far on the upper floor helps, alot.
My combo usually, fan+zapper lamp in my room on the 11th floor.
Racket + fan in the office (1st floor).
All combined using pants (preferably jeans).
Dunno around your neighborhoods, but in mine they are spraying all kinds of stuff to get rid of this plague and others like roaches and mosquitoes and etc.
Sorry, DP
[quote=“res”][quote=“JamesMovieFanatic”]They exist in Taiwan (probably coming from China or New Zealand), but the government has been carefully exterminating them decade ago. So far there are no current reports of such blood sucking flies in Taiwan major cities. There are a few articles I found that might be useful but don’t quote me on it as I only lived in Taipei for a year
chinapost.com.tw/news/2007/0 … midges.htm
zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%9A%8B
idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pcbitingflies.htm
lonelyplanet.com/taiwan/prac … ion/health[/quote]
I’m from NZ and we have nothing like these little suckers.
My legs after leaving Taipai for the weekend
[/quote]
Ouch. Sorry to see this happening. How did you treat those bites?
I haven’t experienced them yet, and I consider myself to be very lucky because over the last 2 years I think I’ve used long trousers for no longer than 12 hours.
On a trip to Taroko I was on the motorbike with my wife and we had a quick stop by the side of the road to have a sap of water, stretch our legs and double check the map. She was standing next to a small bush, I was closer to the road. Within 3 minutes her legs looked just like Res’, and there was no sign of insects around us.
Do they work in swarms? Every single time I’ve seen someone being bitten by them it looked like a war zone with dozens or hundreds of bites.
That’s what I’ve heard as well, when I lived in Taichung people always warned me to pay attention to those bugs when hanging out in the hills or by rivers.
The bites all happened wile eating breakfast outside at a b&b at toroko (spelling?)
Tiny tiny little b#%*d flys!
Treated with oral antihistamine and a guava cream a friend gave us.