I have to agree that noseeums are pretty annoying but I don't notice them as a year round problem so I'm going to go with wasps. They are constantly building nests in my window frames and then squeezing through the screens and coming into my house or they make nests near doors or other areas I may have to pass by. I am constantly battling these things.

any bug that comes within 2 feet of me. lol

For me it's the fire ants and other biting ants. There is one that bits me and I have a lump the size of a baseball for days that itches. Ammonia helps if I sit with it on a paper towel and hold in on the spot. It might be the harvester ant.

I have to go with ANTS!!! They love me and can seek me out just to bite. My feet tell the tale. There's some real skinny red ones that fall out of the oak trees and their bite is every bit as painful as a wasp. Maybe that's the same one biting Kathy. Next to ants is stink bugs just because they do so much damage to the veggies.

Ginny

The good news is that of all the bugs and insects in the world around 3% are harmful or considered BAD according to UF .
I use generic Hydrocortisone cream for bites - works much better than ammonia . I use it on my dogs too ( in areas where they don't lick ) since they get eaten alive by ants just like we do .

ANTS ANTS ANTS * SPIDER MITES SPIDER MITES SPIDER MITES

we've battled (hopelessly and fruitlessly) ever since we moved here (30+ years now) and Spider Mites.. YUK. it's an on-going battle to save my bruggies. whhhaaa (I've tried it all....I may just give up on them this year)

I have tried the hydrocortisone cream and for me it doesn't work. I still itch terrible, but a dab of ammonia stops it right away. And on the bites that get so large it reduces the swelling too. Even bee and wasp stings, for me there is nothing like ammonia.

Ammonia is the preferred treatment as it immediately neutralizes the chemical injected from the sting.

As far as bugs go, I don't like any of them. Mosquitos, fire ants, wasps, hornets, carpenter ants, sugar ants, noseeums, gnats; they may have some importance in the food chain, but if that's the case, so does DEET.

And as long as were moaning about garden pests, add all the damn scales, mites, grasshoppers, and snails to the list. And if you want to go up a few rungs on the ladder, how about raccoons, armadillos, skunks, and rats?

What's the solution? Move to Antarctica and learn how to carve ice sculptures.

I'd have to go with spider mites and scale (just annoying and hard to get rid of) Locusts are just so noisy! The caterpillars are bad here too now but I like some of them so they get to defoiliate everything anyways!

I agree with anything that bites or stings cause I am like a magnet to them. I use Benadryl lotion. I have also been seeing the BIGGEST Horseflies ever this last week. The one that got in my poolscreen area is as big as a half dollar, I swear.

Annoying - I go for Milkweed Bugs. They eat my seed pods and in the long run damage the stems of the plant. And since I am trying to raise the butterflies, I can't spray for them.

We lived in Mississippi, along the coast when my son was little. When the kids went out to play ball or soccer, we would put a Bounce fabric softener sheet around their waistband and one in their hat. Helped alot with the noseeums. We also used Skin So Soft by Avon, but my son had an allergic reaction to it.

Fire Ants are number one on my list - hate 'em, hate 'em!!! You don't know they are on you until they bite - then they don't want to let go!

Plus, you try to poison the mound? That's OK, we'll just move 1 foot away from the poison and start over!

I need an anteater.

I have to go with TERMITES.

I am checking my calendar right now for the best time I can leave in order to have my house tented....grrr.

Mosquitos. I hate them. They usually succeed at preventing me from using my backyard.

Mosquitoes, ants, wasps top my list.
I realize lubbers aren't an insect although I wish their specis would die off for good. They'll destroy any plant in a day's time just with their ferocios appetite.
Noseeums suck too. Pun intended.

Sue.

Personally, I hate deerflies more than almost any creature on earth. Their bites hurt so bad, and my granddaughter had to go to the emergency room from one bite on her wrist that caused the joint to become inflamed and painful. I detest them! But the good news is, they are only around for a few weeks in June/July, and then disappear for a year.

Next it's fire ants who fling themselves out of their mounds and onto your feet with reckless abandon and grim determination to hold on, hang the consequences! Oh, they make terrible sores that fester and stay for weeks and weeks! But I have found that soaking the mound DEEPLY with a spray I got from HD will kill the mound almost completely. And if you are vigilant, and see a smaller one springing up nearby, and treat that one, too, they will disappear for quite awhile.

As for plant damages, lubbers. (Sue, honestly they really ARE insects, six-legs and all). They are ravaging fiends and don't even have the grace to turn into a butterfly after they strip your plants! Arrrgggh. I am a stomping, chopping, smashing fool when they are out and about.

Yep...deerflies, fire ants and lubbers. Scourges, one and all!

Marcia

Marcia

Nobody mentioned cockroaches. They get into the house no matter how clean and tightly sealed it is. I was sleeping one night and I felt something bite me. It was a roach. It pulled the skin off my finger. Just a little bit. I was so grossed out that I couldn't sleep the rest of the night. They give me the heebie jeebies.

OMG! That's just TOO awful! UGH!!! Yeah, cockroaches are disgusting beyond belief! I think most of us were focusing outside, is all. I just KNOW there are no cockroach fans here!!

Marcia

Not cockroaches guys. Remember, WE LIKE TOURISTS. You must be referring to our pals the "Palmetto Bugs". Big difference. Yeah right. Hate them too. My husband gets pleasure finding an anthill for the newly smooshed and barely alive P.B and enjoys the slow torture of watching the ants progress.
I should have mentioned Fire Ants. They are by far the worst insect to discover, (and most times,unfortunately too late), that have found their way up your leg. And they always sting in unison!!!!!!!!!! So, so nasty!
Keep your eyes on the ground,
Sue.

I hate ants. Always have. Don't intend to change. Hated 'em before fire ants and now hate them even more.

I never used to hate snails but in Florida they are voracious and a constant problem in my yard. Right now they are eating every leaf on the hibiscus. I've been plucking them off, but eeeuwww I don't like them. Maybe with a little butter and garlic...

Kate

Oh dear! I didn't know roaches could bite. That's Kafkaesque!

They bite and they also eat fingernail clippings.