Leeches in ponds

[The Woodman]

Three or four bottles of wine???

[Deb London]

Goodness me Woodman, we seem to have a little trouble understanding each other at the moment. Or should I say "Ecky-thump Woodman, Owdonabit, Th'arta Barmpot Tha Knows But Loike Ah Sez, Ah Met Avv Bin A Bit Flummoxed Last Neet, But Now Am Reet Gradley So Stop Moitherin´ Me Or Ahl Larn Thee". I think you'll understand that better.

Originally Posted by DorsetDunk

Don't read if your Squeamish

A lot of the leeches I have ID-ed have been bird leeches that invade its host by means of the nostrils
The real horror story was told to me by a warden at a local reserve who found a bloke screaming ,stood in his underpants on the banks of a clay pit with six or seven big leeches attached to his legs,apparently he had been wading in the water to rake the bottom clear weeds so he could fish for carp
I have netted some large medicinal leeches from there after i heard the story

Originally Posted by nightshade

Just to cheer you all up;
Leeches related to earthworms (phylum Annelida), about 20 leech species live in the UK Leeches eat blood and have mouthparts to penetrate their hosts (an extendible tube in fish leeches, toothed jaws in Medicinal Leeches). They are segmented and sometimes brightly patterned. Medicinal Leeches are now rare, although they are farmed commercially and still used for blood letting in modern medicine. One tip on how to catch a leech, just stand in water frequented by farm animals in your bare feet then wriggle your toes

When I was younger I was told I had to get rid of the pondweed in a local pond but my older brothers. How on earth they got me to put on a swimming costume and balance on a very wonky makeshift raft, flat on my belly, up to my armpits, pulling out the stuff with my bare hands as they towed me round I will honestly never know. I'm fairly sure I asked them about the possibility of leeches at the time. I'm guessing their answer wasn't that leeches would be hanging off my arms with every handful.

[The Woodman]

Goodness me Woodman, we seem to have a little trouble understanding each other at the moment. Or should I say "Ecky-thump Woodman, Owdonabit, Th'arta Barmpot Tha Knows But Loike Ah Sez, Ah Met Avv Bin A Bit Flummoxed Last Neet, But Now Am Reet Gradley So Stop Moitherin´ Me Or Ahl Larn Thee". I think you'll understand that better.

Throw away that Yorkshire/Lancashire dictionary and watch this for a bit of authentic Cumbrian dialect with subtitles for you southerners.
YouTube - Helm Blues

There's an element of education in there too!

When I was younger I was told I had to get rid of the pondweed in a local pond but my older brothers. How on earth they got me to put on a swimming costume and balance on a very wonky makeshift raft, flat on my belly, up to my armpits, pulling out the stuff with my bare hands as they towed me round I will honestly never know. I'm fairly sure I asked them about the possibility of leeches at the time. I'm guessing their answer wasn't that leeches would be hanging off my arms with every handful.

Leeches and suckers come to mind!

[jackmont23]

I don't remember even seeing a leech in England, where I lived for 35 years! My daughter told me she learnt about English leaches in school, so I thought I'd google them in my disbelief. We now live in Queensland, Australia and I have leeches regularly, in the wet season, sucking at my legs when I walk around the garden and down near the creek. Sometimes you don't realise you have them and they drop off when full, leaving you to drip blood for hours!! Then comes the itch. I've kind of learnt to live with them, but the kids freak out a bit.