Sorry, I know this has been discussed many times before, but when are the bad times for midges in Scotland, and what areas are affected, please?
Midges in Scotland
- Thread starter KeithJ
- Start date
Hi Keith
Mainly end of May until September time, and normally more to the west, but thousands of us keep going, we keep plenty of Avon Skin So Soft with us and use citronella candles in the awning to keep them at bay.
Mainly end of May until September time, and normally more to the west, but thousands of us keep going, we keep plenty of Avon Skin So Soft with us and use citronella candles in the awning to keep them at bay.
Hi Keith.
Also remember they are there even if you cant see them, they may be tiny but they dont half bite. You will find them near water and esp if there are trees or hedge rows close by. Also they seem to be more of a pain in the mornings or evenings.
Dougie....
Also remember they are there even if you cant see them, they may be tiny but they dont half bite. You will find them near water and esp if there are trees or hedge rows close by. Also they seem to be more of a pain in the mornings or evenings.
Dougie....
Hi Keith
Try this: http://2010.midgeforecast.co.uk/
I go most years to Scotland but confess I avoid July and August which seem the worst for midges. I have scars on my arms and legs to prove the devils like males too.
Avon Skin So Soft works very well as do some of the after bite roll ons available at most midge infested sites..
Don't let them put you offf.
When I smoked I never got bitten. Maybe you need to buy 20 Benson & Hedges
Try this: http://2010.midgeforecast.co.uk/
I go most years to Scotland but confess I avoid July and August which seem the worst for midges. I have scars on my arms and legs to prove the devils like males too.
Avon Skin So Soft works very well as do some of the after bite roll ons available at most midge infested sites..
Don't let them put you offf.
When I smoked I never got bitten. Maybe you need to buy 20 Benson & Hedges
The caravan site beside the loch in Ullapool has midge machines dotted around the site, which collects millions of the blighters. Caravanning on the west coast in the midge season can be a miserable experience on still days. One of the worst places we've personally experienced them was a few years ago at the Forestry Commission site at Loch Rannoch - a beautiful area, but on still, damp days, when the sun comes out, clouds of them descend to eat you alive. The site takes tents too and unsuspecting campers pitching tents beside long grass and near water, are soon jumping around, smacking arms, legs and faces. A walk to the toilet block is a mad dash with hoods up and hands hidden up in sleeves!
Avon Skin so Soft works very well and some shops in the highlands stock it. We now order ours online, before we travel. By the way, if you or your children get bitten and you don't have anything to hand, a dab of toothpaste (which you are more than likely to have in the caravan or tent), on the bite really works. They use this for insect bites in the Far East. I used it on a mossie bite last week and didn't need to put anything else on it.
We love Scotland, but only go now before the midge season starts.
Avon Skin so Soft works very well and some shops in the highlands stock it. We now order ours online, before we travel. By the way, if you or your children get bitten and you don't have anything to hand, a dab of toothpaste (which you are more than likely to have in the caravan or tent), on the bite really works. They use this for insect bites in the Far East. I used it on a mossie bite last week and didn't need to put anything else on it.
We love Scotland, but only go now before the midge season starts.
I've been a few times now and have tried everything. Avon Skin So Soft when applied to me is like gravy to the midges. I bought some stuff from the Ben Nevis visitor centre but all it did was make me smell like a ponce. At one time I took an Insectocutor. After the first night I took the bottom off to see how many I'd killed and they all flew away. They are that small they don't even touch the electrified wire that's supposed to sizzle them.
And don't believe the urban myth that they don't come out in the rain. They do. Probably the only time they aren't about in great numbers is if it's windy. A curry could work wonders but I've not tested it.
I found the midges bad at every site I visited on the west side. Loch Lomond, Campbeltown, Oban, Fort William, Morvich, Killin etc were all bad but Clachan, Killin probably won by a bite. In the end they were biting my bites because I hardly had a patch of clear skin left to chew on. Like DD, I have still got the purple blotch war wounds on my arms from years ago.
I remember driving into Kenmore and seeing a man mowing his lawn wearing a bee keepers hat. Further down the road were people waving their arms about like demented octopus's out of water. I thought the loons had broke loose out of the local asylum. I soon found out when I got out of the car.
I've just got home from Beddgelert. As usual I'm covered in midge bites and although the Cambria Midgium is just as hungry as Caledonius Midgium they aren't half as itchy as the Gaelic buggers. Still bad enough for me to cancel another similar site we were supposed to be going to in three weeks time. I couldn't put myself through that again before these have had a chance to clear up
Stick to the east side if you hate midges and they make your life hell. Two lovely sites are the CC at Brora and the C&CC site at Rosemarkie, both within minutes of a beach.
And don't believe the urban myth that they don't come out in the rain. They do. Probably the only time they aren't about in great numbers is if it's windy. A curry could work wonders but I've not tested it.
I found the midges bad at every site I visited on the west side. Loch Lomond, Campbeltown, Oban, Fort William, Morvich, Killin etc were all bad but Clachan, Killin probably won by a bite. In the end they were biting my bites because I hardly had a patch of clear skin left to chew on. Like DD, I have still got the purple blotch war wounds on my arms from years ago.
I remember driving into Kenmore and seeing a man mowing his lawn wearing a bee keepers hat. Further down the road were people waving their arms about like demented octopus's out of water. I thought the loons had broke loose out of the local asylum. I soon found out when I got out of the car.
I've just got home from Beddgelert. As usual I'm covered in midge bites and although the Cambria Midgium is just as hungry as Caledonius Midgium they aren't half as itchy as the Gaelic buggers. Still bad enough for me to cancel another similar site we were supposed to be going to in three weeks time. I couldn't put myself through that again before these have had a chance to clear up
Stick to the east side if you hate midges and they make your life hell. Two lovely sites are the CC at Brora and the C&CC site at Rosemarkie, both within minutes of a beach.
I found this today http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/outdoors/articles/midge/
Now if Garlic can ward off the Vampire it must work on the Midge. However I doubt SWMBO will want to smooch a garlic breath.
Now if Garlic can ward off the Vampire it must work on the Midge. However I doubt SWMBO will want to smooch a garlic breath.
As said above May - Sept. in the West and N west mainly. Remember though if it is windy, and it often is, they don't come out to play. They don't like heavy rain - lot of that. Still calm evening light is their faverout
We have tried everything, but still find DEET products the best e.g. Jungle Formula 40% DEET. I did try some 95% DEET, but I found that it would melt the car bumper!
Do not forget the other problem - TICKs, rife anywhere there are deer / sheep, i.e. everywhere in Scotland, and their bites can have much longer term effects. Google them but don't let it put you off, just make sure you have a tick remover in the first aid box.. My wife unfortunately had a semi-positive test result for Lyme Disease last year as a result of a bite on I o Mull.
We have tried everything, but still find DEET products the best e.g. Jungle Formula 40% DEET. I did try some 95% DEET, but I found that it would melt the car bumper!
Do not forget the other problem - TICKs, rife anywhere there are deer / sheep, i.e. everywhere in Scotland, and their bites can have much longer term effects. Google them but don't let it put you off, just make sure you have a tick remover in the first aid box.. My wife unfortunately had a semi-positive test result for Lyme Disease last year as a result of a bite on I o Mull.
If mosquitoes avoid people who drink gin and tonic, maybe Scottish midges may also. No harm in trying it so see if it works. If not try rum and coke! LoL.
Thanks all of you for your advice. One more question - do they get in the caravan and creep up on you in the night, like mosquitoes do, or are they only a problem outside?
they can get under the net blinds, but are not as much of a problem as outside they are bad this year my vans seasonal at stirling.
myra
myra
Dusty
No definite plans. Just thinking of spending a week or so in September and thought some info on the midge problem might help me decide.
No definite plans. Just thinking of spending a week or so in September and thought some info on the midge problem might help me decide.
KeithJ said:
Yes they do
Last thing at night I would turn out the lights and then go around the inside of the caravan with a torch. Because of their shadow the buggers look twice the size making them easier to spot and squash. The satisfaction comes when you squash one and it's red because the ****** has already bitten you and now it's payback time
The downside is cleaning them off the caravan ceiling in the morning when they've dried on there
That's how paranoid I was of them but even then I missed some and they got me in the night.
I've been to the west coast of Scotland three times and have suffered three times but no more. There wont be a fourth time and if I cross the border it will be on the east side.
Ask yourself this question. Why are the highlands sparsely populated?
We experienced a vey bad midge problem at cc club site at Bunree in September, husband and dog were severly attacked, me? no they don't often go for me funnily enough, seem to prefer hubby! then he usually has a glass of red or a can of lager as the sun goes down so bang goes the theory that they won't bite if you have alcohol in your blood. maybe he needs to change his tipple. We also found avon skin so soft worked and smelled a lot better than jungle formula. It also kept them off the dog , who was just a puppy at the time and was quite distressed. Didn't get them at Killin though ( same holiday) and we were pitched up next to the river. Decided to go not so far north this year, just returned from c&cc site at Barnard Castle. Husband was eaten alive! Also had problem at Grafam Water and Crossways in Dorset,so it's not just Scotland. Major fly problem also, swarmed around Land Rover when returning to site, hubby calls it 'the beastie' but don't think it looks like a cow!
Off next week to Stranraer area - so not too far north!
Some of you have recommended Avon "Skin so Soft" but I have discovered there are various "flavours". We have "Soft and Sensual" and "Soft and Fresh". Are these OK or is there another one we should have? Ingredients are listed on the back - is there a particular one that the midges don't like?
Thanks for your help.
Some of you have recommended Avon "Skin so Soft" but I have discovered there are various "flavours". We have "Soft and Sensual" and "Soft and Fresh". Are these OK or is there another one we should have? Ingredients are listed on the back - is there a particular one that the midges don't like?
Thanks for your help.
We stayed on the royal estate in Balmoral last July and was prepared with two bottles of blue Avon 'skin so soft'. Never took the tops off. Only midges I saw was when I was sitting in the forest, bird watching. I became aware that these were indeed the dreaded midges and I only had to stand up and start walking and I was free of them.
My brother has some horror stories of them in the same area some years previous, so I must have been lucky.
I would not by choice go later than may, the July holiday was an invitation to join family, too good to refuse.
Norman.
My brother has some horror stories of them in the same area some years previous, so I must have been lucky.
I would not by choice go later than may, the July holiday was an invitation to join family, too good to refuse.
Norman.
It says on the label I've got in front of me - 'Skin So Soft' ' Replenishing Dry Oil Body Spray' soft & fresh
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