Scottish Midges

[AdorableAlice]

I am honeymooning on the West Coast in mid September, am I going to be eaten ? and any suggestions for repellent please.

 

[Jnhuk]

Avon skin so soft

Going to be a bad year for the terrors
http://www.scotsman.com/news/environment/bumper-year-in-store-for-scottish-midges-1-3343243

Sorry not what you wanted to hear!

 

[AdorableAlice]

Oh dear !, maybe we should go East ?

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Autan is the real stuff
but you might consider
http://www.midgie.net/

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I'm in the East and get eaten alive ever evening doing the horses. I do live next to a Loch though so that won't help! If you do head this way then pop into the racing yard and you'll get a guided tour

 

[EventingMum]

There's every chance the little so and so's will be out in force then but it really depends where you are - trees and water are obviously where they congregate. We have started using Smidge this year and found it's working very well, we previously used Skin so Soft but have heard that the new formulation isn't so good. Where are you going?

 

[Caol Ila]

We got hammered in the Northwest Highlands last September. I don't think any repellent really works. Midge nets. And wind. Pray for wind.

If you fancy meeting fellow HHO'ers on Scottish travels, drop me a line. I'm often around the West Highlands on a hill somewhere or other.

 

[Brightbay]

I've not actually found it bad for midgies this year and we usually get it bad.
I think they maybe stay away from me because I reek of the neem I use on the horses
Boots Extra Strength DEET Spray (Silver Bottle) works well if I'm not covered in neem.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Thanks guys. We are staying for 3 nights from 16th Sept at an hotel adjacent Loch Awe. It was a County Show deal and very cheap, I have a sinking feeling about it after looking it up on trip advisor ! Prior to that we are just going to explore, I have never been further north than Manchester !!

EKW, I would love to visit your yard but OH will go bonkers if I include horses in the honeymoon.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Loch Awe is stunning you never know, it could well be breezy, Sept/Oct is a good time of year up here usually.

 

[saddlesore]

Avoid the countryside in the early evening!! They shouldn't be TOO bad during the day or at night but evening time but sure you are tucked up in a restaurant or pub!

 

[khalswitz]

Also to add - I'm one of those people who don't really get bothered by midges, other than being tickled up the nose when the air is full of them. There are some people they don't like - you could be one!!!

 

[em mcb]

Deet 100% from an outdoor shop is the best I've found for midgies. As others have said the worst time of day is usually early evening so best idea is to go and have a nice drink somewhere if it is breezeless.

Also a wee tip I was given recently (don't know how valid it is!), is to avoid wearing dark colours as apparently they attract midgies!

 

[Dry Rot]

Also to add - I'm one of those people who don't really get bothered by midges, other than being tickled up the nose when the air is full of them. There are some people they don't like - you could be one!!!

Then you've not met proper midges! Try the Caithness Flow Country where they congregate in buzzing clouds! They lust for blood. Any blood.

 

[khalswitz]

Then you've not met proper midges! Try the Caithness Flow Country where they congregate in buzzing clouds! They lust for blood. Any blood.

Oh I have. I'm regularly in Caithness with work, as well as spending inordinate amounts of time on the West Coast. I have sailed around the West Coast and the sea lochs, camping over night, have camped down the Great Glen, camped on the Cairngorms, boated the Caledonian Canal... and even in damp, horrible conditions when the air is full of them and most people seem to be eaten alive, they just don't bother me. They tickle, a lot, and get in my face, but don't really seem to bite. I don't even wear much insect repellent (although use the horse's Phaser if they are very bad).

I am fairly anaemic so whether that is why they pass over me for other people I don't know.

CLEGGS on the other hand, I get bitten through my jodhpurs and everything. I've never had a midge bite, in my memory, despite having lived here all my life and travelled all over Scotland, but cleggs eat me alive.

 

[Marydoll]

I think its just your luck tbh, some people are eaten alive, others hardly get a nip.
Avon skin so soft, the green one Is good or if you want chemicals jungle formula.

 

[AdorableAlice]

I am beginning to think the choice of Scotland for my honeymoon was a bad idea !

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

I am beginning to think the choice of Scotland for my honeymoon was a bad idea !

lol

 

[Dry Rot]

I am beginning to think the choice of Scotland for my honeymoon was a bad idea !

You could always avoid the midges by staying in bed….

 

[AdorableAlice]

You could always avoid the midges by staying in bed….

Now look here !, this is a family forum. Anyway, we are both second time around, late 50's, lived together for decades and any hanky panky needs an appointment at our age.

Can any good Scottish people suggest nice things to do in Scotland. I am just looking at the Jocobite railway trip. We are driving up, probably via York, then Alnwick, Edinburgh then across to West Coast to an hotel on Loch Awe. Bought the Loch Awe deal at a county show and checking on trip advisor I am very worried to say the least.

 

[cabrach]

Now look here !, this is a family forum. Anyway, we are both second time around, late 50's, lived together for decades and any hanky panky needs an appointment at our age.

Can any good Scottish people suggest nice things to do in Scotland. I am just looking at the Jocobite railway trip. We are driving up, probably via York, then Alnwick, Edinburgh then across to West Coast to an hotel on Loch Awe. Bought the Loch Awe deal at a county show and checking on trip advisor I am very worried to say the least.

Firstly congratulations, and you will have a fabulous time. I wouldn't worry too much about the midges, if its breezy they won't bother you. I personally would be more worried about ticks. They are really bad this year, especially after such a mild wet winter.

 

[khalswitz]

Agree, you will have a fab time, it's beautiful over there. Heaps to see and do, as long as you've for the car. And weather has been suspiciously good so far this summer (must mean winter will be horrendous) so you should have a ball. Honestly, don't worry too much about the midges - just take some Phaser just in case

 

[Dry Rot]

As K has said, don't worry about the midges, just leave plenty of time and don't rush. Things are a bit slower up here. There's also nothing wrong in playing it by ear and listening to what they tell you to go to see and do when you're here. The rail is a great idea. Oh, and take a large diary for all those appointments.