Scotland and midges

[hawkwind]

I fancy going to Scotland in the caravan this year, but the boiler and our lad aint too keen because of the midges.

Is there a good/bad time of year to go to avoid them, or are there any places that are midge free up there.

For anyone interested there is now a midge forecast on the web

http://www.midgeforecast.co.uk/home/forecast.asp

[laser_jock@work]

Depends how susceptable you are to the little blighters. We had to abondon our holiday by a Scottish loch once because Mum was coming out in huge blisters pustules due histamine reaction to the anti-coagulents in their bite. I went flyfishing in the evenings and would come in with over 50 bites on my face (even using Jeet Jungle Formula). The torture of midges biting you up the nose and in the earholes is exquisite! We dropped back down to the Lake District and had no problems there.

Any time between May and September is human hunting season for them. Nowhere is safe. They will chase you up mountains- I thought we would be okay camping on Skye at 3,000+ feet- but no, they are there too.

Go if you want- but be prepared to pull out if necessary.

[ferretmanabu]

Get plenty of repellent with almost 100% DEET in it and slap that round you face and other exposed skin.
Wear long sleeve shirts and trousers and take some antihistamines with you. That should limit the damage

[andycook]

NE Scotland pretty midge free - I live here!
but go up Deeside, Cairngorms, and West Highlands, and all West Coast Scotland and Islands and you will get midged!!!

I wouldnt camp between May to mid-September.
Went on fishing holiday end of June near Gairloch, but we deliberately stayed in a Bothy. No one else came to bothy so we had it to ourselves, so we had sanctuary from midges, but we were on coastal cliff, with good breeze so few midges around. 1 mile inland in birch woods, there were loads of midges!

if there is a breeze you are fine, but as soon as it gets still, they are bad!
I have done lots camping and mountaineering in past, so now avoid camping in summer as been through too many ordeals!. no fun wearing headnet and covering all skin in clothing and DEET when its roasting hot!
wine and beer dont taste so good through a midge-net!!

[Maverick]

Last year we went camping during Easter, and for the first time had a midgie free holiday. It was snowing and the temperatures were dropping to -5 at night though.

[jackster]

Apparantly AVON skin so softly woodland fragrance is the best thing to keep the midges away

Have`nt tried it myself,read it on a caravan forum,said to keep the biteing little gits at bay


God it`s

Must drink cold beer

[Spoggle]

Apparantly AVON skin so softly woodland fragrance is the best thing to keep the midges away

Have`nt tried it myself,read it on a caravan forum,said to keep the biteing little gits at bay


God it`s

Must drink cold beer

Yes stupid as it may sound where deet has failed Avon have won through in the war against the Scottish midge. It work's. you could also take to eating lots of garlic, they don't like the smell, and try eating brewers yeast tablets supposed to reduce the suffering if you do get bitten. We went to Gareloch a few years ago in August and only lasted one night and we still have nightmares about it At about 7pm you would think someone blew a whistle and millions of the little sods appeared from nowhere and ate us for supper and hung around for breakfast as well. The east coast side isn't too bad though, but you will no doubt still get attacked by a few. Best time to go, WINTER. But the views!!!!!

Spoggle

[Bogus]

And you cant even escape to the pub. Since the smoking ban came in I hear that they are no longer deterred from going in there too.
As Andy says East coast is usually a lot better, and camping on the West Coast is ill advised, but they are strange beasts. I was once once bitten to the point of blidness/double vision near Fort William. Wifey wasnt touched

Bogus

[hawkwind]

Thanks for the info everyone.

Looks like i`ll be giving Scotland a miss then.

Midges dont bother me but mrs blobby tends to swell a bit more when its feeding time for the midges.

[B16mts]

I asked the doc this morning about stopping things biting me, and he said that Avon do something which is a fantastic repellant, so good that it is now the chosen solution by none other than the SAS!!

I get a really bad reaction to bites, i got bitten halfway up my calf last week and have spent the last seven days with my ankle the size of a football because of it!

We're not plagued by midges, but apparently we're "fortunate" to have a rare type of horse-fly in the area, one of the buggers decided to munch on my right bicep last night, i'm not begining to look light popeye.

ohhh, well what d'ya know!

Mart

[RobD]

I fancy going to Scotland in the caravan this year, but the boiler and our lad aint too keen because of the midges.

Is there a good/bad time of year to go to avoid them, or are there any places that are midge free up there.

For anyone interested there is now a midge forecast on the web

http://www.midgeforecast.co.uk/home/forecast.asp

The East coast of Scotland is not as bad as the west for midges,invest in some jungle formula and a midge net if you decide to visit the west side,avoid Skye it is pure hell.Midges prefer a humid climate,so they have not been as much of a problem during this hot spell (apart from first thing in the morning),but cleggs unfortunately love the hot weather and I have been bitten to buggary by these blood succking little $$$$ers this week,so keep an eye out for those too.

[NFC]

Apparently a diet heavy in vitamin B12 (starting a week or so beforehand) and lack of blue clothing both deter flying insects. Not as effectively as DEET though.