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Yo.
I'm wanting to do a bit of biking and tourist stuff during July in the highlands, Fort Bill dh track and red, and anything else that's good.
Probably be camping. Maybe around Roybridge area.
What can I expect from the midge population around that time?
Will myself, my other half and the dog die?
A midge recently...
It's not one midge that's the problem 🙂
It's not like no one in the Highlands goes outdoors all summer.
Use Smidge though, it's made a huge difference.
How many midges are around will depend on how busy it is. If the Highlands nd Islands fill up with tourists again then we'll have to fire up the secret midge factory under Ben Nevis and start shipping them round the country. It's the high number of escapees from there that makes Fort William such a hot-spot for them.
Depends on the weather. If it's warm and damp you'll be eaten alive. If it's hot and/or windy you'll be fine. Personally I wouldn't camp there in the summer 🙂
Deet.
Will myself, my other half and the dog die?
No. you'll just wish you would.
We've used one of the chalets/huts at the Roy Bridge campsite. The place is surrounded by trees so the winged teeth are quite active. Keep covered up and use Smidge.
In the meantime I'll see if I can deploy my Trojan code to disrupt the Midgitrons in the Ben Nevis factory 🙂
They can only fly at 5-6 mph so you’ll be fine on the downhills. If someone punctures then you sacrifice them for the good of the rest!
camping can be hit or miss.
just dont breathe out. its your exhaled air that they use to find you
just dont breathe out. its your exhaled air that they use to find you
I remember a particularly midge infested weekend at the Sligachan campsite on Skye which involved running as fast as we could between tents and cars whilst holding our breaths. The little bastards still managed to get in though. Going to bed involved an hour of midge squishing with a torch inside the tent before any sleep could be considered.
Chain smoking cigarettes also works but that comes with it's own obvious disadvantages.
That's not a midge, that's a mosquito. This is a midge: - tiny but irritating enough that several books have been written on the effects of the midge on the Scottish economy. There's a good reason why they are called the Caledonian Luftwaffe.
Here's the bobby:
Midges are attracted to exhaled CO2 and a light breeze disrupts this. They also hate sunshine so be sure to camp somewhere breezy and pray for sunshine. Anything with DEET will stop them biting but they will still swarm around you. DEET comes out in your urine for 48 hours after you've applied it to your skin. Avon's Forest Fern Skin so Soft has a strong green herbal fougere (fern) smell and seems to confuse midges' ability to find their prey and it is safe to use on your skin. Carry midge nets so that if you have to stop in a sheltered area like forestry, you can cover your head at least. Also take mosquito coils and burn a couple around your tent entrance, which keeps them away very effectively. Don't burn them inside the tent because the pyrethrum will give you bronchitis. A can of insecticide will enable you to de-midge the inside of the tent or the car if you have taken refuge there in desperation. Don't laugh, this happens.
I believe that some campsites now have midge magnets, which are a thing like a small patio heater that contains a propane cylinder, where a small flame gives off a stream of CO2 and there's also a reservoir of octanol, which is an alcohol that cows excrete when they digest cellulose. These attract the midges, which are sucked into a bag where they die of dehydration. After using one for a few weeks you effectively depopulate the area in a radius of a hundred yards around the machine and get almost midge-free conditions. We are about to buy a plot beside a loch in the Trossachs and we will definitely be using a midge magnet in summer.
Lastly, don't do what we once did and leave the poor dog outside in the evening then wonder why your black dog has gone speckly grey and seems to be freaking out.
Scotland’s national bird:
If it’s any consolation, i camped out a couple of nights ago and there were no midgies at all.
just FYI - we stayed at Roybridge site (mhome) the one just down the dead end road at station - we really liked it - a calm and tranquil place - river, birds etc (short walk to train and ok pub - gf (*hospital theatre sister) did not whinge about facilities/cleanliness). Train to Corrour Station (café/restaurant there) I came back using NEish track from Corrour at S end Loch Treig - I was pushing /dragging a lot on single path track(and you might need trunks if it was wet) , had to climb a 10ft locked gate, then stony blast downhill home.
No midges (*May) - but I wear long socks, 3/4 shorts, long sleeves with collar, long gloves and carry a midge net for over my helmet - very sweaty but proven to keep the little sods off
It's a cracking area, quite a few other tracks there that I'd like to cover
Will myself, my other half and the dog die?
No. you’ll just wish you would.
Then you'll fear you won't.
just FYI – we stayed at Roybridge site (mhome) the one just down the dead end road at station
That's the badger. I've stayed in the huts a few times there on kayaking trips a few years back. That was winter though so no midgies.
Thanks for the advice folks. I'm willing to brave it but the gf isn't so keen.
I stayed at the campsite at Kielder one time and the midges there were just horrendous, and they had those midge death machines too....
FWIW Smidge is also proven to be effective against ticks and they are far more of a concern than the midge.
I’m willing to brave it but the gf isn’t so keen.
Simple, get a new gf.
I used Deet when up there in July a few years ago. It wasn't as bad as I expected.
It's the ticks you need to worry about.
Smidge is good ..but the best I've used is Ballistols Stichfrei..you can get a children's formula and even one for your dog !..its German deet free ( which has a world health organisation warning !) ..works against midges , ticks , horseflies ( cleggs) and can be used effectively in tropical conditions too against the mosquito..buy it online ..
Seriously it's the best out there...
Could be hell, could be ok, depends on the conditions on the day and whether there's been a hatch. They like slightly warm cloudy days, slightly humid days. dust and dawn. Don't like direct sunlight, rain. They on't like fires.
don't listen to advice re deet, it's terrible stuff, smidge is ok for a bit in that it's not poisonous like deet. But even that only has limited usefulness.
Have an option of 100% head to toe coverage, including daft midgy net. There is nothing else that will work when they are proper swarming.(talking looking at your skin and seeing 144 billion midges per square inch, it does happen!)
Fort William area... prepare for the worst. You could be lucky though.