Smidge has a new chemical repellent that actually works. As good as high stength Deet. Teh Avon basically works by drowning tbhem as they land not repelling themIIRC

The active ingredient in smidge has been around for years and years, it’s just been renamed, sexed up and rebadged with clever marketing.

Avon doesn’t drown them, it leaves a very thin film and is dry to the touch. Looking at the ingredients, the impressive list of nasty organic compounds probably leaves a variety of potential sources of its repellant power.

Avon does work but is a bit whiffy and leaves an oily finish on the skin, not sure I like it really.

Being a sweaty mofo, midge nets are my favourite tactic when it is really bad, repellants and Avon just run off me. Smoking big fatty boombattys works too!

richmtb – Member

I’m camping in Ardnamurchan tomorrow. I’m giving Smidge a try.

I really hope it works as the little bastards absolutely love me and and the bites I get often come up in ugly yellow blisters.

I’ve got some Avon and some other repellants too just for back up!

richmtb, where were you camping? I was in Kilchoan, and did a nice wee route from Fascadale to the Sanna Sands road. Did you do any routes up there? Cheers.

I can confirm the deet based stuff we bought worked very dry well. We had skin so soft with us, worked for about 30 seconds.

I tried Smidge for the first time at the weekend.

Didn’t really get the chance to test it in anger whilst on Skye, however we camped in Glen Nevis on the way there and back, and as always, the place was teeming with midges.

Initial thoughts are:

It works. Like DEET it will keep the majority of midges from biting, but they’ll still harass you!

It’s much nicer than DEET to apply, I quite like the rub on effect, less seems to be wasted and it doesn’t leave you feeling like you’re covered in chemicals.

That said, it made my lips go numb, so I wouldn’t advise drinking it 🙂

Only issue is that you can’t have a “quick blast” in the same way that you do with DEET sprays (I.e. before the mad dash from the shower to the tent). Perhaps it’s only psychological, but when I’m finally clean at the end of the day, I can’t be bothered rubbing more repellent in before I go to bed.

A combination of both worked really well – clothes sprayed with DEET and Smidge on exposed skin (and it’s easy to rub through hair too(.

Will look for it when i go back up to Scotland, anything not as unpleasant as Deet is worth a look.

excellent thread this one 🙂

Go to say I’m quite impressed my Smidge. Only a couple of bites from my weekend in Ardnamurchan and some spots were absolutley teaming with them.

It is much nicer to use than DEET

ichmtb, where were you camping? I was in Kilchoan, and did a nice wee route from Fascadale to the Sanna Sands road. Did you do any routes up there? Cheers.

We camped in Ardtoe. Had a look at Sanna Bay but the locals seemed a bit hostile to wild camping, almost as bad as the midges! Didn’t take the bikes but it looked like an excellent place for doing a bit of touring as for the most part it was absolutely empty

I’ve become immune to midges now, used to get big bumps from them – they bearly even leave a mark these days. Still irritate the hell out of me though so it’s super-strength deet to every available surface for me.

As an alternative to Deet based products I’ve had great results both here and overseas with Picardin not as long lasting as deet but doesnt disolve plastic either

really depends how bad it is, if just going for a run on the bike, you don’t need much, got that smidge at the weekend and it seemed not bad actually, cuts them down by about 50%, but atleast they do stop bitting.

When it gets really bad and you are camping in it, well either a midge net, or if that isn’t to hand, a jumper and hood works just as well! 😀

my advise is take everything with ye, jungle formulae, avon, smidge, a midge net and a jumper!

btw, a warning to all, they are absolutely fierce up by loch eck right now.

Buffs work well (if you look closely you can see the wee blighters crawling all over Sheila’s)

I think the folks at Sanna bay had a bad experience with hippies/new worlders setting up semi permanent encampments or something. Don’t think they can ban proper wild camping but guess they CAN ban overnight parking.

Avon SSS definitely doesn’t work – after being bitten by a million midges whilst trail building at Gisburn last Monday, I feel I am fully qualified to make that statement. I will remember my Autan for next Sunday.

I have no experience of the Scottish highland midge but the South Wales midge at Afan molestered me 2 days ago and I can’t imagine anything worse. The itch actually gets much worse on the second day. Camping in that is my idea of hell.

Afan midges are lovely compared to highland midges. I’m moving up to Scotland soon and not looking forward to the midges, I can deal with South Wales midges, they don’t swarm – they gather – but don’t swarm.

Just ordered some Smidge, have used Avon SSS effectively in the past when bouldering, but that was only against North Wales midges.

Be interested to know how immunity can build up against midges, I thought that each community of midges would be genetically diverse enough that you would only build up immunity to that particular community.

Avon SSS works for me, having used it on several walking and cycling trips in the highlands. It does seem to be better at preventing bites than actually repelling the blighters though. DEET is horrible – I don’t want stuff that melts plastic on my skin.

I think you can get used to them. I’ve been here 5 years now, and while they still irritate me, and I do get a lot of bites, it’s not the misery it used to be.

+1 for ‘getting used’.

Its almost a zen process, mind over matter etc. I can stand in swarms of them fixing a puncture and just manage to keep my sanity.

Thats me in a cloud of midgies.

If you’re expecting the worst, I think there’s benefit in taking an over the counter anti-histamine?

I think you can get used to them. I’ve been here 5 years now, and while they still irritate me, and I do get a lot of bites, it’s not the misery it used to be.

Really, I’ve lived in Scotland for 45 years and they’re still utter ****.

Must just be tougher than you 😀

Maybe I smell. I’m not sure when I meant immunity I meant literal immunity, more you just get used to them and their effects aren’t as bad. I don’t think they have any sort of effect you could become immune to in the literal sense.

Wish I had read this post earlier, just bought a can of Jungle Fever (not the Spike Lee film) for the weekend at Fort William.

I am interested in the Marmite theory. Midges don’t seem to bite me (or I don’t react to them) and I eat bucketloads of Vegemite.

The best thing tho is my friend. They love her. I stand about two feet away in a Midge free zone.

Ha, the greatest feat of diplomacy/love for my girlfriend was looking at her midgie-bitten face all swollen up like a raspberry, and pretending that “no, you look absolutely fine” while trying not to back away making the sign of the cross 😕

think the folks at Sanna bay had a bad experience with hippies/new worlders setting up semi permanent encampments or something. Don’t think they can ban proper wild camping but guess they CAN ban overnight parking.

This is Ardtoe so no great hardship

just bought a can of Jungle Fever

I think you mean Jungle Formula 🙂

Its going to be pissing down at Fort William this weekend 🙁

That will keep most of the midges at bay. Bring a brolly instead!

I’m from Dundee where smidge is made, they just grind up neds to make it; the midge get a waft of ground up buckie and Regal king size from your skin and leg it

LOL@duckman

real dundee radges indeed

RichMTB, thats a beautiful shot, I’ve been lucky to grow familiar with views of Eigg and Rum in recent years 8)

Reading this with interest, does garlic eating repel those scottie midgies, when abroad I always up my garlic intake and dont suffer from mozzy bites like some people I meet . However they do tell me that the highland midgie is something else.

Highland midge just looks at your eating of Garlic as an added bonus,and a bit of variety in her diet.

Reading this with interest, does garlic eating repel those scottie midgies, when abroad I always up my garlic intake and dont suffer from mozzy bites like some people I meet

I love it when english people (I assume?) use cute names like “scottie” when referring to scotland/scottish.

On this basis, I am happy to advise the garlic definitely does work and you will be able to sleep with your tent doors open whenever visiting scotland 🙂

I’d be interested to know what the midges are like in the villages, and towns – do they migrate into your house at night and feast on your face, like tiny vampires?

Never had midges in the house in South Wales – but they do like my garden in the evenings, North Wales they used to pop in for a visit in the house some nights, nibbling on my legs.

never had a problem with midges in the house, even in fairly rural areas.

that said, sitting out the back garden can be a nightmare.

I never have a problem with them in the house – the bats eat them all.

No problems with them entering the house, I don’t know why but they never seem to last for long in an non natural environment such as a house or a car.

On another note I’ve been experimenting with this over the last week:

http://www.highlandsoaps.com/scottish-bog-myrtle-organic-lotion-300ml-cat-33-subcat-44-product-458

bog myrtle lotion

it appears to be very effective at dissuading the midges from biting, they still swarm around you and land on you, but then lose interest and fly off. Once you get used to the nuisance factor of the cloud of midges in your face you can get on with stuff. It seems to last a good while as well. The only issue is that if you miss a bit, the midges will then feast on that patch of skin. Hence the tip of my left ear tingling this morning.

also I now smell lovely 😉

Midge don’t really last in the house. However that may change; we get them in the garden and I have been bitten in the sidlaw hills the last couple of years,something I don’t remember from a while back.

I have been bitten in the sidlaw hills the last couple of years

Bugger, that sounds painful. 😀