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I was lucky enough to be up in the Highlands 6 weeks ago and not really be bothered by the Midge infestation thats plaguing people at the moment, my question is , is the midge problem the same around Peebles and Inner and up towards the Southern Cairngorms ? Im up there next week and will be full of Avon s s s But just wanting to know what im letting myself in for.
forget the avon. Get yourself smidge that actually works
I believe the recipe for SSS changed a couple of years ago. That or the wee bu**ers built up immunity!
Smidge is the best thing I've used recently.
It's a bit buggy at the moment- a few midges, though mostly pretty local, and also quite a lot of annoying flies. Nothing like the highlands though.
I get more midges in my back garden than what I've ever seen at Glentress.
I'm in Stow, 20 miles east of Peebles 15 from Inners.
No midges here just now, it's fine. I've been running in the hills a lot and went through Innerleithen on the road bike yesterday, no problems
I’ve never tried it with midges, but insects reeeally hate anything with tea-tree oil.
You can get tea-tree shower gel, etc.
I found the essential oil in the bargain dept, in a big Tesco’s. 10ml for £1.
I’d dilute it one part tea-tree essential oil to ten parts vegetable oil.
This might be an opportunity to use your hip flask and funnel gift set.
It turns out that tea-tree oil is also very bad news for pets and you’re not supposed to use the essential oil directly on your skin (topically), and never ever ingest it😭
But, you can drop a diluted solution onto your bike helmet and clothes.
Id also carry another hip flask, (correctly labelled), with an alcohol based mouthwash. Not only can you sanitise your hands, but you can apply it to any insect bites to reduce the swelling.
Or a hand-gel may work too.
Good luck!
Last weekend was awful for the little ****ers. A mate got proper snacked on at GT and Inners. I had 1 bite from Inners, car camping and Golfie.
I used Jungle Formula. He used nothing.
Never find the midges bad in the valley, but the bigger horse fly things were horrific last week. Swarms of them following us and buzzing around our heads. I camp a lot down in the valley and never remember midges forcing a retreat at night.
I just cannot go to midge areas of the UK when it’s their season. They fly past other people to get to me, people have witnessed it happening and been amazed when they see it! They feed on me like piranhas and I’m slightly allergic to the bites so I look like I have leprosy for weeks afterwards with hundreds of sore oozing bite wounds over me.
I was in the Dales a few weeks ago and sat for a few minutes in a car park under some trees at 6am and the blighters go to me before I could escape. It’s been 3 weeks and I’ve still had the bites itching on my legs and head.
I’m not a fan if you can guess.
b230ftw
have yo tried smidge?
I’ve tried them all!
Including smidge because it actually works? High strength DEET does as well. forget natural stuff - it does not work. citronella. avon etc - don't work
Yes tried it, still get bitten.
I just avoid places where they reside now and take an anti histamine before any outdoor trip where they might be even in England.
My dad has a similar problem but my siblings don’t I think.
People have witnessed swarms of midges go past them, and around a car to get to me.
We were up last week. Midges only really a problem on McMoab. Flies tho, yep we were just a rolling mobile buffet. I had some generic insect repellant that they appeared to treat as an aperitif 😉
Was up on the coast near Oban last week, and not really bad at all, even in the woods there were a few regular flies buzzing about but no midges or clegs. Used Jungle Formula
Was at GT on Thursday and it was fine.
I think Avon only works as a physical barrier - lather it on. In my experience they still land on you, then get mired. Clegs/horseflies are bad this year I've found.
Midges at GT no issues, flies omg they stalk you from buzzards nest upwards, everytime I stopped I got swamped by the buggers, when I looked behind as I cycled up the fire road they just kept coming!
Midges I got 12 bites but I reckon it was along the river as I took a leisurely cycle with the OH one afternoon and they all appeared when we got back to the b&b, I was up there Monday - Thursday this week.
Smidge ordered avon will be used also .Think is I only got one bite at Fort Bill a few weeks back and walked all around Glencoe ..fast forward and three weeks ago I got eaten alive at the top of Lockerbrook , them buggers took around a week to stop iching .. little S**ts
Years ago my mate got me Deet from soldiers at Faslane
Damn that gear was epic
Midges didn’t even get a bite in as landed and were dead on impact
Not many if any products use Deet now I think
JUngle formula is deet and you can buy up to 100% Deet. works well but very nasty stuff
I’ve been very impressed with Icaridin-based (picaridin) repellents. Currently using this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01F3OZK7K
The main reason is it doesn’t attack plastics and synthetics like DEET does.
Planning to be up in Dunkeld in July, due to Ciovid it's beena while since I had to deal with the wee flying piranas.
Fingers crossed for a stiff breeze.
Thing about smidge is, it's good for midges, it's not great for some other irritants. I don't know what the little flies that hang out on the redemption climb are, but they're smidgeproof. Don't think they bite but they're still orrible. (does smidge deter ticks? I'm one of the lucky people that doesn't really get tick-bit ever so I'm not sure, I know deet does)
It's kind of ironic but repellants almost have a harder job down here... In real midge plague country, you just don't care about anything else but when there's less midges, you notice more other stuff.
(does smidge deter ticks?
Yes
Old wives tale says to start taking Garlic supplements 2 weeks before going to an infested area. They supposedly can smell it on your skin and it puts them off. I have never tried this!
Smidge is good but I still get bitten (Coigach midges last year we're horrific). It doesn't work for everyone.
To be honest you are likely to get some amount of midges in pretty much any forest in Scotland. The Tweed Valley is not too be bad but they are still there. I got bitten quite badly once at GT when I went with a slow mate who walked up every climb.
At normal riding pace you don't notice them but hang about in among the trees and they are definitely there.
WTF is with the small flies though. They don't bite but they are so bloody annoying. Unlike the midges they don't seem to want my blood so why do approximately 237 of them follow me around the trail
WTF is with the small flies though.
They’re attracted to bad smells I think😂😉
Avon skinsosoft still works well, just have to make sure you get the right one that has citronella in it as there's a few different types that don't have it now and are useless.
To be fair I cant remember getting munched much last time I was there but that was 4 years ago , My Avon and smidge are bagged and ready .
Gt day 1 Golfie day 2 and was heading to Ben Ledi on the Sunday but there might be a reason to head home for Sunday evening ...
I was there two weeks ago and my bites have just about cleared up.
Smidge probably helped a bit but I still had about 12 bites on each ankle and about 10 on each arm.
I later spent a day in Kielder. That was like torture when the midges descended. Never subjecting myself to that again.