Midges in Scotland

Okay,
So the reputation of this wee blood sucking Scottish beastie precedes itself, however……
With a few others, I’m still looking to plan a road cycling trip (darkside, I know !) up into Scotland next year. What I’m seeking from the STW infinite knowledge and experiences is:
– best months to avoid
– are there any areas worse than others (for midges that is !)
– apart from the occasional stops, if cycling along at road pace, are they still likely to bite
– any repellent that is sweat proof

Thanks all

If you’re road cycling it’s not an issue.

Until you stop.

Are you camping?

Come up the east coast through the Cairngorms. The cycling is lovely, and less midges. Although the west coast is lovely, just more of a gamble. I usually aim for May.

They can’t fly more than 5mph so any breeze keeps them at bay.

They dislike direct sunlight.

Smidge is an excellent repellant.

Armed with these 3 facts your trip will be just fine.

I’d avoid May – August inclusive. End of April and beginning of September might be a bit midgey too depending on how the weather has been.

Normal road pace on the flat and down hill you’ll be fine. I got midged pretty badly going up the Bealach Na Ba, but that was on a heavy tourer going very slowly.

Where it’s windy it can be better, so along the coast with an on-shore beeze would be worth seeking out. For this reason the Outer Hebrides can be good as a lot of the roads are coastal (and also stunning).

Not found any repellent that works for me, including that Avon stuff.

Achnasheen and Achnashellach were pretty bad earlier this year.
On a scale of mild to unbearable, they were insanity inducing.
Get a net some smidge. Keep bare areas covered when stopped. You should be fine.

There’s a BBC documentary about the midge next Monday evening. I’ll pop up a link to Iplayer.

For the umpteenth time Avon Skin so Soft is not a repellent

And we manage to ride bikes all year.

I’d go in Mid april or late September

scotroutes – Member
They can’t fly more than 5mph so any breeze keeps them at bay.

They dislike direct sunlight.

Smidge is an excellent repellant.

Armed with these 3 facts your trip will be just fine.

100% head to toe coverage is a must when all of the above fail.

tbh road cycling you’ll be fine. really just grassy/offroad areas you’ll get midges, they won’t bother you too much if you are on tarmac. You’ll get them on tarmac, but it won’t be the apocalyptic amounts you can get when camping.

Midges don’t particularly get bad until mid june, and can last into october, just depends on the year.

You can easily get days in the middle of summer that are midge free. When the sun goes down it’s a different story mind you, but you can still get midge free nights aswell.

in short, it varies, certain conditions make them swarm, as scotroutes says, no wind, cloudy and a certain temperature. Midgies don’t like it too wet or too dry either. (I suspect it’s a certain humidity level they like.)

Buy smidge and when that stops working, head to toe coverage, including midgy need. Yes you’ll look like a plank, but you’ll be a comfortable plank.

They don’t like fire either, but you need a reasonable sized fire for it to be effective over a decent sized area. I reckon it’s the dry air they don’t like rather than the smoke.

Avon skin so soft is shit.

Whathaveisaidnow – Member
I’d go in Mid april or late September

I don’t think avoiding the best months in Scotland is good advice! 😆

Still getting bitten camping at 4000 ft near the summit of Braeriach on 1st October. Unusually warm, calm conditions though. I’d foolishly assumed October and that height would be midge free and not packed repellent.

wee blood sucking Scottish beastie

They don’t suck blood, the females rasp at the skin to break the surface in order to lay eggs.

If you drive to the start of a route make sure you’re last out of the van. Hanging around for 20 mins whilst waiting for the faffers to adjust their arm warmers was what did for me. The 48 hour delayed reaction is a killer.

It’s simple. MTFU and don’t stop.

Taking Vit B seems to help, and if you take along a sacrificial newbie wearing shorts and short sleeves, the midges will prefer the fresh meat.

They don’t suck blood, the females rasp at the skin to break the surface in order to lay eggs.

WTF? of course they suck blood. They don’t use a hollow needle like a mosquito but they still drink the stuff. Midge bites are not incubating eggs waiting to hatch!

Best advice is probably to go with someone who is more of a magnet for them. Unfortunately when I visit, that person is usually me…

Skin so Soft may not be a midge repellant, but it’s what the ranger at the Galloway deer centre was using and dishing out, and it worked for me – I’m usually irresistible to any female with wings and 6 legs…

I’d go in Mid april or late September
I don’t think avoiding the best months in Scotland is good advice!

Piss off, there are no “best months”!

So, we were up there in June and not a midge in sight. It was warm too.
Where were they?

There was a bit of a delayed hatch this year. I wasn’t really aware of any until the middle of August.

I live in Aberdeen and am generally never bothered by midgies at any time of year. Even further west in the Cairngorms (Braemar etc) it’s a non issue.

on a road bike you’ll be OK until you stop. Just start smoking as soon as you finish and you’ll be fine.

I don’t get this “you’ll be fine on a road bike” thing

The buggers add a considerable amount of protein to my diet when out for a spin…none of which is welcome

Thanks one and all.
Excellent advice, as ever. Love the fact there’s so much of it based on experience.
As a quick ‘add on’ (okay, being lazy….), anyone any knowledge of some good sites that have some likely routes listed. Don’t really want to go too far north on this first foray.

Avoid June – September on the west coast without smidge and you’ll be fine.

Give an idea of location, pace and duration and I’m sure ideas will be forthcoming.

Dumfries and Galloway has some lovely and quiet roads that are often missed by those in search of delights further north. Take in some Borders stuff when you are there and you could be quite happy. Accommodation and eateries are also more frequent so you have more flexibility in planning.

Dumfries and Galloway has some lovely and quiet roads that are often missed by those in search of delights further north.

Wheesht! Don’t give away all the secrets! 😉

As a Scottish resident, I can justifiably say that midges ruin half this country. Can you imagine any other country in the world having a serious infestation problem and still try and encourage outdoors tourism? I feel lucky to avoid it all in Aberdeenshire, and when planning my holidays on the east coast I at least have the luxury of a convenient abort plan if it gets unbearable.

But for balance – I’ve always managed to avoid midge season through luck/judgment. Actually, the worst I’ve ever experienced was in Aberdeenshire on the MTB (Linn o Dee).

Can you imagine any other country in the world having a serious infestation problem and still try and encourage outdoors tourism?

ENCOURAGE? 😆
are you familiar with the concept of a traditional highland welcome?
Have you taken advantage of all Fort William has to offer?

Ignore me – I’m being cantankerous. I love road biking in Scotland. I’ve done the highlands/islands/borders/east & west coast and never had a problem with midges. The fear of midges is probably what keeps the roads so nice and quiet for me!

But come in May 😉

Lived on the west coast all my life, and the worst midges I have ever experienced were at linn of dee in Aberdeenshire last month. Horrific.

As scotroutes said, we manage to ride all year, don’t worry about it. I’ve been biking for about 12 years, and can count on one hand the amount of times that midges have been detrimental to rides.

MTFU.

I suspect some on this thread have never experienced the apocalyptic levels of midge that can happen! 😆 talk of repellents is utterly futile! It’s all about the physical barrier! 😀

I’d avoid May – August inclusive.

😆

These threads never cease to amaze me.

They’re basically just a way of identifying all the STWers who would be first to perish in a zombie apocalypse or perhaps even just some inclement weather.

all the STWers who would be first to perish in a zombie apocalypse or perhaps even just some inclement weather.

Having encountered dense swarms of midge inside my bivvy bag under that rail pedestrian underpass at the foot of Beinn Na Lapp. Nothing seems intolerable anymore.

Midges and snow. It’s a wonder anyone even survives north of Carlisle.

scotroutes – Member
…And we manage to ride bikes all year.

But we’re not fresh meat to the midgies. 🙂

Midges and snow. It’s a wonder anyone even survives north of Carlisle.

Hmm, maybe WE are the Zombie Apocalypse…. 🙂

Don’t stop, don’t exhale, don’t bare your skin to the world. Few things in life are less dignified than a grown man attempting to pitch a tent or fix a puncture on a still summer’s evening and morphing into a squealing girly running round in circles with windmilling arms whilst praying for the merciful release of death.

Argyll & Lochaber are particularly ‘interesting’, the sky really can darken above your head if conditions are right for the wee feckers. If you are camping, a large smoky campfire is probably most effective. Midge hoods are also good if donned early enough (Crewe Junction). Be careful of using certain repellents, such as jungle formula, near resin watch straps, they melt!

Enjoy your trip.

You should avoid June -September and cycle on the east coast. Use both Skin so soft and Smidge, plus Jungle Formula as an optional extra. Wear a midge net at all times with gloves, long sleeves and bib tights to make sure there is no exposed flesh. Smoke continuously throughout the trip. Never stop,never let the pace fall below 20mph and you should be fine. If that doesn’t work nip over to Faslane and press the biggest red button you can find.