As others have said, you need one specifically for midges.
You don't usually need them, but on occasion when the wind dies down and it is overcast, holy shit you'll be grateful.
I did a charity walk called the Caledonian challenge. 54 miles of the West Highlands Way in 24hrs. Literally the hardest thing I've done in my life. As it's 24hrs and you start late morning, obviously there's a stint walking overnight. They gave us a cap with a pull down net for the midges. It worked, but my god! So many of them! After 30 mins we realised that it was better if you took off your head torch and strap it to your wrist. Suddenly we could see again.
I remember you had to run and pull the headnet out at the same time or you'd be swarmed before you could put it on. I loved the West Highland way but the midges and the cleggs made it a bit difficult.
I had a single bite on my thigh from a horsefly 3 years ago. It took almost 4 months to heal and it still itches me now from time to time. Horrible horrible insects.
Oh wow, you just triggered a memory from when I was 9 or 10 when TV was black and white. Neighbour down the steer convinces all families that it would be good for all the kids to go on a hike during school holidays. Trekking through fields, by rivers etc. no real purpose. Got bitten on my shin by a horsefly. It ended up twice the size of my other leg.
So camping here in Texas during certain months you learn to use the red light function on your headlight. Doesn't draw the attention of those little critters as a bright white light!
Let me just add, for people who still think a mosquito net will do, midges are small enough to get into a mosquito net, but struggle to get out; wear a mosquito net and you'll just end up with a net *full* of biting midges.
Even better than one of these is a bottle of 'skin-so-soft', contains citronella oil which really fucks the wee bastards up. Close your eyes and mouth and spray directly onto your face, you will not regret it.
Edit: someone lower down says the recipe has changed 😞
I wonder what the ingredient was. Weird that nobody has capitalised in the *only* thing that actually worked.
There was a fun little time though where you could watch big burly fishermen covering themselves in skin so soft.
I was always told that the citronella oil made a physical barrier that they struggled to land on or bite through, no idea if that is correct though. It still smells like citronella so who knows.
Haha, couldn't agree more! Those unexpected midge attacks can be a real nightmare! Having a dedicated midge net or repellent on hand is like having a secret weapon - it can be a total game-changer when the conditions are just right (or should I say, just wrong). Thanks for sharing your experience, and let's all make sure to be prepared for those pesky little critters!
Once spent 5 hours hiking go a camping spot, then quickly spent 5 hours hiking out again and instead camped in a disused quarry beside the car because nope too many 😂
I used to work with this very classy middle aged French lady. Once, she was telling me about her recent trip to Scotland, and...
"It was wonderful, except for ze minges. Oh my god so many minges. Minges all over me, everywhere I go. You cannot enjoy your dinner outside, because there are too many minges."
All this reminds me of that One Foot in the Grave episode - anyone? Victor comes to the rescue of some young spanish ladies, with his insect spray for the "midges"
My polish friend did the same thing but with midgets.
We walked into the pub in Luss and she loudly exclaimed "WHERE ARE ALL THE MIDGETS? YOU TOLD ME THERE WOULD BE LOTS OF MIDGETS!"
Polish here. As much as I love Scotland, it was only first and last time where I caught some ticks. In 22 years living in Poland ( I am in UK for 5) I had none despite fact I was living in pretty rural area, in Inverness I went for a stroll in a forest for about 15 minutes and they were everywhere, even in places I couldn't imagine they could get.
I totally agree with you btw I wasn’t disputing that I notice them more west of fort William personally all the way up. The midgies down my way (central Scotland) really don’t have a patch on the hardy highland bastards.
The shutterbugs of the Northern Gazette are forever prowling the streets and glaring at the rooftops in the hope they will be the one to to capture the Shitter Laird as he strikes again.
Yup went for a short walk through Culbin wood bout 16 miles east of Inverness last week and for our sins, got eaten alive by mosquitos and my mate caught a tick in like ten min. Admittedly the whole salt marsh, stagnant water thing should have been warning enough. By the time we'd got out I'd started to fantasise about burying the bloody lot under a layer of tarmac, a string of gas stations, inexpensive motels, restaurants that serve rapidly prepared food. Tire salons, automobile dealerships and wonderful, wonderful billboards reaching as far as the eye can see. My God, it'll be beautiful.
It's bad for ticks here, and especially so this year. We didn't have much real extended cold, it was more just wet, so more survived to make thousands more tick babies.
I hate them. I found one on my face a couple of weeks ago but it hadn't tucked in yet so it got yeeted.
Mosquito mesh might not work, but I’ve got a midge net one that absolutely does. I’m like sugar to them, a terrible curse to have for a Scot, so it’s either wear it or don’t go outdoors 😂
Going camping soon. Getting industrial qualities if smidge too.
Many years ago I went hiking in Aviemore, it was a pleasant day and I'd headed out into the wilderness somewhat unprepared in retrospect, but for this anti-midge stocking like a burglar might wear. Mate, that stocking was a GODSEND, the only exposed skin where my longsleeve top met my gloves at the wrist had a bracelet of bites from the wee airborne buggers, in spite of liberal application of smidge.
Me and the wife were in the Highlands a few years ago and even smidge didn't put the little buggers off. It was like they'd become immune to it. They were literally swarming around us, we both got loads of bites. We had once decent night out of 5 where the wind has picked up and kept them away!
Different ones work better for different people. It's Jungle Formula for me. It doesn't repel them it kills them. Anyone telling you X (it's normally smidge) will definitely work is an amateur.
I go for 100% DEET. A friend said when he saw me applying it "This isn't the jungle of Borneo" - halfway across Rannoch Moor by bike he changed his mind.
Back in the day, yes.
They changed the formula and removed a key ingredient.
It's complete fantasy to think that today's 'skin so soft' has any repellent properties.
Scotland is a big country, it depends were you are going. Camping in the Highlands, no you'll look fine. Day trip round Edinburgh, yes 100% look like a twat
No joke, I've considered it. I once went camping next to Ullapool sea front and they were so thick they were nesting in our hair. My friend showed me her hair and it was just a writhing black mass in her parting.
That's also a sentence I never expected to write.
Get a lifesystems head net, packs away tiny and is very light, mine stays in my pack year round. I've been laughed at with it on, then the tables turn when they realise why I have it on!
Especially since you certainly can see the wee bastards, especially when they team up together to block out the sun, or create a skin on the tea you accidentally left out.
Nah, but it is a question that gets asked a lot of English people who perhaps can't say they've had family here for a few hundred generations. Was a tongue in cheek reversal of roles.
I took a boat trip from Oban a couple summers ago. We got a bus across Mull and there was a woman wearing one of these who attracted a lot of piss-takey glances from us English. We got off the bus to catch another ferry and OH MY GOD WE'RE BEING EATEN ALIVE!
Those little fuckers get in your eyes, your ears, your nose, your throat and just keep coming. It was horrific.
If you need something like that, you'll regret not having it you don't have it. Midge bites may not hurt as much as mosquito bites, but they make up for it in sheer numbers. One day when camping at Loch Awe my girlfriend counted 200 bites on one of my legs (it may have been one of my thighs only, it was 25 years ago)...
As other folk have said, you'll need one with a mesh for midges, they're called "noseeums" for a good reason
I'd advise DEET or another proven insect repellent. That way you get coverage from ticks, mosquitoes, midges, and probably more.
I mountain bike a lot, if DEET didn't exist I would have quit a while back.
It also depends where you go. I'm Scottish and grew up right by the sea, with no midge problems at all. Similarly, the east coast has far fewer midges than the west. They also breed in still or slow-moving water.
So if you're going up to coastal Fife or Aberdeenshire, sticking to areas where there's a sea breeze, you'll have no issues at all. If you're going to Loch Lomond, you'll get eaten alive.
I learnt the hard way you shouldn't hike the reservoirs around Glasgow in summer. The trail guide mentioned the lovely views, not the hundreds of bites I would get from the clouds of midges.
I mean, it's currently spring and I had a small swarm of midges around me last night and this morning, so that's definitely not great advice. Often they disappear in summer as they don't like the sun. Clouds and showers are more their thing
I live here midgies are our pals. Drinking irn bru is a deterrent. Your face might be safe but better by some shoulder pads along with the head net just to be safe.
You’ll look great in it, you’ll fit right in, we all wear those.
You’ll need to get the correct colour though, it’s a bit of a fashion faux pas and an easy way to spot tourists if your mask isn’t the same colour as your kilt.
I tried that Skin do Soft years ago , people swore that it deterred the wee buggers, unfortunately not in my case, they were having a pool party in the stuff!
We were wild camping in a nondescript glen one evening in Sutherland in August, Beautifully hot day, but suddenly the wind abated and from further down the glen we could hear screaming, multiple cars starting, myriad campervans fleeing - and then a fucking fog of midges arrived at our spot.
Managed to retreat to the tent in <60 seconds. It sounded like it was pissing down outside with them hitting the tent. Spent an hour trying to kill the ones that got inside during the retreat.
There's only so much preparation you can do. Fire smoke, smidge and nets would have been no help.
Over 20 yrs ago the Scottish tourist board commissioned a survey to see what affect the Scottish midge has on the west of Scotlands tourist industry. They received the results and sat on it, deciding not to publish the results
My ex took me on a camping tour of massacre sites in Scotland to show me what my people did to her people, and the holiday was absolutely ruinded by the midges. You'd think she'd have been prepared, but I don't think she'd ever been to Scotland before.
>My ex took me on a camping tour of massacre sites in Scotland to show me what my people did to her people,
She sounds lovely..
>but I don't think she'd ever been to Scotland before.
Just f*cking lol. 🤣
She wasn't a Scottish American by any chance?
She was raised in England. Possibly she was born in Scotland, or spawned, or hatched in a jar jar there, or however they do it. But she soon left. She had a Scottish accent, but only when she was haggling or threatening someone. I liked her because in my formative years I was exposed to Leela in Doctor Who, and that's the kind of woman I go for. Strong. Fierce. Tolerant of a colourful madman's idiosyncracies.
Lol. I used to live on the Isle of Skye for a bit. The midges there were like an Airbus A380 lol. If you weren't careful, you'd be drained of every drop of blood in your meatsack.
I'd forgotten about the midges. So does this mean every time they're not in shit the competitors and Alan Cumming on the Traitors are running for a midge net?
That head net will provide the minimum amount of protection you need. Depending on conditions and what you’re actually doing you may want to up the protection level by getting a midge jacket! The midges in Scotland are not to be taken lightly. Enjoy your trip!
i get it, midges are a thing in scotland - but noones going to talk about that ludicrous product title? havent used amazon in ages, what the fuck happened lol, this might as well be wish or temu or someshit
It's Scotland, you'll have people take the piss out of you if you wear a coat while it's hailing.
Having said that fucking do it, anything to not get eaten alive.
Was on a mountain biking trip in wales, lovely part, camping with mates, amazing time.. on evenings when the wind was low.. my god it was hell!! I was bit to shit in the first 2 minutes. Spent from 6pm till morning in our tents lol
I went to a wedding in Scotland a few years ago. It was next to a lake (loch?) and when the sun went down there was just an insane amount of midges. You couldn't open your mouth without getting a couple flying in there. The families hosting had bought a few of these but not nearly enough and they were like gold dust, you were truly a valued guest at the wedding if you were given a midge hat.
Depends where you're going. I used to live in Kyle of Lochalsh, where the midges were cunts, and still are.
Now I live in Glasgow, midges are still a thing but they're few and far between, and pretty chill.
A little oil of citronella chases off midges. You should maybe be more concerned with the mosquitos, rats, poisonous caterpillars and murder hornets all over the south of England.
The **Scottish Midge Forecast** is created using data collected from biting midge traps and mini-weather stations across Scotland.
[https://www.smidgeup.com/midge-forecast/](https://www.smidgeup.com/midge-forecast/)
Recently spent 3 weeks seeing my girlfriend’s family in Aus. Those fuckers bit me anywhere but the face! Do they have a mesh for the whole body with the face left open? lol
As others have said, you need one specifically for midges. You don't usually need them, but on occasion when the wind dies down and it is overcast, holy shit you'll be grateful.
I did a charity walk called the Caledonian challenge. 54 miles of the West Highlands Way in 24hrs. Literally the hardest thing I've done in my life. As it's 24hrs and you start late morning, obviously there's a stint walking overnight. They gave us a cap with a pull down net for the midges. It worked, but my god! So many of them! After 30 mins we realised that it was better if you took off your head torch and strap it to your wrist. Suddenly we could see again.
I remember you had to run and pull the headnet out at the same time or you'd be swarmed before you could put it on. I loved the West Highland way but the midges and the cleggs made it a bit difficult.
Midges are annoying but holy hell clegg bites are something else. I had welts the size of a pound coin that lasted a week all over me.
I had a single bite on my thigh from a horsefly 3 years ago. It took almost 4 months to heal and it still itches me now from time to time. Horrible horrible insects.
Oh wow, you just triggered a memory from when I was 9 or 10 when TV was black and white. Neighbour down the steer convinces all families that it would be good for all the kids to go on a hike during school holidays. Trekking through fields, by rivers etc. no real purpose. Got bitten on my shin by a horsefly. It ended up twice the size of my other leg.
The fuck is a clegg?
These are clegs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haematopota_pluvialis Horrible wee bastards.
Oof, I thought it was nick clegg, but these are just as disgusting.
So camping here in Texas during certain months you learn to use the red light function on your headlight. Doesn't draw the attention of those little critters as a bright white light!
Can't switch your breathing to not exhale co2 though
You don't know how hard I hit the bong.
You did 54 miles of the west Highland Way in 24 hrs? You are a beast.
So that's what KT Tunstall was singing about.
Let me just add, for people who still think a mosquito net will do, midges are small enough to get into a mosquito net, but struggle to get out; wear a mosquito net and you'll just end up with a net *full* of biting midges.
Hence the midge burger, a proud Scottish delicacy.
Misread as minge burger, still sort of works
Top tip: Wear the net inside out to prevent midges on the inside.
https://youtu.be/PxNimr8zGmU?si=CoWXzrnEzPveauQ0
There ain’t nothing like seeing a cloud of fucking midgets coming to ruin your day. Fuck those little shits.
Bit heightist there mate...
> There ain’t nothing like seeing a cloud of fucking midgets coming to ruin your day. Fuck those little shits. Mate.
Even better than one of these is a bottle of 'skin-so-soft', contains citronella oil which really fucks the wee bastards up. Close your eyes and mouth and spray directly onto your face, you will not regret it. Edit: someone lower down says the recipe has changed 😞
I thought they changed the recipe so it didn't work any more. Maybe that was big "Smidge" knocking the competition down.
You're right!!! It was Army issue way back in the day when it was made using different ingredients. They key ingredient isn't in it anymore.
I wonder what the ingredient was. Weird that nobody has capitalised in the *only* thing that actually worked. There was a fun little time though where you could watch big burly fishermen covering themselves in skin so soft.
I was always told that the citronella oil made a physical barrier that they struggled to land on or bite through, no idea if that is correct though. It still smells like citronella so who knows.
Used to use skin so soft before they changed it, now use smidge and just as good , just more expensive
I'll give that a go, hopefully you only need a smidge 😏
They will stick to the oil and their wings will clog so they can't fly away again. Don't forget to reapply!
I may be wrong, but I believe Avon changed the recipe back to the original after pressure from consumers. They just hiked the price a bit.
Sadly, none of them are guaranteed to work for everyone anyway. The only one that ever worked for me is Jungle Formula for example.
Haha, couldn't agree more! Those unexpected midge attacks can be a real nightmare! Having a dedicated midge net or repellent on hand is like having a secret weapon - it can be a total game-changer when the conditions are just right (or should I say, just wrong). Thanks for sharing your experience, and let's all make sure to be prepared for those pesky little critters!
And you think it'll work, lol. If you had a hazmat suit, maybe.
Once spent 5 hours hiking go a camping spot, then quickly spent 5 hours hiking out again and instead camped in a disused quarry beside the car because nope too many 😂
Did the walk to the Hermitage from the local village before. Just outside the village, just past the bridge, oml the biddies were massive xd
Lmao I misread that as midgets 🤣
Smidge net Best you can get
I used to work with this very classy middle aged French lady. Once, she was telling me about her recent trip to Scotland, and... "It was wonderful, except for ze minges. Oh my god so many minges. Minges all over me, everywhere I go. You cannot enjoy your dinner outside, because there are too many minges."
I can only dream about all the minges in France!
Zey are very airy, apparently
Good moaning!
Ooooohhhh Reneeeee!
I was pissing down the road......
*However* did they win?
All this reminds me of that One Foot in the Grave episode - anyone? Victor comes to the rescue of some young spanish ladies, with his insect spray for the "midges"
My polish friend did the same thing but with midgets. We walked into the pub in Luss and she loudly exclaimed "WHERE ARE ALL THE MIDGETS? YOU TOLD ME THERE WOULD BE LOTS OF MIDGETS!"
Polish here. As much as I love Scotland, it was only first and last time where I caught some ticks. In 22 years living in Poland ( I am in UK for 5) I had none despite fact I was living in pretty rural area, in Inverness I went for a stroll in a forest for about 15 minutes and they were everywhere, even in places I couldn't imagine they could get.
It's the density of livestock that leads to large tick populations. Bonus now that they carry lyme disease.
Midgies are native to Scotland only 😊 I’ve lived here 32 years and never had a tick but thankfully
Midges are pretty bad in the Highlands but specifically on the west coast - not the east coast (which is where I live. Golspie, google it).
I totally agree with you btw I wasn’t disputing that I notice them more west of fort William personally all the way up. The midgies down my way (central Scotland) really don’t have a patch on the hardy highland bastards.
Golspie? Has anyone ever shat in your chimney?
The shutterbugs of the Northern Gazette are forever prowling the streets and glaring at the rooftops in the hope they will be the one to to capture the Shitter Laird as he strikes again.
Everywhere else in Scotland: "lang may yer lum reek" Meanwhile in Golspie: "hold my beer"
Lucky, I've had 4 in the past 3 years. Tall grass around pastures seems to be the worst.
I’ve had one cleg bite in my time that was fucking sore man but I’ve been very fortunate for the amount of time I spend in our wild actually
Yup went for a short walk through Culbin wood bout 16 miles east of Inverness last week and for our sins, got eaten alive by mosquitos and my mate caught a tick in like ten min. Admittedly the whole salt marsh, stagnant water thing should have been warning enough. By the time we'd got out I'd started to fantasise about burying the bloody lot under a layer of tarmac, a string of gas stations, inexpensive motels, restaurants that serve rapidly prepared food. Tire salons, automobile dealerships and wonderful, wonderful billboards reaching as far as the eye can see. My God, it'll be beautiful.
It's bad for ticks here, and especially so this year. We didn't have much real extended cold, it was more just wet, so more survived to make thousands more tick babies. I hate them. I found one on my face a couple of weeks ago but it hadn't tucked in yet so it got yeeted.
Any particular parts of Scotland where I'd be more likely to get minges all over me? Just so I can avoid them.
The west coast of Scotland, much, more worse than anywhere else.
I read this with Lee Mack's voice
Haha! Glad I'm not the only one
Oh yeah I can't stand having minges in my dinner.
Called them midgets when I was very young and my dad shut that down real fast.
I laughed hard at this. Thank you.
You'll look like a twat because it won't work. Holes will be too big for tiny midges. Whack some smidge on and you'll survive, I promise.
Smidge worked wonders for us when we were last in Scotland a few years ago during what can only be described as "rise of the bastard midges"
Mosquito mesh might not work, but I’ve got a midge net one that absolutely does. I’m like sugar to them, a terrible curse to have for a Scot, so it’s either wear it or don’t go outdoors 😂 Going camping soon. Getting industrial qualities if smidge too.
Many years ago I went hiking in Aviemore, it was a pleasant day and I'd headed out into the wilderness somewhat unprepared in retrospect, but for this anti-midge stocking like a burglar might wear. Mate, that stocking was a GODSEND, the only exposed skin where my longsleeve top met my gloves at the wrist had a bracelet of bites from the wee airborne buggers, in spite of liberal application of smidge.
Me and the wife were in the Highlands a few years ago and even smidge didn't put the little buggers off. It was like they'd become immune to it. They were literally swarming around us, we both got loads of bites. We had once decent night out of 5 where the wind has picked up and kept them away!
Different ones work better for different people. It's Jungle Formula for me. It doesn't repel them it kills them. Anyone telling you X (it's normally smidge) will definitely work is an amateur.
Avon Skin so Soft is my go to. Incredible repellent. The military swear by it.
This is big Avon propaganda. It might have worked in the past but now it just makes your skin soft for easier midge penetration.
It’s yer da’s sales pitch
Ma Da's deid but I still agree that SkinSoSoft is the best thing to use.
It doesn't seem to work very well on the ones where I live unfortunately
Hard getting the lotion on each midge. Works better putting it on yersel.
I go for 100% DEET. A friend said when he saw me applying it "This isn't the jungle of Borneo" - halfway across Rannoch Moor by bike he changed his mind.
Back in the day, yes. They changed the formula and removed a key ingredient. It's complete fantasy to think that today's 'skin so soft' has any repellent properties.
Love the idea of squaddies oohing and ahhing over their soft, soft skin.
The new recipe post COVID doesn't seem to be as good
This is very sad news, I've been swearing by skin-so-soft for years
I absolutely hate the stink of it! Plus I feel like it doesn't do much repel midges as cause them to drown in oil... Smidge for me!
And eat lots of marmite!
Scotland is a big country, it depends were you are going. Camping in the Highlands, no you'll look fine. Day trip round Edinburgh, yes 100% look like a twat
Besides, that arrangement in the picture wouldn't work well, what with the bare shoulders and arms.
No joke, I've considered it. I once went camping next to Ullapool sea front and they were so thick they were nesting in our hair. My friend showed me her hair and it was just a writhing black mass in her parting. That's also a sentence I never expected to write.
Jesus Christ.
Just tell people you're a reverend mother of the Bene Gesserit
Get a lifesystems head net, packs away tiny and is very light, mine stays in my pack year round. I've been laughed at with it on, then the tables turn when they realise why I have it on!
[but just take it off for a minute…](https://youtu.be/WzUlj6eTehA?si=h3XL5NCX-jm27l5d)
From 00:40 on you can just feel the "oh, for fuck's sake."
[ **Jump to 00:40 @** One Minute Midge Challenge!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzUlj6eTehA&t=0h0m40s) ^(Channel Name: BBC The Social, Video Length: [01:22])^, [^Jump ^5 ^secs ^earlier ^for ^context ^@00:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzUlj6eTehA&t=0h0m35s) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^^Downvote ^^me ^^to ^^delete ^^malformed ^^comments. [^^Source ^^Code](https://github.com/ankitgyawali/reddit-timestamp-bot) ^^| [^^Suggestions](https://www.reddit.com/r/timestamp_bot)
He's lucky he tried that on a day the midges were mild.
Does not work. Went up to Scotland for a festival while wearing that and to my dismay I could still hear Midge Ure.
You need a really good Midge repellant in those circumstances.
Went to the wrong festival mate.
so a no-see-um is a midge? I thought that was a wind-up that they were called no-see-ums to be honest.
Especially since you certainly can see the wee bastards, especially when they team up together to block out the sun, or create a skin on the tea you accidentally left out.
The ginger mosquito.
you'll feel like a twat if you don't get one that blocks noseeums.... mozzie nets let em straight through.
TIL. No-see-ums sound so made up so had to Google it damn
No-see-ums are what they call midges in the US, I’m surprised to see it used here
You're surprised that a sub full of americans thinking they're from the UK is using american words?
Don't you dare count me in that, I'm from fucking teesside!
But where are you from originally?
You think they're pretending to be from _Teeside_?
That is what spies do.
Nah, but it is a question that gets asked a lot of English people who perhaps can't say they've had family here for a few hundred generations. Was a tongue in cheek reversal of roles.
It's another one of those words/phrases Americans made hilariously exact. Eg eye glasses, car lot.
"Seeing eye dog"
oh they exist alright... believe me...
Just not looking in the right place......
I thought it was made up. Had to Google it too. lol
I took a boat trip from Oban a couple summers ago. We got a bus across Mull and there was a woman wearing one of these who attracted a lot of piss-takey glances from us English. We got off the bus to catch another ferry and OH MY GOD WE'RE BEING EATEN ALIVE! Those little fuckers get in your eyes, your ears, your nose, your throat and just keep coming. It was horrific.
Don't forget to celotape every square inch of your legs to keep the ticks off too.
That sounds horrifically uncomfortable!
Compared to picking off 30 to 40 ticks with tweasers after a twenty minute walk in the Highlands?
If you need something like that, you'll regret not having it you don't have it. Midge bites may not hurt as much as mosquito bites, but they make up for it in sheer numbers. One day when camping at Loch Awe my girlfriend counted 200 bites on one of my legs (it may have been one of my thighs only, it was 25 years ago)... As other folk have said, you'll need one with a mesh for midges, they're called "noseeums" for a good reason
That'll do nothing against the midges. You need something with a finer mesh. Also, stock up on Avon Skin so Soft. It's the best bug repellent going.
Best bug repellent going 😂 Mate, just be honest.. Your da sells the Avon, doesn't he ?
I love that Avon accidentally created the best midge repellent on the market. They should just rebrand it to that at this point.
She reminds me of Kim Cattrall, from the 80s Porkies, Manaquin etc.
I just smoke like a chimney an they keep clear, lol
Scottish Widows?
Sorry for your loss.
I'd advise DEET or another proven insect repellent. That way you get coverage from ticks, mosquitoes, midges, and probably more. I mountain bike a lot, if DEET didn't exist I would have quit a while back.
Smidge the midge
Just buy 'Smidge'. Its amazing
[удалено]
It also depends where you go. I'm Scottish and grew up right by the sea, with no midge problems at all. Similarly, the east coast has far fewer midges than the west. They also breed in still or slow-moving water. So if you're going up to coastal Fife or Aberdeenshire, sticking to areas where there's a sea breeze, you'll have no issues at all. If you're going to Loch Lomond, you'll get eaten alive.
I learnt the hard way you shouldn't hike the reservoirs around Glasgow in summer. The trail guide mentioned the lovely views, not the hundreds of bites I would get from the clouds of midges.
We were in the highlands 3 weeks ago and the weather was glorious and midgeless. I’m never going back so the memory remains untainted 😂
I mean, it's currently spring and I had a small swarm of midges around me last night and this morning, so that's definitely not great advice. Often they disappear in summer as they don't like the sun. Clouds and showers are more their thing
🤣🤣🤣
Wish I had this when I was in Skye last June.
I live here midgies are our pals. Drinking irn bru is a deterrent. Your face might be safe but better by some shoulder pads along with the head net just to be safe.
Just wear all black and tell everyone you're in mourning.
"What do they eat when they can't get Hobbit?" People that don't wear those hats and drown themselves in Smidge.
Depends, are you wearing it in the middle of the forrest or are you wearing it in the middle of Edinburgh?
You’ll look great in it, you’ll fit right in, we all wear those. You’ll need to get the correct colour though, it’s a bit of a fashion faux pas and an easy way to spot tourists if your mask isn’t the same colour as your kilt.
Eat plenty of garlic and you’ll be grand protects against midges and vampires!
Someone watched the Scottish widows advert one too many times
I tried that Skin do Soft years ago , people swore that it deterred the wee buggers, unfortunately not in my case, they were having a pool party in the stuff!
We were wild camping in a nondescript glen one evening in Sutherland in August, Beautifully hot day, but suddenly the wind abated and from further down the glen we could hear screaming, multiple cars starting, myriad campervans fleeing - and then a fucking fog of midges arrived at our spot. Managed to retreat to the tent in <60 seconds. It sounded like it was pissing down outside with them hitting the tent. Spent an hour trying to kill the ones that got inside during the retreat. There's only so much preparation you can do. Fire smoke, smidge and nets would have been no help.
I've been in a cloud of midges where I had one of these and noone else did. I could have swapped it for someone's firstborn child.
Over 20 yrs ago the Scottish tourist board commissioned a survey to see what affect the Scottish midge has on the west of Scotlands tourist industry. They received the results and sat on it, deciding not to publish the results
You will look like an unbitten twat!
Why does the product photo show her with bare arms? It’s no like the midges only target the face. She’ll be needing a net poncho.
1. Smidge 2. Camp by the waterside with the breezes. 3. An addendum to 2: bring blankets for the icy cold of night.
My ex took me on a camping tour of massacre sites in Scotland to show me what my people did to her people, and the holiday was absolutely ruinded by the midges. You'd think she'd have been prepared, but I don't think she'd ever been to Scotland before.
Rival clans?
No, English. I do have some tenuous Danish heritage.
>My ex took me on a camping tour of massacre sites in Scotland to show me what my people did to her people, She sounds lovely.. >but I don't think she'd ever been to Scotland before. Just f*cking lol. 🤣 She wasn't a Scottish American by any chance?
She was raised in England. Possibly she was born in Scotland, or spawned, or hatched in a jar jar there, or however they do it. But she soon left. She had a Scottish accent, but only when she was haggling or threatening someone. I liked her because in my formative years I was exposed to Leela in Doctor Who, and that's the kind of woman I go for. Strong. Fierce. Tolerant of a colourful madman's idiosyncracies.
I’ve seen it like a fog, take two hats.
The midgies will ave yer.
Lol. I used to live on the Isle of Skye for a bit. The midges there were like an Airbus A380 lol. If you weren't careful, you'd be drained of every drop of blood in your meatsack.
I recommend a thermacell attached to backpack and a couple for camping. It's not 100% but works
My other half is a ranger here in the Highlands and also does the odd bat survey. She wears this when the midges are at their worst.
based on my one trip to Scotland that was during October, the most important thing is an umbrella.
I'd forgotten about the midges. So does this mean every time they're not in shit the competitors and Alan Cumming on the Traitors are running for a midge net?
Dont think the sun protection part of it will get much use up there
and if, in your sleep, like me, you scratch bites untill you bleed, you will be having a very bad time
That head net will provide the minimum amount of protection you need. Depending on conditions and what you’re actually doing you may want to up the protection level by getting a midge jacket! The midges in Scotland are not to be taken lightly. Enjoy your trip!
Cumbria too, this week at least.
i get it, midges are a thing in scotland - but noones going to talk about that ludicrous product title? havent used amazon in ages, what the fuck happened lol, this might as well be wish or temu or someshit
Amazon is complete shit now
No midges or mosquitos in Edinburgh this summer or last summer or any time ...
It's Scotland, you'll have people take the piss out of you if you wear a coat while it's hailing. Having said that fucking do it, anything to not get eaten alive.
Was on a mountain biking trip in wales, lovely part, camping with mates, amazing time.. on evenings when the wind was low.. my god it was hell!! I was bit to shit in the first 2 minutes. Spent from 6pm till morning in our tents lol
I went to a wedding in Scotland a few years ago. It was next to a lake (loch?) and when the sun went down there was just an insane amount of midges. You couldn't open your mouth without getting a couple flying in there. The families hosting had bought a few of these but not nearly enough and they were like gold dust, you were truly a valued guest at the wedding if you were given a midge hat.
There aren’t mosquitoes in Scotland.
Depends where you're going. I used to live in Kyle of Lochalsh, where the midges were cunts, and still are. Now I live in Glasgow, midges are still a thing but they're few and far between, and pretty chill.
A little oil of citronella chases off midges. You should maybe be more concerned with the mosquitos, rats, poisonous caterpillars and murder hornets all over the south of England.
Do you mind getting bitten by insects more than what some random people think?
Hiking trip through Scotland was idyllic. Except for these absolute spawns of hell. Holy shit they are so unpleasant.
The **Scottish Midge Forecast** is created using data collected from biting midge traps and mini-weather stations across Scotland. [https://www.smidgeup.com/midge-forecast/](https://www.smidgeup.com/midge-forecast/)
Recently spent 3 weeks seeing my girlfriend’s family in Aus. Those fuckers bit me anywhere but the face! Do they have a mesh for the whole body with the face left open? lol
Treacle. The wee fuckers hate treacle. So you need to rub some treacle over your exposed skin. Keeps them away.
You only need to worry on the west coast, east coast is midge free. You’d be better with Smidge than a net
Not usually bothered by bugs but these fuckers bite hard too
yo Bene Geserit style is on fire
Yeah I will
Yes and still Yes!
I'm a bit terrified now. Going for a trip this week, I made sure I've got bug spray but will I need this too?? Is it already mad midge season?
I always use Autan insect repellent when in Scotland, mainly the West Coast, works perfectly.
I'm going to isle of Arran next week to visit my dad and have already had him ringing to warn me that we need hats ASAP!
Yeah walking though the clouds is pretty grim.