Quote: Originally posted by Ewen c on 22/6/2015
I got midge bites all over my wrists and hands on Friday night. The wife was fine.
I reckon Irish midgies have a taste for Scottish blood. They never bit me back home.
I'm going to get a bit technical here....
Midges bite EVERYONE.
Some people (like me) are allergic to the local aneasthetic that is in the midges' "saliva" that they inject when biting. If they didn't have this local anaesthetic then you would feel every single bite and would be slapping them to buggery all the time.
Because I'm allergic, I end up with what can only be called "blebs" where the histamines in my body rise to the bite area in an effort to counter the reaction. They are itchy as an itchy thing with an allergy.
To give you an idea of what this means to people who aren't allergic, we did a bike ride around Kiedler reservior with a group of scouts and their parents. One parent claimed that he never gor botherd by midge bites and they never bit him. At the end of the ride he looked like a Monet painting - red blisters everywhere (the loon decided to wear shorts and a t-shirt). 2 Days later he had to be referred to the local hospital for a heavy course of anti-biotics and skin emoliants - his skin was drying out so much it was peeling off like sun burn.
We stick citronella candles in buckets and they do deter the darlings. We also have citronella tealights in lanterns. The coils also deter them. Once we've finished cooking and things cooled down a bit we put coils around the BBQ - seems to waft the scent around a bit more.
------------- " When I die I don`t want my life to flash before me in an instant, I want it to be a 3 hour epic !"
We've just got home from a week in Scotland - silly us stayed at a place called Glen Midge. I religiously put skin so soft on my face, neck, feet and ankles twice a day. Guess where I got bitten? Daily antihistamines helped and some really cheap outdoor citronella incense which I bought in a local budget shop (it smells horrible but does keep them away). Will invest in Smidge for next visit up North.
Citronella essential oil is a good insect repellant, we sell quite a lot of it to folk who are going on there hols. also mentioned earlier citronella incense sticks
Forgot to mention don't use the oil neat mix it with a carrier oil.
Forget all the gently, gently, herbal stuff. Go ballistic with the little fekkers. Jungle Formula 50% DEET.
My brother in law and my good self were playing golf (I dont play golf by the way, I cheat whenever and however I can as it's a waste of a good walk, and I do like to quietly "take the p**s"")in Loch Goilhead in May one year...."don't worry" said he, "they don't bite this early in the year"
10 minutes later he had his club towel wrapped around his head and was furiously smoking a rather cheap and nasty cigar to try to fumigate the area. I however, was clad in a cleansing layer of DEET that the little fekkers came, saw, smelt, and fekked off.
My view is, if god had meant us to have a herbal remedy to midges, s/he wouldn't have allowed us to invent biochemistry.
They're not known as the caledonian luftwaffe for no reason - treat them with the respect they deserve
Another vote for smidge also find the torches the type that are like a jug with large wick in bamboo that you get in go outdoors but filled with citronella oil instead of normal lamp oil. Find these really help. Agree fully with the merits of DEET however be careful as it destroys plastic. Like the polyester tents are made of
Quote: Originally posted by AndyR1969 on 04/7/2015
Forget all the gently, gently, herbal stuff. Go ballistic with the little fekkers. Jungle Formula 50% DEET.
My brother in law and my good self were playing golf (I dont play golf by the way, I cheat whenever and however I can as it's a waste of a good walk, and I do like to quietly "take the p**s"")in Loch Goilhead in May one year...."don't worry" said he, "they don't bite this early in the year"
10 minutes later he had his club towel wrapped around his head and was furiously smoking a rather cheap and nasty cigar to try to fumigate the area. I however, was clad in a cleansing layer of DEET that the little fekkers came, saw, smelt, and fekked off.
My view is, if god had meant us to have a herbal remedy to midges, s/he wouldn't have allowed us to invent biochemistry.
They're not known as the caledonian luftwaffe for no reason - treat them with the respect they deserve
Lochgoilhead is Midgie central. My parents lived there. Couldn't sit in their garden in the evening.
we also use citronella candles and that seems to keep all winged beasts away - not just midges :) we get the cheap ones from primarni - they are usually put with something else eg watermelon so smell nice too :) only £2 for a huge candle :)
------------- June 2015: seaview international 2 nights
July 2015: little winnick 2 nights
August 2015: lower polladras 5 nights
august 2015: tollgate farm 5 nights
august 2015: oakdown 3 nights
September 2015: tregarton park
family of 6 with young children
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Midges
