Midges in Scotland

Jem said:

Hi all

I'm taking the family up to Strathyre at the end of May, we've booked into a
forestry commission cabin at the side of the loch.

Does anyone know if we're likely to be bothered by the midges at that time?

Pretty much, yes. I know the area you're going to (quite nice, esp. if
you have a canoe in which to muck around in Loch Lubnaig) and it's
likely to be a midge haven.

Quoted message said:

if so what are the best precautions to avoid being bitten.

Sunlight and wind. The meteorological type, rather than biological. As
for chemical treatments I use mosiguard spray and it seems to work, but
your mileage may, and likely will, vary. Some people claim Avon
Skin-So-Soft will do the job, but see http://tinyurl.com/6zxlc.
Anything with DEET in it will probably work, at the risk of rotting your
waterproofs.

My parents insist that as a child, while on holiday in the far north, I
was never much bothered by midges just because for the week or two we
were there I was never clean enough to be edible. Worth a try?

Colin

Colin MacDonald said:

Jem said:

Hi all

I'm taking the family up to Strathyre at the end of May, we've booked
into a forestry commission cabin at the side of the loch.

Does anyone know if we're likely to be bothered by the midges at that
time?

Pretty much, yes. I know the area you're going to (quite nice, esp. if
you have a canoe in which to muck around in Loch Lubnaig) and it's
likely to be a midge haven.

Quoted message said:

if so what are the best precautions to avoid being bitten.

Sunlight and wind. The meteorological type, rather than biological. As
for chemical treatments I use mosiguard spray and it seems to work, but
your mileage may, and likely will, vary. Some people claim Avon
Skin-So-Soft will do the job, but see http://tinyurl.com/6zxlc.

The link is a reference to the effectiveness of S-S-S against
mosquitoes. What point were you actually trying to make?

druidh

druidh said:

Colin MacDonald said:

Jem said:

Hi all

I'm taking the family up to Strathyre at the end of May, we've booked
into a forestry commission cabin at the side of the loch.

Does anyone know if we're likely to be bothered by the midges at that
time?

Pretty much, yes. I know the area you're going to (quite nice, esp.
if you have a canoe in which to muck around in Loch Lubnaig) and it's
likely to be a midge haven.

Quoted message said:

if so what are the best precautions to avoid being bitten.

Sunlight and wind. The meteorological type, rather than biological.
As for chemical treatments I use mosiguard spray and it seems to work,
but your mileage may, and likely will, vary. Some people claim Avon
Skin-So-Soft will do the job, but see http://tinyurl.com/6zxlc.

The link is a reference to the effectiveness of S-S-S against
mosquitoes. What point were you actually trying to make?

The point that S-S-S as an insect repellent (midges, mosquitoes, or
whatever) is believed by many to be an urban legend. Sorry if I wasn't
clear.

Colin

jeremy.turner@***NOSPAM***btinternet.com said...

Quoted message said:

Hi all

I'm taking the family up to Strathyre at the end of May, we've booked into a
forestry commission cabin at the side of the loch.

It sounds lovely :-)

Quoted message said:

Does anyone know if we're likely to be bothered by the midges at that time?

Yes. Extremely likely.

Quoted message said:

if so what are the best precautions to avoid being bitten.

Be somewhere else? There's an Avon product that everyone
raves about - I've not tried it myself so I can't vouch for
it; however it's called Skin So Soft and allegedly the midges
can't stand the stuff. Other than that, wear long sleeves and
trousers; wear headnets. And enjoy yourselves.
--
All the best to everyone in 2005
- Fran

Colin MacDonald said:

druidh said:

Colin MacDonald said:

Jem wrote:

> Hi all
>
> I'm taking the family up to Strathyre at the end of May, we've
> booked into a forestry commission cabin at the side of the loch.
>
> Does anyone know if we're likely to be bothered by the midges at
> that time?

Pretty much, yes. I know the area you're going to (quite nice, esp.
if you have a canoe in which to muck around in Loch Lubnaig) and it's
likely to be a midge haven.

> if so what are the best precautions to avoid being bitten.

Sunlight and wind. The meteorological type, rather than biological.
As for chemical treatments I use mosiguard spray and it seems to
work, but your mileage may, and likely will, vary. Some people claim
Avon Skin-So-Soft will do the job, but see http://tinyurl.com/6zxlc.

The link is a reference to the effectiveness of S-S-S against
mosquitoes. What point were you actually trying to make?

The point that S-S-S as an insect repellent (midges, mosquitoes, or
whatever) is believed by many to be an urban legend. Sorry if I wasn't
clear.

Colin

My own experience indicates that S-S-S works not so much as a repellant,
more of an exterminator. The midges seem to land on your skin but then
mysteriously expire. I guess that they could actually be "drowning" in
the oil. The longer mouthparts of the mossie may prevent this, hence it
being not so effective against them. I've yet to see any clinical trial
involving midges (though you'd have thought there would have been by now!!)

As for the Original post - look out for the seaplane!!

druidh

Jem said:

Hi all

I'm taking the family up to Strathyre at the end of May, we've booked into a
forestry commission cabin at the side of the loch.

Does anyone know if we're likely to be bothered by the midges at that time?
if so what are the best precautions to avoid being bitten.

Cheers

Jem

The cabins are very nice indeed. I stayed at one of the old ones on the
site before they were all replaced and it was pretty ropey. If you're
into cycling, be aware that there's a major off/on road cycle track
running right through the site. Excellent for getting into Callander
(local town) or to the excellent tearoom (An Carraig) in Strathyre. The
section of track to the top of Glen Ogle is highly recommended as it
uses an old railway viaduct, and there's a wee tea cabin at the top of
the Glen for an ice-cream while you bask in the sunshine and admire the
view of Meall nan Tarmachan (gotta hope?)

druidh

On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 23:04:33 -0000, "Jem"
<jeremy.turner@***NOSPAM***btinternet.com> wrote:

| Hi all
|
| I'm taking the family up to Strathyre at the end of May, we've booked into a
| forestry commission cabin at the side of the loch.
|
| Does anyone know if we're likely to be bothered by the midges at that time?
| if so what are the best precautions to avoid being bitten.

We use mosquito coils, several burning with at least one upwind all the
time.

--
Dave F

druidh said:

The
section of track to the top of Glen Ogle is highly recommended as it

ISTR that last year's storms did for a section of the old trackbed in
Glen Ogle so check with Tourist Info before you commit to relying on
the tearoom for mid-cycle sustainance.

Chris

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Does anyone know if we're likely to be bothered by the midges at that time?

Yes. Extremely likely.

We had to abandon a campsite at Glengary many years ago because of
midges. They were so small they got through the mesh of the tent and the
walls were black with 'em as they waited for daybreak to warm up enough
to come bite us. We pulled the poles out and stuck the tent with bedding
and everything in the boot and scarpered. On gassing the flies with Raid
later we tipped a teacup full out of the tent.

I've found the lemon based stuff works well - but as Fran says, long
sleeves, long trousers and keep putting the repellent on early and
often.
--
Roland Butter :- There's nothing like a knob of butter.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Does anyone know if we're likely to be bothered by the midges at that time?

Yes. Extremely likely.

We had to abandon a campsite at Glengary many years ago because of
midges. They were so small they got through the mesh of the tent and the
walls were black with 'em as they waited for daybreak to warm up enough
to come bite us. We pulled the poles out and stuck the tent with bedding
and everything in the boot and scarpered. On gassing the flies with Raid
later we tipped a teacup full out of the tent.

I've found the lemon based stuff works well - but as Fran says, long
sleeves, long trousers and keep putting the repellent on early and
often.
--
Roland Butter :- There's nothing like a knob of butter.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Does anyone know if we're likely to be bothered by the midges at that time?

Yes. Extremely likely.

We had to abandon a campsite at Glengary many years ago because of
midges. They were so small they got through the mesh of the tent and the
walls were black with 'em as they waited for daybreak to warm up enough
to come bite us. We pulled the poles out and stuck the tent with bedding
and everything in the boot and scarpered. On gassing the flies with Raid
later we tipped a teacup full out of the tent.

I've found the lemon based stuff works well - but as Fran says, long
sleeves, long trousers and keep putting the repellent on early and
often.
--
Roland Butter :- There's nothing like a knob of butter.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Does anyone know if we're likely to be bothered by the midges at that time?

Yes. Extremely likely.

We had to abandon a campsite at Glengary many years ago because of
midges. They were so small they got through the mesh of the tent and the
walls were black with 'em as they waited for daybreak to warm up enough
to come bite us. We pulled the poles out and stuck the tent with bedding
and everything in the boot and scarpered. On gassing the flies with Raid
later we tipped a teacup full out of the tent.

I've found the lemon based stuff works well - but as Fran says, long
sleeves, long trousers and keep putting the repellent on early and
often.
--
Roland Butter :- There's nothing like a knob of butter.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Does anyone know if we're likely to be bothered by the midges at that time?

Yes. Extremely likely.

We had to abandon a campsite at Glengary many years ago because of
midges. They were so small they got through the mesh of the tent and the
walls were black with 'em as they waited for daybreak to warm up enough
to come bite us. We pulled the poles out and stuck the tent with bedding
and everything in the boot and scarpered. On gassing the flies with Raid
later we tipped a teacup full out of the tent.

I've found the lemon based stuff works well - but as Fran says, long
sleeves, long trousers and keep putting the repellent on early and
often.
--
Roland Butter :- There's nothing like a knob of butter.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Does anyone know if we're likely to be bothered by the midges at that time?

Yes. Extremely likely.

We had to abandon a campsite at Glengary many years ago because of
midges. They were so small they got through the mesh of the tent and the
walls were black with 'em as they waited for daybreak to warm up enough
to come bite us. We pulled the poles out and stuck the tent with bedding
and everything in the boot and scarpered. On gassing the flies with Raid
later we tipped a teacup full out of the tent.

I've found the lemon based stuff works well - but as Fran says, long
sleeves, long trousers and keep putting the repellent on early and
often.
--
Roland Butter :- There's nothing like a knob of butter.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Does anyone know if we're likely to be bothered by the midges at that time?

Yes. Extremely likely.

We had to abandon a campsite at Glengary many years ago because of
midges. They were so small they got through the mesh of the tent and the
walls were black with 'em as they waited for daybreak to warm up enough
to come bite us. We pulled the poles out and stuck the tent with bedding
and everything in the boot and scarpered. On gassing the flies with Raid
later we tipped a teacup full out of the tent.

I've found the lemon based stuff works well - but as Fran says, long
sleeves, long trousers and keep putting the repellent on early and
often.
--
Roland Butter :- There's nothing like a knob of butter.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

We use mosquito coils,

Now there's an idea - contraceptives for the little blighters. I bet
they're hard to fit though.

--
Roland Butter :- There's nothing like a knob of butter.

* The air of uk.rec.walking was filled with the delicate perfume
* of violets, as Jem <jeremy.turner@***NOSPAM***btinternet.com> descended
* on a shaft of golden sunlight, and announced:

Quoted message said:

Does anyone know if we're likely to be bothered by the midges at that time?
if so what are the best precautions to avoid being bitten.

I bought a midge net that looks like the complete answer to the midge
problem and look forward to using it.

http://www.midgejacket.co.uk

It comes down to the waist and has got arms that come down to the wrists.
The rangers on the Rothiemurchus Estate in the Cairngorms use and swear by
them. If you want to eat your sandwiches, you can draw your arms in from the
sleeves and eat in comfort.

Jim Ford

On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 23:04:33 -0000, "Jem"

jeremy.turner@***NOSPAM***btinternet.com said:

Does anyone know if we're likely to be bothered by the midges at that time?
if so what are the best precautions to avoid being bitten.

England
Geo

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

I've found the lemon based stuff works well - but as Fran says, long
sleeves, long trousers and keep putting the repellent on early and
often.

Well hello there! Nice to see you :-)
--
All the best to everyone in 2005
- Fran