Scottish midges, anyone?
 

My wife and I will be travelling to Scotland last week of June and first two weeks of July, planning to spend most of the time in the Highlands. In browsing through the threads on this excellent board I have seen a few references to cursed midges.

What's up with these guys?!

Are they only in the countryside? How about the shore, or in town, or touring a castle garden? Is there no effective repellent? Is there a reason why they are on the planet? :)

I think that the worst thing about them is their sheer numbers. They also have a nasty bite to which some people are quite sensitive. Their tiny size also means that they can reach parts that other predators can't ;-)
Last time I was in Scotland I saw a poor dog thet looked as though he had a woolly coat.
You can look out of the window in the morning and literally see a cloud of the beasts.
I was there in September and the blighters were still around.
As Sheila's site says, insect repellents containing Deet work quite well although it's not the nicest of chemicals. You have to avoid getting it near your eyes and mouth. Guess where I had lots of nice red lumps?
My husband used to camp in the Highlands as a boy and for some reason he is less attractive to them. As we walk along, I have an attendant cloud and he just has a few.
BTW, if you want to see some Highland photographs have a look at http://sylvia.photoblog.me.uk/c694901.html

The University of Aberdeen received a financial grant several years ago to study the various adult "chemicals" which seem to attract them. The adult insects are strongly attracted to light sources as well so i suspect you may see them in a lot of places.

At one time bog myrtle was thought to be an effective repellent.

Thanks for the information. We'll be prepared as possible.

Interesting from Sheila's link: "Also bear in mind that the midges serve a useful purpose in controlling the role and impact of man in Scotland. Without them Scotland would be a different and a lesser place... "

The tsetse fly serves a similar role in Africa, and many game parks are where they are because the fly tended to keep people away from those areas.

Nelson, it's allegedly well known that Avon's Skin so Soft repels the little b*****s.

We have the little critters in Ireland as well,you will find them ( much to your sorrow) where there are lakes, parks,on the mountains where there are shurbs. You dont find them in the city centre unless there are plants around. They drive me mad in summer when I go fishing with my husband,I find that lemmon oil is the best thing to keep them at bay, but you cant get rid of them completely, they make your head itch like mad, and you end up with people thinking you have head lice!!!

I'm curious as to these are the same critter's we have here in the USA, particularly in the nothern forests. We call them 'black flies'. They are small gnat like flies that bite and draw blood, and cluster around your face. They are most common in the late spring, and breed in cold streams. Contrary to popular belief, Skin so Soft really doesn't work very well.

One member of our group was pleased about the midgies when we were in the Highlands.
There is a tiny spider who lives in the wing-mirror of our car.
Every day we'd see a nice web with the remains of hundreds of midgies.
That spider must have thought that he'd died and gone to heaven.