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hmm.
the weekend was glorious, weather-wise...
midges like the sun, don't they?
I'm particularly lucky to not have an allergic reaction to midge bites - they don't itch much, so I don't bother with insect repellent. Unfortunately this doesn't stop the little b'stards biting. I now look like I have chicken pox
why do some people not react? is it as simple as that some people are allergic to the bites and others aren't?
the weekend was glorious, weather-wise...
midges like the sun, don't they?
I'm particularly lucky to not have an allergic reaction to midge bites - they don't itch much, so I don't bother with insect repellent. Unfortunately this doesn't stop the little b'stards biting. I now look like I have chicken pox
why do some people not react? is it as simple as that some people are allergic to the bites and others aren't?
In reply to CJD:
Wales was bad at the weekend. One bit me on my eyelid on the top belay of the route I was on. Swelled up like anything- looked like i'd been in a fight!
Wales was bad at the weekend. One bit me on my eyelid on the top belay of the route I was on. Swelled up like anything- looked like i'd been in a fight!
In reply to CJD:
I don't have any midge bites, I scratched them off on the grit today
Think so
I don't have any midge bites, I scratched them off on the grit today
> why do some people not react? is it as simple as that some people are allergic to the bites and others aren't?
Think so
In reply to CJD:
They dont like the Sun, direct Sunlight will usualy mean its to hot for them on a Summersday.
All day at Bamford and i didnt even feel 1 land on me
They dont like the Sun, direct Sunlight will usualy mean its to hot for them on a Summersday.
All day at Bamford and i didnt even feel 1 land on me
In reply to CJD:
Wasnt it sensational? So there might just be a sumemr this year, you think? I dont react either, I thought when in Scotland I hadnt been bitten cos I wasnt itchy, but discovered bites later.
Calendula cream might be good, if they arent open.
Wasnt it sensational? So there might just be a sumemr this year, you think? I dont react either, I thought when in Scotland I hadnt been bitten cos I wasnt itchy, but discovered bites later.
Calendula cream might be good, if they arent open.
In reply to CJD: I don't react either, just get little red dots. I do however have 3 lumps around my ankle that are def bites of some sort and they are larger and raised and were very itchy! I'm thinking they may just still be midgie bites but because they were around my sock line and I was out on the hill the day after, then possibly my feet got sweaty, reacted with the bites to cause irritation. Or maybe they are just bites from something else.
Also came away with 12 ticks FFS, courtesy of Glen Etive!!!
Also came away with 12 ticks FFS, courtesy of Glen Etive!!!
> broccoligirl:
> Wasnt it sensational? So there might just be a sumemr this year, you think?
> Wasnt it sensational? So there might just be a sumemr this year, you think?
Ahem, we've had a brilliant last 6 weeks up here, don't write summer off just cause it's grim down South ;oP
> C:
I found I reacted less as I got older and I've the willpower not to scratch so I'll accept a few nibbles happily before I bother with repellent as well, however in a full on Torridon swarm I'll go as far as wearing a net. It's been sunny here for weeks so the ground is dry and there's only limited midge which is just great!
In reply to The Crow:
found a great remedy for keeping those horrible little buggers at bay without having to spray or smearing anything on your self.
tho im afraid its one of things you either love or hate.......marmite!!
yes you heard rite!!
its the vitamin B4 in it that seaps out of your pores that keep them at bay!
it does work and you have to start eating it a week b4 you head for the great outdoors!!
better get started then!!
found a great remedy for keeping those horrible little buggers at bay without having to spray or smearing anything on your self.
tho im afraid its one of things you either love or hate.......marmite!!
yes you heard rite!!
its the vitamin B4 in it that seaps out of your pores that keep them at bay!
it does work and you have to start eating it a week b4 you head for the great outdoors!!
better get started then!!
In reply to lasonj:
Oh dear - or rather, oh deer... it'll be them :O)
Apparently it's going to be a bad year for them (ticks, that is...not deer).
> Also came away with 12 ticks FFS, courtesy of Glen Etive!!!
Oh dear - or rather, oh deer... it'll be them :O)
Apparently it's going to be a bad year for them (ticks, that is...not deer).
In reply to CJD:
You're really lucky. Last summer at Loch Lomond I ended up with midge bite scars on my legs for ages, yeah yeah I know I shouldn't have scratched them but the bastard bites were just so...bastardy!
You're really lucky. Last summer at Loch Lomond I ended up with midge bite scars on my legs for ages, yeah yeah I know I shouldn't have scratched them but the bastard bites were just so...bastardy!
In reply to CJD:
I'm just back from Skye, where the buggers were out in force. Reactions to them seem to vary enormously, as do the number of bites people get. I personally seem to get not too many stings (wearing 95% deet), but the ones I do come up in raised lumps that often fill with a clearish liquid. Fairly unpleasant. A couple of the people I was with wore no repellant and didn't get a single sting, no idea how.
I'm just back from Skye, where the buggers were out in force. Reactions to them seem to vary enormously, as do the number of bites people get. I personally seem to get not too many stings (wearing 95% deet), but the ones I do come up in raised lumps that often fill with a clearish liquid. Fairly unpleasant. A couple of the people I was with wore no repellant and didn't get a single sting, no idea how.
In reply to CJD: You do look *very* odd
I have 11 bites - it's a record low! Midgie coils (and DEET) are the way forward. Having seen your bites compared to mine though, it's definitely an individual thing.
I have 11 bites - it's a record low! Midgie coils (and DEET) are the way forward. Having seen your bites compared to mine though, it's definitely an individual thing.
In reply to CJD:
According to some science programme I listened to on the radio they don't really know!
They said it's down to your immune system basically.
Some people don't react much (like me, hurray, unfortunately they still bite though) and this doesn't really change. Some people react more and more as they get more exposure to bites. And some people react less and less as their immune system adapts.
>
> why do some people not react? is it as simple as that some people are allergic to the bites and others aren't?
> why do some people not react? is it as simple as that some people are allergic to the bites and others aren't?
According to some science programme I listened to on the radio they don't really know!
They said it's down to your immune system basically.
Some people don't react much (like me, hurray, unfortunately they still bite though) and this doesn't really change. Some people react more and more as they get more exposure to bites. And some people react less and less as their immune system adapts.
In reply to lasonj:
Ah...Haggis bites.
> (In reply to CJD) I don't react either, just get little red dots. I do however have 3 lumps around my ankle that are def bites of some sort and they are larger and raised and were very itchy! I'm thinking they may just still be midgie bites but because they were around my sock line and I was out on the hill the day after, then possibly my feet got sweaty, reacted with the bites to cause irritation. Or maybe they are just bites from something else.
Ah...Haggis bites.
In reply to CJD:
Plenty of midges to go round at the LAMM the this weekend. I was inhaling lungfuls of them this morning!
Plenty of midges to go round at the LAMM the this weekend. I was inhaling lungfuls of them this morning!
In reply to sjbutterworth:
Doesn't work anyway. I eat vast quantities of Marmite, and have it pretty much every day. I still get midged and my bites itch like mad then go scabby and pus-filled. Nice. In fact, I still have itchy ones from ove a week ago!
The bloke doesn't get itchy, but he takes Piriton daily as a hayfever prevention thing, so that would explain it. Would also help anyone else who gets itchy bites. I never remember though!
Doesn't work anyway. I eat vast quantities of Marmite, and have it pretty much every day. I still get midged and my bites itch like mad then go scabby and pus-filled. Nice. In fact, I still have itchy ones from ove a week ago!
The bloke doesn't get itchy, but he takes Piriton daily as a hayfever prevention thing, so that would explain it. Would also help anyone else who gets itchy bites. I never remember though!
In reply to CJD:
It's turning into a bad year for midges and mossies. They were out again at Harrisons yesterday, but another peril was numerous horse flies. They have such a nasty bight and are very persistant. The bastards seem to know and home in on you when you are climbing or belaying, and you can't let go to swipe them. And they can bite through the fabric of a t shirt.
I have always reacted badly to insect bites, and get a lot of localised swelling. Midge bites however wear off and vanish withing a couple of hours, but mossie and horsefly bites can continue showing and go on itching for a week or more.
I've found deet is the best repellent, but I've heard that too frequent use can be harmful - although I am not certain exactly what adverse effect it has on you?
It's turning into a bad year for midges and mossies. They were out again at Harrisons yesterday, but another peril was numerous horse flies. They have such a nasty bight and are very persistant. The bastards seem to know and home in on you when you are climbing or belaying, and you can't let go to swipe them. And they can bite through the fabric of a t shirt.
I have always reacted badly to insect bites, and get a lot of localised swelling. Midge bites however wear off and vanish withing a couple of hours, but mossie and horsefly bites can continue showing and go on itching for a week or more.
I've found deet is the best repellent, but I've heard that too frequent use can be harmful - although I am not certain exactly what adverse effect it has on you?
In reply to Caralynr:
The blood lady at my doctors's surgery told me to drink Guiness! It is similar to Marmite in fact Marmite is made from yeast extract produced during the Guiness brewing process.
I've tried, but it didn't work.
The blood lady at my doctors's surgery told me to drink Guiness! It is similar to Marmite in fact Marmite is made from yeast extract produced during the Guiness brewing process.
I've tried, but it didn't work.
In reply to Trangia:
I was told eating garlic would help, it only served to attract all the french and italian midges over on holiday
I was told eating garlic would help, it only served to attract all the french and italian midges over on holiday
In reply to CJD:
It's a normal reaction in my case. They itch like bu55ery afterwards.
I got so badly midged one night on the Jack Rock in Northumberland that I needed to go to the doc's the following day. Serves me right for climbing on a riverside crag on a humid June evening!
It's a normal reaction in my case. They itch like bu55ery afterwards.
I got so badly midged one night on the Jack Rock in Northumberland that I needed to go to the doc's the following day. Serves me right for climbing on a riverside crag on a humid June evening!
In reply to CJD:
I was very lucky and didn't uset to react at all. Then one day at Stannage, after some warm rain and nice sun the little buggers hatched - I was covered from head to toe and looked as if I had some dread tropical disease. Took ages for them to go, but as a result I react very badly to any bites and use 100% DEET, smels and tastes bad but keeps them at bay. I suspect my immune system got a massive hit of their salivary proteins and now I am very sensitive.
You are correct though we all get bitten, it is just the variation in response that defines whether we notice nothing or look scratch as if we had fleas. Some is certainly down to the old genetic lottery, and some to massive over exposure, like me.
I was very lucky and didn't uset to react at all. Then one day at Stannage, after some warm rain and nice sun the little buggers hatched - I was covered from head to toe and looked as if I had some dread tropical disease. Took ages for them to go, but as a result I react very badly to any bites and use 100% DEET, smels and tastes bad but keeps them at bay. I suspect my immune system got a massive hit of their salivary proteins and now I am very sensitive.
You are correct though we all get bitten, it is just the variation in response that defines whether we notice nothing or look scratch as if we had fleas. Some is certainly down to the old genetic lottery, and some to massive over exposure, like me.
In reply to CJD:
As a kid I had so many bites one summer my folks assumed I had chickenpox as it was doing the rounds. I didn't, I got the pox a year or so later and spent 6 weeks ill and covered in blisters. Midge bites are pleasant by comparison.
I react differently depending on the location. Bites from the highlands seem to be small red dots and not too itchy. Bites from my back garden (Edinburgh) seem to come up in big lumps and and swell horribly and itch like mad. Must be different species or something.
As for why some people react and some don't, dunno, probably genetic. Some people's immune systems react (allergies etc) to things that others don't react to.
As a kid I had so many bites one summer my folks assumed I had chickenpox as it was doing the rounds. I didn't, I got the pox a year or so later and spent 6 weeks ill and covered in blisters. Midge bites are pleasant by comparison.
I react differently depending on the location. Bites from the highlands seem to be small red dots and not too itchy. Bites from my back garden (Edinburgh) seem to come up in big lumps and and swell horribly and itch like mad. Must be different species or something.
As for why some people react and some don't, dunno, probably genetic. Some people's immune systems react (allergies etc) to things that others don't react to.
In reply to CJD: I think midges are at number 4 on the list of things I don't miss about the UK.
In reply to CJD:
I react really badly to any bites that I get from any of the biting critters but then I am atopic ie I have a hereditary prediliction (sp) to hypersensitivity eg hayfever.
It is such an arse and avoiding scratching for 3 days is hell (rather that than 3 weeks of hell I suppose).
Only thing that works for me is 100% DEET. I love the fact that the b@st@rds land on me and promptly die.
I react really badly to any bites that I get from any of the biting critters but then I am atopic ie I have a hereditary prediliction (sp) to hypersensitivity eg hayfever.
It is such an arse and avoiding scratching for 3 days is hell (rather that than 3 weeks of hell I suppose).
Only thing that works for me is 100% DEET. I love the fact that the b@st@rds land on me and promptly die.
In reply to CJD:
If you get loads of bites you either get sensitized or develop a tolerance. If, like me you combine a magnetic attraction for the evil tormenting critturs with increasing sensitivity then I guess you get to hope for a part as an extra in the elephant man. On the other hand it makes you very popular with everyone else as the horrid things are too busy biting you to bother with anyone else.
Suggested remedies of vitamin B - doesn't work for me at all and given the amount of marmite I go through you'd think it'd have every chance.
Deet you need to watch as it is inclined to damage nerve endings and anything which can melt plastic.............. (got in trouble with an indian taxi driver for melting his seats once.) You could try wearing it on wrist/ankle bands though.
Loads of people recommend Avon Skin-So-Soft dry oil moisturiser. It seems to work for midges but not mosquitos or ants and you have to reapply every 90mins or so.
Lavender oil seems to do the trick for southern midges and those in eastern scotland but has no effect on the west coast.
Myrtle is remarkably good a fending of midges but the wasps love it so take your choice....
I'm supposed to ber reconciled to scars and unplanned "face lifts" though it doesn't stop me complaining incessantly and particularly bitterly when stuck on a belay ('s a good argument for first shot at the lead!).
If anyone has magic remedies, please, please we want we want.
If you get loads of bites you either get sensitized or develop a tolerance. If, like me you combine a magnetic attraction for the evil tormenting critturs with increasing sensitivity then I guess you get to hope for a part as an extra in the elephant man. On the other hand it makes you very popular with everyone else as the horrid things are too busy biting you to bother with anyone else.
Suggested remedies of vitamin B - doesn't work for me at all and given the amount of marmite I go through you'd think it'd have every chance.
Deet you need to watch as it is inclined to damage nerve endings and anything which can melt plastic.............. (got in trouble with an indian taxi driver for melting his seats once.) You could try wearing it on wrist/ankle bands though.
Loads of people recommend Avon Skin-So-Soft dry oil moisturiser. It seems to work for midges but not mosquitos or ants and you have to reapply every 90mins or so.
Lavender oil seems to do the trick for southern midges and those in eastern scotland but has no effect on the west coast.
Myrtle is remarkably good a fending of midges but the wasps love it so take your choice....
I'm supposed to ber reconciled to scars and unplanned "face lifts" though it doesn't stop me complaining incessantly and particularly bitterly when stuck on a belay ('s a good argument for first shot at the lead!).
If anyone has magic remedies, please, please we want we want.
In reply to katharine:
I'm one of the lucky people who doesn't react to them, so whilst I'm covered in bites, they don't itch.
I'll pass on your thoughts to my midge-ravaged friends
I'm one of the lucky people who doesn't react to them, so whilst I'm covered in bites, they don't itch.
I'll pass on your thoughts to my midge-ravaged friends
In reply to Caralynr:
I seem to have become sensitised due to too many bites and used to have a really bad time, sometimes even feeling physically ill as well as swelling up badly. I've been much better since I started taking antihistamines prophalactically - so another vote for Piriton.
Is it true that only the females bite?
> (In reply to sjbutterworth)
>
> The bloke doesn't get itchy, but he takes Piriton daily as a hayfever prevention thing, so that would explain it. Would also help anyone else who gets itchy bites. I never remember though
> The bloke doesn't get itchy, but he takes Piriton daily as a hayfever prevention thing, so that would explain it. Would also help anyone else who gets itchy bites. I never remember though
I seem to have become sensitised due to too many bites and used to have a really bad time, sometimes even feeling physically ill as well as swelling up badly. I've been much better since I started taking antihistamines prophalactically - so another vote for Piriton.
Is it true that only the females bite?
In reply to Oceanic:
As far as I am aware, it is only the females that need a blood meal (with us as donors) for the egg laying process.
> (In reply to Caralynr)
> [...]
>
> [...]
>
> I seem to have become sensitised due to too many bites and used to have a really bad time, sometimes even feeling physically ill as well as swelling up badly. I've been much better since I started taking antihistamines prophalactically - so another vote for Piriton.
>
> Is it true that only the females bite?
> [...]
>
> [...]
>
> I seem to have become sensitised due to too many bites and used to have a really bad time, sometimes even feeling physically ill as well as swelling up badly. I've been much better since I started taking antihistamines prophalactically - so another vote for Piriton.
>
> Is it true that only the females bite?
As far as I am aware, it is only the females that need a blood meal (with us as donors) for the egg laying process.
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