UKC

After a long unintentional hiatus from outdoor activities I plan to absolutely annihilate my legs with a long overdue trip to the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe areas. I’ve not much experience of hiking in Scotland and as I was planning my trip I suddenly remembered my brief yet traumatic experiences of the Scottish Midge!

I was planning on a weeks camping in mid May, will I survive with a can of Deet and a head net or am I risking total annihilation? I can go early May but just trying to give myself a little more time to train.

Do a search on these forums. There must be 100 threads on midges.

The ticks ate all the midgies, its them you need to worry about.

Trousers and long socks it is then!

Went up there about then a few years back fully tooled up with head nets, deet, gallons of that Avon shit, long sleeves, everything. Midges weren't an issue but the horseflies drank most of my blood.

No midges left in Scotland, Storm Arwen blew them all away!

Midges aren't usually a big problem in May. They tend to arrive June onwards in my experience. If they do appear early camp high in the wind keep moving when on the hills. 

You could be lucky but if it is warm and wet they could easily be out an about.

I was on the coast of NW Scotland last week and there weren't any midges(which isn't surprising in April) but I met my first cleg of the year, or rather it visited me and let me know.

Dave

Thanks for the swift replies everyone, this will be my only whole week's holiday this year so desperate to make it a good one, just shame you can't control the weather.

In that case, maybe have 2 plans: one for the Nevis/Glencoe area, and one somewhere else if the forecast for the west is bad: Cairngorms or sommat. Then you can make the most of a precious week.

Generally, May is not so bad for midges, but you can get the odd bad day when the conditions and location are just right (or wrong!).

Keep an eye on the Smidge forecast, it’s put up by the makers of Smidge so may not be unbiased. However, Glencoe and the west of Scotland are usually far worse according to their map. East is better. Have a good week👍

With Scotland, expect the worst,  hope for the best, and just let it seep into you.

Smidge is a lot better than DEET in nearly all aspects... DEET melts stuff and is horrible on skin. Apply Smidge like sun tan lotion (don't miss any spots at all, spray into hand and then apply to face, spray on legs etc if you like but always spread around with hands. I've worked in mid summer in twighlihgt in Ballachulish with a full coating of smidge and it was only the buzzing in my ears and kamikaze eye attacks that had me giving up. May is a lot better than later but can still be bad. Try to make it early in May if possible. A good choice of tent pitches with reference to wind will help loads. Midge nets is a must, best to wear a hat under net (brim keeps neet off face). 

I also permethrin coat my trousers and socks to keep ticks off (although I don't seem to get bothered by them as much as others). 

Some people have said they've had success using some DEET on brim of hat as it has an area effect whereas smidge is contact effect.

I wrote this article a while back.. 

https://www.onlandscape.co.uk/2016/07/dreaded-scottish-midge/

Thanks for the detailed reply, I will give Smidge a try and bring my trip forward a week.

Good article.

But you missed out on mentioning the Vango midge killer. Combined camping light and 500 volt electric mesh. Even comes with a brush for clearing off the corpses. Best £20 I ever spent.

Edit other brands available.

That looks quite interesting - I might have to have a go for when they sneak into the tent (or car)

I bought a Vango midge killer after reading this. Not used on Scottish midges yet but when I put it next to our house plants it collects fungus gnats in greater quantities than I thought were there. I am expecting it to work well in a tent

Has anybody tried the heated chemical tab type devices? I.e. https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/camping/accessories/thermacell_mr300_insect...

I've always been curious weather this would be great for Scottish camping or a waste of time.

Had this midge killer for a couple of years in the campervan, its a bit of a magnet for midge with the UV light but not the hoped big killer, the midge physically fit between the HV wires ! 

Second the Smidge for midge and ticks.

was reminded how bad they can get in Kintail last summer- they were active all night.

interestingly it was a full moon- it appears that activity is higher a few days either side of full and new moons.. (has anyone else noticed this?). next full moon May 5 but they shouldn't be a problem that early.

It can be tricky hitting those weremidges with the tiny tiny silver bullets, but it's the only reliable way to stop them.

Mind you, I highly recommend against using these chemical Thermacell devices anywhere near pristine nature. They are not repellents, but highly toxic insecticides. Kills all sorts of harmless bugs and aquatic animals as well.

There is a reason they are banned in forests in Scandinavia.

May you're more likely to get away with it but basically it's Scotland and getting towards summer. Either accept and deal with the midges, cleggs and ticks or go somewhere else!

Best advice is headnet, fcktonnes of Smidge and hope for a breeze. The midges are just annoying whereas ticks have the potential to be dangerous and I've known a few people with badly infected clegg bites. 

Might be worth considering staying in hostels or whatever rather than camping if you're really wanting to avoid the midges.

Last year I noticed the midges were beginning to be noticeable to me in mid-May in the western Highlands. In April, along the Cowal Way there were ticks everywhere. This year in Cowal I haven't encountered a single tick. It does seem to have been cooler this year so perhaps midge-ageddon might be delayed a little. Fingers crossed.

Seen this recommended by a few guides / climbers in the Highlands:

https://www.lifesystems.co.uk/products/insect-repellents/ex4-anti-mosquito-...

That is permethrin mentioned earlier in the thread. I've just had a look at mine and it says not to apply to skin - too late, I put it on my legs to deter ticks a couple of weeks ago. Seemed to work and no ill effects.......

Sounds good to me .. I just recently found out about this and want to try it, as ticks seem to love me!

The feedback I read was from those who sprayed their clothes with it (apparently lasts quite a while on clothes).

A belt and braces approach might be permethrin on clothes, and smidge on skin

Exactly what I do... If you want to go even further, you can also add DEET on your hat/collar/snood as, unlike smidge, it works to deter midges at a distance. I think this is just a backup for when it gets monumentally annoying but I think a midge net comes into play before then... 

Also also made some of these which proved amazing. They can fog up a bit so I'm working on different safety glasses to include (smidge net + seam sealer + acrylic safety glasses)

 

Had to repitch in a hurry in Coigach last week due to an unfeasibly large number of ticks.  Got Lime last year.