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On a Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon a while back, I fled the campsite to get away from the midges and find somewhere you could perform some natural functions without getting your ass bit off! I ran into some woods about half a mile away, having ascertained that I was not being followed by a cloud of midges. Within about half a minute of having stopped, there were midges everywhere, like they had all just been waiting there in the woods for something edible to arrive. What the hell are they doing when no one is there? Eating pine needles? What is going on? Midges locate you by the pheromones of other midges that have already found you. It doesn't make sense!
In reply to Steve Parker: They detect the CO2 in your breath so if you stop breathing your fine! I F**king hate them too, they swarmed me in the campsite at the kings head in glenn coe. There is a new product the midge eater which is supposed to clear a campsite of them I would be interested to know if it works?
In reply to Rope stretcher: Midge eaters are great. Went for a meal near Inverness recently and they had one out on the patio. Sat outside and not a midge in sight!
I think they are pretty pricey though
I think they are pretty pricey though
In reply to Steve Parker:Thirty four species of the beasties and only the females bite your ass. Density up to 24 million per hectare so it's difficult to outrun them. Didn't you cover yourself totally with skin so soft oil? I got 3 bottles from ebay. Use a whole bottle of the stuff at a time. Works for a good 20 minutes- drowns 'em.No after effects-twitch twitch.
In reply to Rope stretcher:
Saw these on the Knapdale penninsular earlier this summer. Yes they work
http://www.calorgas.ie/calor_corporate/latest_news/?id=48&q=
Saw these on the Knapdale penninsular earlier this summer. Yes they work
http://www.calorgas.ie/calor_corporate/latest_news/?id=48&q=
In reply to Rope stretcher:
Okay, I accept the Co2 bit, but WHAT were they doing before I arrived? What do they feed on when humans aren't there? Or can they wriggle through fur and feathers and feed on animals and birds? Seems unlikely given their fragility.
Okay, I accept the Co2 bit, but WHAT were they doing before I arrived? What do they feed on when humans aren't there? Or can they wriggle through fur and feathers and feed on animals and birds? Seems unlikely given their fragility.
In reply to Steve Parker: Hmmm, have found all midge products ok when it's just a wee swarm, but when they're so bad that you're breathing them up your nose then there's no escape!
Those machine things, give off CO2 which is why they work, saw one for sale in a garage in Ullapool, £200, not cheap! And not exactly the size to be practical in carryin about either!
Those machine things, give off CO2 which is why they work, saw one for sale in a garage in Ullapool, £200, not cheap! And not exactly the size to be practical in carryin about either!
In reply to Steve Parker: I see your point but there are deer etc. in the woods, and they are so f**king small and irritating that a little bit of blood the females steal can help them lay huge amounts of eggs and the little blighters lay them in the laying water.
In reply to Rope stretcher: they are resistant to everything except wind, rain and the months Oct to June. Find someone who suffers more, ie. is more susceptible to them than yourself and stick to them like glue until they succumb in turn, and then quickly transfer allegiance to another sucker. Forget about adaptation, it's survival of the fittest.
In reply to graham1: Heh heh, liking your tactics!
In reply to The Bear:Another patio Global Warming product!
In reply to graham1:
Do Scots get bitten by midges, then, or are they just trained to drive the English out?
Do Scots get bitten by midges, then, or are they just trained to drive the English out?
In reply to Steve Parker: Check this site out www.justnaturalstuff.co.uk/ishop/1013/shopscr476.html and next time you phone up random campsites ask if they have got one if the answer is no, say no thanks then if this happens a few times they will go and buy one!
In reply to Steve Parker: Oh yes, we get bitten also! In fact, we get bitten more. When they bite you guys, it's like 'ooh, yuck, English blood, spit spit!' but you're just such poofs that you get a few bites and scream, you canny handle it!
Heh heh!
Heh heh!
In reply to Steve Parker: I was told that they start to bite the bairns during delivery, the crib and so on. They are genetically steeled to them, 50 generations of survival since the Feinn and their dogs sailed their longships to Glencoe, have innured them to suffering. Their ancestors still lie asleep along Glencoe, undisturbed by midgies, awaiting the call of Fingal's horn. At the west end of Aonach Eagach is the cliff of the Feinn, Sgor nam Fionnaid, where any man can sit in comfort, untroubled by pest, and weave heroic verse.
In reply to lasonj:
Sounds about right. I'd only been to Scotland in winter before, and dismissed all the midge stuff, thinking I'm dead hard and what can a few little insects do to me. Wrong! Not hard at all, not compared to the plaid-clad midge!
Sounds about right. I'd only been to Scotland in winter before, and dismissed all the midge stuff, thinking I'm dead hard and what can a few little insects do to me. Wrong! Not hard at all, not compared to the plaid-clad midge!
In reply to Steve Parker: Ken, they're brutal!
How something so small and insignificant can reduce a grown man to tears! Was up North West a few weeks back. Lying in my bivi bag, I needed to get up for a wee. Could hear the midges buzzin, the sound of rain as the battered against my bag and my mate, who'd gotten up for a piss groaning. I lay in my bag, bursting, too scared to get out, knowing what was awaiting me!
HELL!!!!
And hell it was. Unfortunately for my mate, he seems to suffer an allergic reaction to the bites and was covered in lumps. Looked like he had the 'pox' or the plague!
How something so small and insignificant can reduce a grown man to tears! Was up North West a few weeks back. Lying in my bivi bag, I needed to get up for a wee. Could hear the midges buzzin, the sound of rain as the battered against my bag and my mate, who'd gotten up for a piss groaning. I lay in my bag, bursting, too scared to get out, knowing what was awaiting me!
HELL!!!!
And hell it was. Unfortunately for my mate, he seems to suffer an allergic reaction to the bites and was covered in lumps. Looked like he had the 'pox' or the plague!
In reply to lasonj:
Put it this way, I didn't have a cr*p all weekend on the mountain marathon. Everytime I tried, Well you know the rest!
Thing was - don't know if you've done a big event like that - the more people turned up, the more midges turned up. Apparently, the first midge, vaguely attracted by CO2, finds you more or less by accident, then starts pumping out pheromones. These are detected by other nearby midges, who then pump out pheromones as they head to the target. These are picked up by... On and on and on... So the circle of attraction rapidly spreads. By 10pm the first night it was f*cking ridiculous.
Put it this way, I didn't have a cr*p all weekend on the mountain marathon. Everytime I tried, Well you know the rest!
Thing was - don't know if you've done a big event like that - the more people turned up, the more midges turned up. Apparently, the first midge, vaguely attracted by CO2, finds you more or less by accident, then starts pumping out pheromones. These are detected by other nearby midges, who then pump out pheromones as they head to the target. These are picked up by... On and on and on... So the circle of attraction rapidly spreads. By 10pm the first night it was f*cking ridiculous.
In reply to lasonj: OK here's a trade secret- don't tell too many, especially plain hikers or those who seldom venture away from the camp site. I don't advocate skinning wild life even for those who "wild camp" for long periods.
In addition to those powerful repellants like the 3M US exarmy creams with 37% diEToluimide( versus 2% in most other products) you can keep midges at bay by mixing any black pudding product with water to a stiff gue and smear it on exposed parts. Others may laugh, but if you are in territory where you remain unseen.... The Highlands are fine as there are no major predators there. You still get covered by dense clouds of rampant midges but they don't bite. I also take a head net but I remove it in company.
In addition to those powerful repellants like the 3M US exarmy creams with 37% diEToluimide( versus 2% in most other products) you can keep midges at bay by mixing any black pudding product with water to a stiff gue and smear it on exposed parts. Others may laugh, but if you are in territory where you remain unseen.... The Highlands are fine as there are no major predators there. You still get covered by dense clouds of rampant midges but they don't bite. I also take a head net but I remove it in company.
In reply to graham1:
Dear graham
You seem to know quite a lot about midgies of long ago. However, I do find it stange that there is no pre 20 C Gaelic song or verse about the midgies. Even the well documented travels of the Frenchman, Bonnie Prince Charlie, does not mention midges.
Who told you about the 50 generations, Walter Mitty?
Norrie
> (In reply to Steve Parker) I was told that they start to bite the bairns during delivery, the crib and so on. They are genetically steeled to them, 50 generations of survival since the Feinn and their dogs sailed their longships to Glencoe, have innured them to suffering. Their ancestors still lie asleep along Glencoe, undisturbed by midgies, awaiting the call of Fingal's horn. At the west end of Aonach Eagach is the cliff of the Feinn, Sgor nam Fionnaid, where any man can sit in comfort, untroubled by pest, and weave heroic verse.
Dear graham
You seem to know quite a lot about midgies of long ago. However, I do find it stange that there is no pre 20 C Gaelic song or verse about the midgies. Even the well documented travels of the Frenchman, Bonnie Prince Charlie, does not mention midges.
Who told you about the 50 generations, Walter Mitty?
Norrie
In reply to Norrie Muir:
Them slickit Scottish midgies
They like to pierce your skin
If there are enough of them
You'll end up mighty thin.
12th century Ballad of Argyll.
Them slickit Scottish midgies
They like to pierce your skin
If there are enough of them
You'll end up mighty thin.
12th century Ballad of Argyll.
In reply to graham1: Heh heh, I'm sure I would look most atractive, wearing a midge net and smeared in black pudding, what a scary thought!
In reply to Norrie Muir: If its true scotsmen dont wear undergarments under their kilts, they must get bit heavily on their undercarrige and if the bumps come up the scots lassies must be pleased? pre ribbed condoms
In reply to Norrie Muir:
Hello Norrie. Above Achtriachtan is the cave where Ossian, the poet son of Fionn composed his verse, of the time 1500 years prior, when the dogs of Glencoe roamed across Appin, Rannoch and the richer pastures to the south.
Hello Norrie. Above Achtriachtan is the cave where Ossian, the poet son of Fionn composed his verse, of the time 1500 years prior, when the dogs of Glencoe roamed across Appin, Rannoch and the richer pastures to the south.
In reply to Rope stretcher: There's nothing worn under the kilt. It's all in good working order.
In reply to graham1:
Dear graham
Please quote the passage of Ossian's poem where he refers to midgies, not a Victorian interpretation?
Norrie
PS Did you see my comment in the visitors book in Ossian's cave?
> (In reply to Norrie Muir)
> Hello Norrie. Above Achtriachtan is the cave where Ossian, the poet son of Fionn composed his verse, of the time 1500 years prior, when the dogs of Glencoe roamed across Appin, Rannoch and the richer pastures to the south.
> Hello Norrie. Above Achtriachtan is the cave where Ossian, the poet son of Fionn composed his verse, of the time 1500 years prior, when the dogs of Glencoe roamed across Appin, Rannoch and the richer pastures to the south.
Dear graham
Please quote the passage of Ossian's poem where he refers to midgies, not a Victorian interpretation?
Norrie
PS Did you see my comment in the visitors book in Ossian's cave?
In reply to graham1:
Talk about sassenach-baiting! Okay, I'll try this black pudding deal next time. Might give me an advantage on a Mountain Marathon as I imagine other competitors would probably be keeling over by day 2 if they were anywhere near me. Any particular kind of black pud?
Talk about sassenach-baiting! Okay, I'll try this black pudding deal next time. Might give me an advantage on a Mountain Marathon as I imagine other competitors would probably be keeling over by day 2 if they were anywhere near me. Any particular kind of black pud?
In reply to Norrie Muir:
Halo a Norrie. Ciamar a tha sibh. Tapadh leibh a Graham.
Halo a Norrie. Ciamar a tha sibh. Tapadh leibh a Graham.
In reply to Steve Parker: If you are competitive running it will sweat off pretty fast. I don't think it will work. The huge amount of sweat will draw them in batallions.
In reply to Norrie Muir:
Alas, there were never any written lines and no true version of his translated verse has survived despite Dr Johnson's attempt.
Anyone who would sign a visitor's book in remembrance of the Highlander's contribution to our United Kingdom deserves a free drink from me at the Clachaig next March.
Alas, there were never any written lines and no true version of his translated verse has survived despite Dr Johnson's attempt.
Anyone who would sign a visitor's book in remembrance of the Highlander's contribution to our United Kingdom deserves a free drink from me at the Clachaig next March.
In reply to Steve Parker:
LoL Steve.
Anyone who can tell the tales of Fingal is welcome in Lochaber or indeed anywhere throughout the Highlands. While the Feinn were away hunting with their dogs, Fion MacCumhail tricked the Viking Earragan until his warriors returned to thwart the Norsemen. Whisper that while you run in Glencoe and no midge will bite.
I'll away to my bed now.
LoL Steve.
Anyone who can tell the tales of Fingal is welcome in Lochaber or indeed anywhere throughout the Highlands. While the Feinn were away hunting with their dogs, Fion MacCumhail tricked the Viking Earragan until his warriors returned to thwart the Norsemen. Whisper that while you run in Glencoe and no midge will bite.
I'll away to my bed now.
In reply to graham1:
Dear graham
I will reply in English for the benefit of the other posters. Fine, and I know.
Norrie
> (In reply to Norrie Muir)
> Halo a Norrie. Ciamar a tha sibh. Tapadh leibh a Graham.
> Halo a Norrie. Ciamar a tha sibh. Tapadh leibh a Graham.
Dear graham
I will reply in English for the benefit of the other posters. Fine, and I know.
Norrie
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