UKC

Does the recent damp weather that the UK has experienced mean possibly an earlier onset of midges ??

According to the government UK midge production is twice as much as under Labour in 2010.

Based on the number of bites that I am getting at present i would say that it is a lot more than just a possibility

I think that the current midge numbers in North Herefordshire are higher than I have ever seen at any tine of year.

The seem way more than normal on the edge of the Durham dales.  Thankfully when it’s not raining it’s often blowing a gale which keeps them down.

Nothing in Langdale yet

I was thinking more of Scotland, but jeez, that's worrying. And the Durham Dales... Langdale sounds better on the other hand.

It is exceedingly worrying as a livestock farmer when we have had 2 midge borne diseases in the country in the last 12 months

Forgive my ignorance, what are they?

Bluetongue and Schmallenberg, both of whch have contributed to some horrendous lambing and calving results for those who were unfortunate enough to have animals at key stages of pregnancy when midge populations peaked last year.

There is a school of thought that we should be looking to Africa and researching insect borne diseases that could affect the human population over the coming years but the cynic in me suspects that it wont happen until it is too late.

Interesting, thanks.

I got a couple of bites last week at a local bouldering venue just north of Glasgow. Not a promising start to the season! ☹

Enjoy!

Love from,

The West Coast of Scotland 

;p

They were out today at Aldery Cliff. Not really biting yet, but will only be a week or so.

IIRC it works as follows - only the females bite; when they hatch the females have enough "internal" food/energy/whatever for their first batch of eggs. But for 2nd and subsequent batches, they need to have a feed - that's where you and I come in - but that's obviously later in the year, however with the wet winter maybe not as much later as we'd like.

The males don't feed because they're basically hatch, shag & die machines.

Is it the damp weather, or the very mild weather (winter?) that is the problem? I'd wager a combination of both, but it does seem like conditions are set for a bumper year of midges. Gulp 🤔

Where are you going and when?

I think in the west of Scotland they are often bad for a time in May or June then can be ok until another hit in the autumn. 

They like damp days with no wind, so sunny with a bit of wind is fine (often worse in the evenings).

Edit I don't think the winter/spring weather makes a difference to them.

The influence of the dates and day-to-day weather is overrated IMV

The wee beasties will live their lives and that means feeding when they need to

Pick your choice of protection

IME, (in North Wales) over a long period of time, the human body does become much less irritated by their bites

Well hopefully the west coast of Scotland starting 23rd of this month, for a few weeks...

I got the first bite of the year 2 weeks ago in Lewis. It was a particularly midge friendly spot, wet, sheltered and sunny. But still.....😱😱

Tonight climbing at Slawston Bridge in Leicestershire we had a moderate number of midges, though as explained up this thread, we did not get bitten, due to part of the midge family cycle that the females must be at.

I have to admit that I have always thought of July/August as peak midge season.

No highland midge in the Lochaber area that I've noticed so far. People seem to think a cold spell kills them off but from what I've seen it's a  prolonged dry spell at this time of year that does the job. Last year was extraordinary for it's lack of midges due to the dry spring break. We had an outbreak at the usual time of bluebell sprouting but that died quickly and then they were pretty much absent until autumn (localised exceptions). 

I expect it to be pretty normal this year looking at conditions.. 

For some reason, I just assumed The Midge was a Scottish thing, that the insects elsewhere, are something else. 
I suppose I could go off and google it, but it will not change anything, hey ho.

Nuke the Midges is in England.

https://www.ukclimbing.com/photos/item.php?crag=101&route=Nuke+the+Midg...

I've got a week's holiday in Skye booked for August. I expect the midges will be dieting until then, so that they're ready to gorge.

August in Skye. What was I thinking?

Just hope it rains (don't worry, it will)

Nope, I've been driven from the ODG beer garden and given up at Kyloe In because of them. Incomparable to a humid Polldubh evening though.

One of the worst midgings I've ever had was in Borrowdale.

Be right.

Headnet, fcktonnes of Smidge and try to keep moving, (obviously doesn't work if you're belaying ha) accept that they'll be there and hungry and above all hope for a breeze! It's what we do north of the wall!

I experienced midges yesterday evening in a London park. This can't be good news.

When I lived oop north (late 80s) midges were a Scottish phenomenon and I don't remember them bothering me on't moors let alone down here. When and why did they move south? Climate changes? Trends in animal husbandry? Service sector employment prospects? Or is this just my faulty memory

Clearly I could do a proper search for this, but why not ask UKC?

I can remember midges when camping & climbing in the Lake District when I was a teenager, I'm now in my late 60s so that was well before the 1980s.

... and already removed a tick this week from our dog 

(Peak District)

It could be a bumper year for all things bitey

You were lucky, or you're remembering your past through a rose tinted headnet. I distinctly remember being nearly killed by them on August evenings at Stanage and Wilton in the 80s

Yes, I don't know where this Scottish-only thing about midges comes from? I can recall them being suicidal in the Lancs quarries from the seventies on.

Hmmm, doesn't look great for my Scottish holiday. Thanks (a lot ). Maybe the east coast...?

Yes, I've been badly midged on Peak grit, occasionally in the Lakes and at Fairhead. But Scotland has always won.

Unless you react particularly badly then just keep an eye on the weather. Hot sun and/or breezy winds will all but keep them in the ground. Shame to miss the west if you're coming all this way.

That's not my experience in recent years. I'll try to remember to make notes this year and get back to you.

Ticks - 24th March Duddon valley - also a tiny lizard and I swear an adder rustled past my boot (the adder was disputed, common vole according to my esteemed climbing partner)

That's the spirit.

Not seen any up in Northern Scotland yet... ticks on the other hand are very much back and biting.

There is a highland midge whose bites are worse and it's territory is scotland and the west coast of the the UK (Wales, some of the Lakes). There are other midges which are annoying but don't bite as much.

That's pretty much my experience. They tend to start biting a couple of weeks after I first notice them.