The wife is looking at us travelling up to Scotland for a few days in late July, to coincide with the 10th anniversary of her Mum passing away.
(Ashes were scattered at Glen Coe, etc)
We’ve two little uns, age 2 & 3, & I’m worried about her plan to have us camping. In particular these midges I hear stories about.
Is it really that bad…?
Dowsing ourselves with Deet is no problem, we’ve a place in The Gambia so are used to it, but we cant really go splashing it all over the little ones.

Cheers, PT.

Get some Avon Skin So Soft and tell your kids to man up. 😛

Drink lots of irn bru and they will be fine

They can be absolutely vicious, sometimes you never see them. a bit of breeze keeps ’em away, nice damp days and you can get eaten alive

midge hoods and keep covered if Deet is not on for the kiddies – its the only thing I have found to work

http://www.midgeforecast.co.uk/2008/

Scotish midges – be afraid, be VERY afraid………

http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/169/3/209

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/qa/insect_repellent.htm

http://www.aap.org/family/wnv-jun03.htm

Is it really that bad…?

Afraid so.

On the other hand I have doe a 30 mile trek in lovely weather right accross a huge peaty area and not seen one. fickle they are

There appears to be an increase in light and wind tolerant species this year on the west coast.

It’s still not bad enough to stop you coming. Check your dates and avoid Golf tournaments. Far more carnage from them.

Every year I forget just how vicious they can be at that time of the year.

I’ve a very vivid memory from last August, turning up to a campsite in the North West to meet some friends. It was a beautiful evening and the campsite appeared to be busy. There were lots of tents but something wasn’t quite right… Food lay partially eaten on picnic tables; bikes lay abandoned on the grass, back wheels slowly turning to a halt; a frisbee hung momentarily in the air before clunking to the ground; but nowhere was there a human being to be seen.

I pondered this weird land-bound Mairi Celeste tableau as the sunset faded and I turned off the car ignition. The low bass thrum of the diesel engine died to be replaced by a growing sound, first at the edge of my consciousness, but steadily intensifying; the sound of light rain. But how could it be from a cloudless sky on that last, perfect day of summer? I felt a shiver run down my spine as my hand reached for the door pull and I opened my cocoon to the gathering gloaming.

I stepped out…

Later that evening I sat in another car drinking heavily with friends as others arrived. They’d blithely and gaily spring forth and we’d take wagers on how long it’d be before they were clawing frantically at their exposed flesh as if beset by madness or bees.

“9 seconds I reckon, Ian”.
“Nah, 14”.
“1-2-3-4”.
“Whoah!”

Up around the kings house hotel on Rannoch moor,at the start of Glencoe,they have midgie killing machines ,which are pretty effective,but its a large open area with plenty of peatland so there can tend to be a lot of the little barstewards flying about.
It’s an ok place,but recently they’ve introduced t-shirts with the ‘kingy’ on it and i think its all a bit pretentious and full of them selves
Actually to be honest ,it should be named the kings shithouse,the toilets smell that way all year round 😡

Further up [about a mile from Glencoe village is the Clachaig Inn,it is relatively midgie free,they have a good hotel and a brilliant kid/pet friendly bar/lounge,open fire music,bunkhouses and cabins ,the hotel itself but no camping and no fires,always busy and a good atmosphere.

About 200yrds from the Clachaig,is the Red Squirrel campsite,this is a very good site if you’re thinking of camping,large flat areas with fireplaces scattered about,its about the only place that allows them[ 😯 cant have a camping trip without a fire]
It’s about £7.50 a night and you’ll get firewood in the village shop
Nice cycling area and not many cars off the main road

The best campsite is Invercoe. It’s right on the coast in Glencoe village and will usually have some sea breeze floating over which will help keep the midges at bay. They also have a large, covered cooking/eating area with midge-eaters. Lovely view out West too. (I’m going up there this weekend).

The C&C one by the main road has decent views and is fairly open but is surrounded by a pretty thick band of trees which can cause midge issues.

Red Squirrel is by the river (and therefore damp) and is interspersed with trees. To be avoided.

Oh – and get some of this stuff.

Lather it on. It’s not a repellent, but it seems to drown them on landing.

It’s right on the coast in Glencoe village and will usually have some sea breeze floating over which will help keep the midges at bay.

Read the above as WINDSWEPT
Been there 🙄
Pretty rubbish for camping ,ok if its a trailer/camper caravan.
.
Views are pretty cool though 8)

Thanks all.
stuartlangwilson…cheers, very intresting.
stuartie_c…brilliant. Pure STW.

That’s why ancient Celtic ceremonies involved naked virgins – it was fresh meat to divert the midges so the men could get on with the drinking etc.

The only thing I would add to the above is it depends on each individual. I can go up there and be eaten alive within 5 minutes even though I am covered in deet. Others get off relatively lightly. the little feckers eat through the stuff just to pis me off.

So if you’re like me its probably better to stay at home and stick pins in your eyes.

this

mosi guard natural – that is – stuff seemed to work last week – it reeks more than deet tho.

West Coast in July = midgefest. I’ve camped up there early May before it gets really bad, and I wouldn’t consider taking kids up there camping any time in the summer, unless you really like spotty moaning kids. To be honest, I wouldn’t camp up there myself, except if I could wild camp somewhere high up above the midge-line.

Whatever you do, don’t stay at the campsite in Kinlochleven by the loch. That is the midgiest place in Scotland – sheltered, warm, near loads of water. Beautiful campsite, but a nightmare of a place.

The Kingshouse campsite was fine when I stayed there as it was windy, but might be really bad if it wasn’t.

Joe

Went to sleep in a cave last July in Glen Coe. Got there, cooked some food, cracked open the wine, waited for dark to fall. It hadn’t yet fallen when the slight breeze we hadn’t noticed dropped completely and it went still. Within seconds the midgies were so thick in the air that we were breathing them in. It only took 30 seconds of frantic scratching to realise we had to head back to the car immediately. Packed up our stuff and began down… After 10 minutes I stepped down onto a tennis ball size rock and rolled my ankle. Promptly passed out from the pain (not a MTFU incdent, just my body’s reaction to injury), cue panic from the SO and subsequently hobbling down the path for another long, slow, painful hour. The only place we could get digs for the night was Red Squirrel. How the couple have run and lived at that place for 40 years I’ll never know. On opening the car door, thick clouds of midgies swarmed in around the lights. Once in the tent we spent 20 minutes killing all the midgies which had got in by shining the torch on a section of tent inner and waiting for them to collect. Awful experience all round. Really ruins the Scotland experience, big big shame.

Whoever invents a mass midgie killer will be a rich rich person.

I was in Glencoe at the weekend. The midges had been sharpening their teeth for our arrival. The Kingshouse midge killing machine must have been set to ‘attract’ rather than kill.

Over the DS and Cairan Path we had something like 10 punctures. Fixing punctures through a mist of midgies is hardcore.

Really ruins the Scotland experience, big big shame.

get a grip … that is the Scottish Experience ! You cannae come up to Scotland, take all the glory of the best scenery in the world and them moan about the midges. Gotta take the rough with the smooth.

Avon skin so soft … works ? yes and no. Personally, I find it stops them biting your skin, but it wont stop them landing on your skin. You’ll still get clouds of them in your face, on your arms, legs, buzzing in your ear holes ( buzzzzzt. ) which can be just as annoying as the bites themselves, if not more so.

Other than that, really the only thing that’ll help you is a breeze, its just about the only thing that will stop them being airborne. Heat, cold, rain, mist, drizzle … they’ll still be out if there is no wind.

Would this help? Can it be plugged into a 12v car socket?

If you decide camping is too high risk then I stayed here last year – just outside Glencoe in Ballachulish. Would definitely recommend it as reasonably priced simple accomodation. Very friendly, but your left to get on and do your own thing. Fantastic breakfast included in the price…

They have a (locked) boot room that’s big enough to house a couple of bikes but were talking about extending this facility.

We camped at the Glen Morlich campsite last weekend. Couple of torrential downpours interspersed with sunshine and virtually no wind was prime midge conditions.

I come off particularly bad with the wee shi*es and each bite develops into lumpy hives. I ended up looking like the elephant man. Midge net on and lashings of skin so soft made it bearable to still sit about. The others with me were getting a hard time but nobody was suffering too much.

The guy in the next tent along (professional stalker) was sitting about like they weren’t there giggling at our pathetic attempts.

Getting drunk also seemed to dull the midge probem.

Eating lots of garlic in the fortnight before and during your stay is supposed to help keep most biting insects at bay. Not so sure about midgies and the West coast ones around Glencoe can be the most resilient and vicious in Scotland.
Not much use for on time visits but I find that the severity of reactions decreases after a couple of times. Ive been up in the area about 4 times in the last couple of months and last week really didnt have much problem.

Get an oil burning lamp and fill it with citronella oil. Easier than dousing the family in Avon skin cream.

Really ruins the Scotland experience, big big shame.

MTFU! Unless you’re one of those unfortunate types that comes out in HUGE swellings at each bite site it’s not thing more than an irritation. And even then (and my other half is that way) it wouldnt stop you from coming (its not stopping her from moving up here!).

No idea why you’d not use DEET based stuff on kids, never read the label but we used it from the age of about 4!

The guy in the next tent along (professional stalker)…

What’s that all about then? Oh ****, you meant “stalking” as in hunting type stalking? I thought he’d been up to some weirdness.

mmmm tasty….

Rum and a head net.
.
Tricky one for the kids though 😆
Ask in boots the chemist,im pretty sure they’ve got range of kid friendly products.

And i wouldn’t use deet on myself,let alone on children.
.
.
**** it,go to Majorca instead. 😉

Canadian Medical Journal…

DEET-based insect repellents: safety implications for children and pregnant and lactating women
Gideon Koren, Doreen Matsui and Benoit Bailey

REDUCING THE RISK OF MOSQUITO BITES is currently the only way to reduce the risk of West Nile virus infection. Methods for avoiding mosquito bites include limiting the time spent outdoors at dawn and dusk, wearing protective clothing and using an insect repellent. Repellents containing DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide, also known as N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide) are the most effective and most widely used. However, concerns have been raised over the risk of adverse toxic effects, especially in young children and pregnant and lactating women. In this article, we review the available evidence on the effectiveness and safety of DEET-based products. The evidence does not support increased risk in young children.

I was plagued by the little feckers all the way up Cairngorm and back down the other side – I thought that they wouldn’t be around at that height, but apparantly I was wrong. A local passed by swotting them out of his face with the classic comment “aye, they’re nae respectors of altitude”.

I’m in Kinlochleven at the moment and they are really bad. Spend quite a lot of time around these parts and normally they do not bother me.

I have been bitten a lot this week, they could have mutated into a local munching super midgy?

Some of the ppl with me have never been here before and cannot believe it, pity as I am sure it puts visitors off returning. If you get a puncture you tend to get left behind by your mates this week.

**** it,go to Majorca instead.

If only!!!
It’s the Wifes idea to mark the 10th anniversary of her Mum passing away.
A nice idea but I keep thinking we might be better off in September, but reading some of these horror stories perhaps January might be better…
🙂

If it puts the litter dropping, turn up in car, park and look out then leavetype visitors off coming up here I’m all for them 🙂

This actual size, don’t be fooled by people who say they are small. midges also eat grouse.

Bruneep, you’ve got that one wrong – understandable really because it looks the same.

That’s actually a mist midgie – they’re 20 feet long and they wait for unwary English hikers and suck all their brains out. Doesn’t seem to harm them, but they then talk with an Aussie accent.