How to keep midges away

Borris · Mar 22, 2021

I read in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph that Marmite keeps the little blighters away. Presumably only the ones that hate it though. Mind you if you were to rub it on like sun cream I can see there being some PC issues. :Nailbiting

66tim99 · Mar 22, 2021

Borris said:
I read in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph that Marmite keeps the little blighters away. Presumably only the ones that hate it though. Mind you if you were to rub it on like sun cream I can see there being some PC issues.

Good tip, I do like a smear of marmite on my toast. But not on my California or my face!

Borris · Mar 22, 2021

66tim99 said:
Good tip, I do like a smear of marmite on my toast. But not on my California or my face!

It made me wonder when I read it, how is one supposed to apply it? Do you dab it behind the ears? Or spread it all over, with or without butter?

GrumpyGranddad · Mar 22, 2021

Many years ago my youngest son raided the kitchen cupboard, smeared himself with Marmite and stuck teabags on himself.
Surprisingly, he’s grown up quite to be quite normal

Borris · Mar 22, 2021

GrumpyGranddad said:
Many years ago my youngest son raided the kitchen cupboard, smeared himself with Marmite and stuck teabags on himself.
Surprisingly, he’s grown up quite to be quite normal

Youngsters today are too busy goggling at screens to indulge in fun like that. Did it drive the midges away?

DoctorCP · Mar 23, 2021

Simple answer to the midge/marmite issue!

RikFizz · Mar 23, 2021

GrumpyGranddad said:
Many years ago my youngest son raided the kitchen cupboard, smeared himself with Marmite and stuck teabags on himself.
Surprisingly, he’s grown up quite to be quite normal

I live close enough to the factory (in Burton upon Trent) that produces Marmite and when the wind is in the right direction and strong enough the smell of Marmite wafts over our village..... heaven!!

slipper · Mar 23, 2021

Don’t go to the west of Scotland in the spring/summer. Nothing really works We’ve done it once....never again!

GrannyJen · Mar 23, 2021

I have never found anything to keep the midges away so now adopt a policy of keeping away from them.

Sorry, if you go to a midge hotspot in midge season then you will find that you are bitten more than you can chew

Ch1pbutty · Mar 23, 2021

Smoke will help

Jabberwocky · Mar 23, 2021

Anybody tried this?

Smidge - The UK’s No.1 Midge Repellent

Developed in Scotland, Smidge is scientifically proven to provide instant, sweat-proof protection from all biting insects for up to 8 hours.

www.smidgeup.com

Perfectos · Mar 23, 2021

Jabberwocky said:
Anybody tried this?

Smidge - The UK’s No.1 Midge Repellent

Developed in Scotland, Smidge is scientifically proven to provide instant, sweat-proof protection from all biting insects for up to 8 hours.

www.smidgeup.com

It’s a smidge expensive for 75ml :Iamsorry

GrumpyGranddad · Mar 23, 2021

RikFizz said:
I live close enough to the factory (in Burton upon Trent) that produces Marmite and when the wind is in the right direction and strong enough the smell of Marmite wafts over our village..... heaven!!

When I was a working man the UK HQ of the business was on the Slough Trading Estate, the Mars factory was nearby. I’m sure you could put weight on just breathing the air

Jabberwocky · Mar 23, 2021

Perfectos said:
It’s a smidge expensive for 75ml

It was a certainty that your comment or something similar was going to be made.

Anyway, I guess if it works as well as they say then its worth paying for peace of mind.

Jabberwocky · Mar 23, 2021

Billylou said:
We've had success using this against mozzies, it might also be effective against midges. Mrs Billylou is easy prey and this product has helped. There are various articles online that support it's use.

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Sign up to Amazon Prime for unlimited free delivery. Low prices at Amazon on digital cameras, MP3, sports, books, music, DVDs, video games, home & garden and much more.

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I fear you have copied the wrong link as my screen comes up with a generic Amazon/Amazon Prime free trial page.

Cali Phillip · Mar 23, 2021

Perfectos said:
It’s a smidge expensive for 75ml

works really well, I road tested it standing on a canal side one summer in the midge hot spot of Lochaber. It really works, a slight repellent effect.
Living and staying in the van for months over the summer here it depends on numbers,
The season is late May to mid `September.

I work on a few multiple approach.
Cram in - as much before the season and after.
Avoid - pick windy spots, coast is good and avoid being outside very early am and later Pm when the sun goes down ( if its not raining )
Midges hate wind or strong sun.
Barrier - Wear smidge and keep a head midge net handy incase of ambush, I always have one in the van and about my person in the season. Nothing worse than the midge dance ha ha.
More barriers - Put midge net in the roof vents and have nets for the windows

Better to be prepared and be able to laugh at the midge dance from a safe place !

Louis II · Mar 23, 2021

I seem to remember a relative in Scotland having Some sort of CO2 based midge trap when entertaining outside in summer. Worked on the principal of attracting them to a corner of the garden away from the people and collecting them in some sort of bag. Seemed very effective but no idea if it could be used on a campsite.

Cali Phillip · Mar 23, 2021

Louis II said:
I seem to remember a relative in Scotland having Some sort of CO2 based midge trap when entertaining outside in summer. Worked on the principal of attracting them to a corner of the garden away from the people and collecting them in some sort of bag. Seemed very effective but no idea if it could be used on a campsite.

you would need a fair number, they work for about 1/2 of a football pitch each at £500 each + running cost.

Bellcrew · Mar 24, 2021

GrannyJen said:
I have never found anything to keep the midges away so now adopt a policy of keeping away from them.

Sorry, if you go to a midge hotspot in midge season then you will find that you are bitten more than you can chew

A friend kindly give us use of her farmhouse in Umbria for a few years, we loved it but unfortunately the garden was patrolled by horse flies that feasted on any available bare flesh.
Our children refused to go outside eventually and those delightful holidays had to end.
We have applied a variety of lotions to prevent attacks from biting insects over the years, none has ever been 100% effective and a quick dip in a pool/sea will see even that limited level of protection vanish, life hey.

Swello · Mar 24, 2021

Phillip T said:
works really well, I road tested it standing on a canal side one summer in the midge hot spot of Lochaber. It really works, a slight repellent effect.
Living and staying in the van for months over the summer here it depends on numbers,
The season is late May to mid `September.

I work on a few multiple approach.
Cram in - as much before the season and after.
Avoid - pick windy spots, coast is good and avoid being outside very early am and later Pm when the sun goes down ( if its not raining )
Midges hate wind or strong sun.
Barrier - Wear smidge and keep a head midge net handy incase of ambush, I always have one in the van and about my person in the season. Nothing worse than the midge dance ha ha.
More barriers - Put midge net in the roof vents and have nets for the windows

Better to be prepared and be able to laugh at the midge dance from a safe place !

As a seasoned wild camper (of the tiny tent in the middle of nowhere variety), I think this is a great summary. Everyone is (rightly

) terrified of midges but I can only think of a handful of occasions that they have really ruined things for me over the years.

Midges are basically crap - they can't move fast, they can't stand the lightest of breezes and they don't like sunlight - so if you keep that in mind and tailor your approach accordingly, you can minimise the pain considerably.

Any type of activity where you are moving (walking, biking, paddling, etc) are midge-proof - just don't stop

Scotland is a really windy/breezy country compared to most places - if you take advantage of that, you can minimise the midge risk a lot. Strong Sunlight is more of a problem, but if you are lucky enough to see some, take advantage

On the other hand, if you are stationary in a windless forest or lochside at sunset - you have my best wishes

And buy smidge and a midge net.

PS - Deer Ked are way worse than midges - if you're going to be scared of some West Highland wildlife, I'd recommend them instead..

Karlos · Mar 24, 2021

Swello said:
As a seasoned wild camper (of the tiny tent in the middle of nowhere variety), I think this is a great summary. Everyone is (rightly ) terrified of midges but I can only think of a handful of occasions that they have really ruined things for me over the years.

Midges are basically crap - they can't move fast, they can't stand the lightest of breezes and they don't like sunlight - so if you keep that in mind and tailor your approach accordingly, you can minimise the pain considerably.

Any type of activity where you are moving (walking, biking, paddling, etc) are midge-proof - just don't stop

Scotland is a really windy/breezy country compared to most places - if you take advantage of that, you can minimise the midge risk a lot. Strong Sunlight is more of a problem, but if you are lucky enough to see some, take advantage

On the other hand, if you are stationary in a windless forest or lochside at sunset - you have my best wishes And buy smidge and a midge net.

PS - Deer Ked are way worse than midges - if you're going to be scared of some West Highland wildlife, I'd recommend them instead..

Totally agree, spent some fantastic time in Scotland last year for the first time in many years.

Camped on the side of Lochalsh for 5 nights with a slight breeze so no issues except for the last evening when the breeze fell and we didn't notice. Ooops.

Neilos · Mar 24, 2021

Reading this with interest! What should we take for a week on Mull in august?! Fingers crossed we can actually go.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Swello · Mar 24, 2021

Neilos said:
Reading this with interest! What should we take for a week on Mull in august?! Fingers crossed we can actually go.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My wife is from Mull and we still spend a lot of time there. Mull is obviously an island in the Atlantic, so the wind is your saviour from Midges most of the time and I've rarely found them to be that bad (although in the right calm conditions, they can be found surprisingly far off-shore!).

In some of the interior parts of the island and especially the forested parts, they can be quite bad in the wrong conditions, just like anywhere in the West Highlands. Mull has lots of coast/beaches and lots of high places - stick to them as much as possible and you'll love it.

Neilos · Mar 24, 2021

Swello said:
My wife is from Mull and we still spend a lot of time there. Mull is obviously an island in the Atlantic, so the wind is your saviour from Midges most of the time and I've rarely found them to be that bad (although in the right calm conditions, they can be found surprisingly far off-shore!).

In some of the interior parts of the island and especially the forested parts, they can be quite bad in the wrong conditions, just like anywhere in the West Highlands. Mull has lots of coast/beaches and lots of high places - stick to them as much as possible and you'll love it.

Thanks for the advice! Looking forward to seeing it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Anthony1 · Mar 27, 2021

GrumpyGranddad said:
Many years ago my youngest son raided the kitchen cupboard, smeared himself with Marmite and stuck teabags on himself.
Surprisingly, he’s grown up quite to be quite normal

Didn't we all?

How to keep midges away

Borris

66tim99

Borris

GrumpyGranddad

Borris

DoctorCP

RikFizz

slipper

GrannyJen

Ch1pbutty

Jabberwocky

Forever young (ish!)