Scotland, midges and mosquitoes in general…!

[JJ]

Scots do not hate or dislike the English; unless the English concerned post comments having a pop at the Scots. The Scots tend to pity the English, because the Tartan Army goes to tournaments with the expectation that Scotland will work to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory; and therefore settle down to await the exit,filling the time by celebrating in local bars with the local population and teaching the locals what a 'wee swallie' is, and how to consume it, etc. Several hours later, Tartan Army and locals are quietly steamin', and friends for life.

England fans on the other hand, attend tournaments with the expectation of actually winning, and without the appeal that the Tartan Army has to the local populace; and when defeat arrives, it is a bitter pill to swallow ... Entitlement deflated as amodernMilton might have written ...

Steve

Please Mr Steve...

It was a JOKE for heaven's sake!

JJ

 

[deleted79651]

You are the king of generalisation.

Says the manx man.

Sauce for the goose and all that ... Like for like, and all that/

Steve

 

[gpat]

Well as a neutral. Yes the english football fans can be annoying , 1966 and all that.
But the Scots can be drunken lots just the same. Full of bitterness and jealousy.

And the most important, much as we might moan about the english, at least their football team is not totally hopeless.

 

[pelican]

In the Old Forge Knoydart Britains most remote pub, On sign board "Enterainment" Flying in tonight "The Midgies"

 

[Audturn]

In the interest of balance here is a link giving the view of the midge.
I lifted it from Facebook in the hope that I am not infringing copyright as it was posted on 1st June and hasn’t been removed. Btw the midge does care where you come from.



Audrey

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Brains]

A few years back we were in a fairly empty campsite on Skye.
It was about 8pm and people were settling down for the evening.

Over the space of the next 20 minutes the campsite went from fairly empty to totally full, with people even doubling up on pitches.
Campers were pulling tents out of cars and erecting them, with the sleeping bags etc already inside.
They were also getting out half cooked meals, which meant within half an hour all the new arrivals were cooking or eating.
It was not just tent campers, but motorhomes and caravans as well.

They had all been driven out of a campsite on the west coast of the island by the swarms of midges and had come to our site on the east coast as we did not have any midges.

The owners of the site, who also ran the local pub, said he had not seen such a dramatic filling of his site before, it had been prompted by a single phone call an hour earlier which had cleared the other site inside 20 minutes!

 

[Wabs]

Well as a neutral. Yes the english football fans can be annoying , 1966 and all that.
But the Scots can be drunken lots just the same. Full of bitterness and jealousy.

And the most important, much as we might moan about the english, at least their football team is not totally hopeless.

Bit harsh,,,who’s PR agent are you?

 

[138go]

I use Mosquito Guard, which is DEET and alcohol-free. It contains 20% Picaridin, a very effective repellent. Forget Avon and the like, I need something strong that really works. Having said that, I would never go to the west coast of Scotland, NEVER.

 

[Wee Bold Davy]

Well after reading through this list, Scotalnd is not somewhere I am feeling the urge to visit again!

Your life will be poorer for it!

 

[IanFraser]

Deet, a midgie hat and some gaffer tape to secure long breeks to boots and sleeves to wrists! Alternatively as another poster said go east, better scenery imho but I’m biased being an east coaster

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Wee Bold Davy]

But the Scots can be drunken lots just the same. Full of bitterness and jealousy.

And the most important, much as we might moan about the english, at least their football team is not totally hopeless.

Full of jealousy of what?
Never met a Jock who would want be anything other than Scottish. Passionate, proud and welcomed everywhere they go.

 

[pelican]

I use Mosquito Guard, which is DEET and alcohol-free. It contains 20% Picaridin, a very effective repellent. Forget Avon and the like, I need something strong that really works. Having said that, I would never go to the west coast of Scotland, NEVER.

So no good for W Coast then

 

[Dramfineday]

Aultguish near Garve.....still have nightmares.....jungle formula, midge hood, midge coils in the tent.......swarming around us while we tried to dismantle the tent.......

 

[Gaston aires]

We got invaded by midges at mont St Michel France. It was absolutely miserable and I couldn’t wait to get away from there. If Scotland is anything like that I’m not going touring there.
Phil

 

[deleted79651]

Scotland welcomes those who wish to take a holiday in our beautiful country; it can do nothing about those who chose not to do so,because they will never arrive north of the Border ...

Steve

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[gpat]

Full of jealousy of what?
Never met a Jock who would want be anything other than Scottish. Passionate, proud and welcomed everywhere they go.

I should have clarified, only where football is concerned.

 

[138go]

So no good for W Coast then

Picaridin is a very effective repellent, so should work in Scotland.

 

[Potty]

My Belfast born husband told me there were no midges in NI. So what were the clouds of biting insects that drove us away from Lough Neagh?There were so many we couldn’t see the surface of the water. Have never seen that many anywhere in Scotland.

 

[Garfields]

Last couple of days they have been out in force
Humid muggy weather is their favourite

 

[buntyb]

Just spent the weekend up north, there were some midgies but certainly not enough to be of any more a nuisance than other flies.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[snailtrailer]

This time next week we are travelling to the Inner and Outer Hebrides on a coach trip. I have never been to Scotland before so I hope the midges have eaten their fill before I get there. As long as the blighters give us some respite I am going anyway.

 

[Minxy]

We returned on Saturday from a 3 week trip up to the SW of Scotland, lovely place, we had intended to go down the 'sticky out' bits more, especially down to Campbelltown and get a ferry across to Arran then back to the mainland but we got as far as Dunoon and high-tailed it back round Eastwards to get away from the midges. There were some places where they were okay but others had loads of them which meant I wouldn't have been able to go out with hubby and the dogs for walks etc so 'captive' in the van ... not my idea of a holiday. We did have a lovely time though in the areas we visited, Ayrshire is lovely and very underrated IMV.

Despite my extra strength anti-histamines (prescription only from the Dr) I still came out if loads of large red sore and itchy blobs so if we'd pushed on I'd have ended up looking like a sci-fi creature! It hasn't put me off though and we will revisit either earlier or later in the season at some point to see the bits we missed.

 

[Tombola]

the Tartan Army goes to tournaments with the expectation that Scotland will work to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory; and therefore settle down to await the exit,filling the time by celebrating in local bars with the local population and teaching the locals what a 'wee swallie' is, and how to consume it, and spreading the virus...etc. Several hours later, Tartan Army and locals are quietly steamin', and friends for life.

Ive fixed your post for you marchie

 

[Minxy]

They don’t like sun or wind and will hide under trees, in the shade. I’m in far north west at the moment - I don’t put the lights on at night until windows are shut. Just been kayaking then sitting out all afternoon in the sun (bit too strong for me ) and no misfires - as soon as it clouds over you’ll see them.
Smidge and a hat with a midge net over for me.

Someone ought to tell them they don't like them! Apparently they can only fly in up to 7mph winds ... well some of the ones we met must have had turbos fitted as they were able to fly in much stronger winds than that and we saw some sunbathing!

We also have midge jackets but they’re a bit itchy.

How do you get them onto the midges?

 

[Stealaway]

We are up there for the next two weeks at least.
We do go p every year and always had good weather and never a problem with midges but------

Just to be sure

The Scottish Midge Forecast

The Scottish Midge Forecast uses data from biting midge traps and mini-weather stations across Scotland to give you a view of midge levels in Scotland.

www.smidgeup.com

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[gerrym11]

Your life will be poorer for it!

Why, have you ever been to Southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.? If you have, you will know that there are many better alternatives.

 

[Gellyneck]

Why, have you ever been to Southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.? If you have, you will know that there are many better alternatives.

Yip to all and they're not better alternatives in my view but each to their own.

 

[deleted79651]

We are up there for the next two weeks at least.
We do go p every year and always had good weather and never a problem with midges but------

Just to be sure

The Scottish Midge Forecast

The Scottish Midge Forecast uses data from biting midge traps and mini-weather stations across Scotland to give you a view of midge levels in Scotland.

www.smidgeup.com

Where are you heading for?

Steve & Elaine

 

[Garfields]

Why, have you ever been to Southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.? If you have, you will know that there are many better alternatives.

Been to them all regularly but it's not currently an option is it
We are just a couple of hours from the lake district but seldom head there
We like the Lake District but so do a lot of others
Most of Scotland is much quieter most of the time

 

[Puddleduck]

Different things work for different people and some folk are just midge bate

They certainly love me!

We had more wee beasties at Fife than anywhere else out of travels in June.

I retreated to the van in the evenings but was still covered with bites. Martin is rarely bothered by them.

I may try the Picaridin although I am allergic to Jungle Formula.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}