Midge repellent recommend
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I've had mixed results but tend to stick with a few favourites, Wilmas Nordic Summer, Smidge, Avon SSS and Autan. There are times though when nothing will work and I reach for the Beatons jacket, they pack to nothing and my size large only weighs 86g.
It's not usually the biting that bothers me but it's the sheer number of them, they get everywhere. The worst spells I've experienced have been on west coast canoeing trips, dusk and dawn being particularly bad, once the sun high enough they disappear, but the dull and damp days can be horrific.
It's not usually the biting that bothers me but it's the sheer number of them, they get everywhere. The worst spells I've experienced have been on west coast canoeing trips, dusk and dawn being particularly bad, once the sun high enough they disappear, but the dull and damp days can be horrific.
PDA1,
Have you tried picaridin? There is some info that its as good as DEET and without the plastic melting and toxicity.
Are midges prevalent in May? When I was in Knoydart in June they were only really just starting. Had a few around, enough that we used repellent and a head net, but I have seen them a lot thicker in July.
Have you tried picaridin? There is some info that its as good as DEET and without the plastic melting and toxicity.
Are midges prevalent in May? When I was in Knoydart in June they were only really just starting. Had a few around, enough that we used repellent and a head net, but I have seen them a lot thicker in July.
I think DEET has had its day as saltidin/icaridin/bayrepel/picaridin would currently seem to be as effective in tests but with the advantage that it appears very safe for humans and it doesn't dissolve plastics.
I personally use Smidge but there are now a range of alternatives which all use the same chemical (saltidin) and they do work. Over last season I was out in some really remarkable midge conditions and while they are annoying getting into your food, eyes, ears, nose etc. I wasn't actually bitten where I'd applied the Smidge. I wouldn't be without it now.
This, for example, is an attempt to make tea in June:
this is a shot of them against the sky:
and this was making breakfast one morning:
Atleast you get extra food in your tea(not very fun conditions).
You can't beat a high protein diet when you are out and about
Looked up picaridin and found this:
https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/insect-repellents.html
A very good summary of the different possibilities.
Looks as if I need to update my anti bug supplies.
https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/insect-repellents.html
A very good summary of the different possibilities.
Looks as if I need to update my anti bug supplies.
I would say that if you are still using a DEET based midge repellent then at the very least you need to give some of the other options a try.
I currently use Smidge which is based on Picaridin (This substance has so many names it is hard to keep track) and it just simply works in the sense that any area to which I apply it is completely devoid of insect bites plus it reduces the number of ticks I pick up as well, though that is hard to quantify. To be honest I find it more effective than DEET based repellents but, again, this is hard to quantify. The one big positive with Picaridin/Saltidin etc. is that it doesn't melt plastic stuff. Now modern DEET preparations say they've reduced this problem but when you are out a lot in midgy conditions it is hard to see that having the plastic bits melt off your car in one week, or in three weeks, offers any improvement
One thing I will say is that Smidge stops midges from biting you, it doesn't stop them from flying around you or getting in your food or... A lot of people, especially those with relatively low exposure to midges, seem to be at least as annoyed by the presence of the flies and not just the bites and so they sometimes report that repellents don't work well just because they've seen a midge fly around their head. Even with Smidge the midges will sometimes land on your hands, for example, it is just that they fly off again without biting. Headnets and the like offer an advantage in these circumstances but there are some things you can't do, or can't easily do, while wearing a head net.
Hopefully I'm going to get the chance to test a new (at least to me) product this coming midge season as it is always interesting to see how things progress and testing is relatively easy - cover one had with Smidge and cover the other with the new product and sit under a tree
It does work, and fine for camping when you'll smell a bit smoky anyway. Not so good if you don't like that tarry scent. It's also quite a hard waxy product making liberal application a bit of a pain. I couple it with lemon eucalyptus.
Mind you, we don't have midges anything like Scotland, it's
Your Dad was a wise man. I go bat watching near Drumlanrig Castle some evenings (at the bridge you cross going to it, 2/3 species, flying above you & below you) and have stood in a fog of midges, smoking a bowl & left alone, but conscious they were going to have me when the pipe runs outMy father swore by a pipe. The midges hate pipe smoke. Funnily enough the old folks used to recommend mugwort (a plant used agin the midge) and sweet gale (bog myrtle) for burning and smoking when the blighters were around.
Mugwort burns with a beautiful white smoke, and there's a lot of it too, pleasant scented as well.
Nowadays though all smoke is contraindicated
If it gets desperate, it works though.
M
The big Tescos in Dumfries stocks it, so I'd imagine others would too.
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