midgies......

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Advice please for an August camping trip to the Western Isles? Never really been in real midgie country before. dd seems to get eaten instantly by flying beasties, so I'm a little wary! Can I spray my tent with a deterrent or something? I've bought some avon skin-so-softly bug guard. I read neem oil is quite good so I could add some to our hair conditioner perhaps?

[DeepGoat]

if you are lucky there will be a breeze and therefore no problem. otherwise find a good pub and stay put until bed time and then run to your tent and zip up.

we use mosquito coils to deter them, i think the avon stuff is meant to be good but i always forget to buy it. good luck, you will have a lovely holiday try not to obsess too much abougt the midge as it is fairly out of your control.

[FlappytheBat]

Avon Skin So Soft and several Citronella Candles, worked reasonably well for us in Wester Ross last week.

Also stayed in a campsite that allowed you to make campfires, so thanks to earlier rain, the wood we found was damp and made for a very smoky camp fire, perfect for keeping the midges at bay.

Hope you have a great holiday and don't let the midges spoil it too much!

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Thats good flappy we are going for 2 weeks so I don't want to use stuff that will slowly poinson us!

[Mistymoo]

Flappythebat - where did you camp? We live in easter ross.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

DeepGoat - nearest pub is miles away I understand. That is my usual solution to all camping woes!

We do have a good tent that we can put the table and chairs in and undo the doors with the insect screen intact. So we can hide

I'm actually really excited about it, the wildlife is supposed to be stunning

[Anifrangapani]

Skin So soft, coils, keeping tent closed and tucking socks into trousers seems to work for us.

[Kbear]

Camp on top of a windy hill!

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

lol kbear. Its by a loch!

its good to hear that you've all had successful survival techniques!

[LackaDAISYcal]

Skin So Soft all the way.....and those hats with mossie nets attached.

Burning mossie coils in the tent before you retire for the night helps impregnante the fabric.

I've been on Skye in August (prime midge time) and it has been soooo bad that non-smokers were wandering round with fags hanging out their mouths just to keep the feckers buggers at bay!

If all else fails, find some Bog Myrtle and rub yourself from head to foot!

[LackaDAISYcal]

oh dear, by a loch is the very worst place; they breed in water!

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

oh golly - perhaps I need to take up smoking

Bog Myrtle grows near here (I wonder if I can sneak a plant into a pit and take it with us!!)

I don't need to look like a bee keeper do I?

Perhaps we should go to france after all!

[LackaDAISYcal]

ah, but the scenary in France won't be nearly as dramatic

bog myrtle is good. We did an experiment on Skye, with Deet based deterrant on one arm and bog myrtle on the other....the bog myrtle won! DH, who is incredibly allergic to all things bitey, swears by Skin-So-Soft. According to him, chemical based repellant just acts like an appetiser!

Enjoy

[FlappytheBat]

Mistymoo, we camped in Badrallach, nr Little Loch Broom, was wonderful!!

[LackaDAISYcal]

aha......DH the midge expert, says the netty hats are "a waste of a good man's air". According to him, and he has tried lots of things due to his general allergicness, the mesh is too big and the little charmers get through the netting and like to shelter in there from the wind or rain, and "Ooooh, what luck, here's a free meal while I'm here"

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Cool - won't waste my money on looking like a berk then

[troutpout]

Avon skin so soft was very good on our holiday to Galloway recently. We stayed next to a burn and i only got bitten one evening when i didn't spray myself
They were selling it in the forestry commision places.
ds came up in a rash with it though (the rest of us were ok).
I've got him one of these for our next trip but haven't tried it yet .

[blithedance]

I was on the Isle of Skye this weekend . I opened my new bottle of Skin-so-soft, had a good squirt and did not have one bite in the midgie hour it took to make breakfast and strike the tent. I guess it is the citronella? The previous night was too windy for it to be a problem!

We took midge coils too, on ebay you can get a kind of hanging cage for them so could hang in tent canopy.

Wind is your friend, actually. Pitch your tent on the highest, most exposed windy spot on the campsite, peg it down well. More than 5mph grounds the blighters. Well away from the loch.

We have got a tent with big mesh windows with exactly this situation in mind!

And take some long, light clothes with hoods so that you can all cover-up if you need to and just proof your hands and face.

[seeker]

Another vote for skin-so-soft. Or for a small fee you can borrow my ds. Nobody ever gets bitten by anything when he's around, they are too busy chomping on him!

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Very good advice blithedance- thank you!

Seeker - that is very noble of your son. Does he require much in the way of maintenance?

[seeker]

His body weight in sausages and ice cream every day, and a copy of Match magazine every Tueaday.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

oh golly. We might have to negotiate the fees. We only have a little cool bag!

[midnightexpress]

Lavender oil is also good. I've been using it and have noticed that they've been bothering me less than usual this summer.

I noticed that our local farmers' market, which has a soap stall, was sellig bog myrtle soap the other day. Was tempted to try it, for anti-midge purposes, but didn't. You might be able to buy online?

They don't like bright sun either. Dull still days are the worst. Breezy bright days the best. As resident MN weather lady you will be able to forecast your own doom (or, hopefully otherwise).

[LackaDAISYcal]

lol @ seeker . My DH is the very same. I call him my sacrificial protection!

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

midnight - I'll be able to predict for the first few days then I'll be at the mercy of whatever it does! (radio might help)

Your suggestion has led me to: highland soap company

I think I might give it ago. (will probably spend more on anti midge stuff than actually camping!