We will be eaten alive!!

[TheoriginalLEM]

Camping on the river bank in Wales.

What are your recommendations for midge repellent?

I have been advised that smidge and avon skin so soft are good, we are off to the west highlands in two weeks, so I hope the recommendation is a good one as we are staying by a loch...

Google lifeventure midge net, if we go somewhere really bad we use those. Avon skin so soft is our preferred choice, smells ok and is quite moisturising.

Yup, Avon skin so soft. Haven't tried it on the Welsh midge but it's your best bet for retaining your sanity whilst camping in Scotland. With the added benefit that it actually smells quite nice and not like deet or citronella.

So soft it is then 😆

Let us know how the Avon stuff does for you, OP.
I would buy conventional DEET filled stuff.
Mosiguard is okay but wears off a bit quicker than I would like.

Avon skin so soft definately! Spray it on but dont rub it in, you want it to leave a film on your skin to prevent them biting. Buy some antihistamin cream so that if (when!) you get bitten you can rub it on the bites and take the itch out straight away. I find it works better on bites than oral antihistamine tablets.

They also dont like smoke so if you can have a campfire/ bbq, go for it!

We regularly camp by a river in mid Wales, so I feel your pain.

Our strategy:
Jungle formula maximum strength, with DEET. Don't much about with anything less.
Burn mosquito coils just outside entrance of tent, all day, every day. They are a bit like joss sticks and the bugs don't like the smoke.
Keep tent especially inner zipped up and use insect screens religiously.
Wear hoodie in the evening and keep hood up, even if it makes you look like a gangster. I also have a headscarf thing to keep them out of my hair.

Pray for a windy day, so they can't fly

blimey is it that bad??? does anyone know if antihistamines would be a good idea to lessen the agony? mosquito coils sound good - we plan on having camp fires nightly

LEM, DH used skin do soft in the military when in the 🇬🇧, as did most of the folks he worked with. They used hefty chemicals abroad but not here. I was sceptical when he introduced me to it but it works.

The worst we have ever had it is in the western islands, that was the last time the nets came out. Even a fire doesn't ward them off when they are bad.

If the sun doesn't shine much 😂 And there is a bit of a breeze they won't be too bad.

LEM - oops - sorry, thought you were already there and suffering.
Didn't mean to scare you!!!

Honestly, at the site we use it can be pretty bad in certain weather conditions. And being prepared for some serious insect-repelling action is a good idea.

But even on bad days, it only lasts for a short time in the evenings. And there is some much that is lovely about rural Wales that we keep going back for more.

When there's a bit of a breeze, or a bit of light rain, the bugs vanish without trace. They also can't fly when it's raining heavily, but you don't want to think about that