Smidge That Midge.. Does it actually work?

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

Nagual

Native
Jun 5, 2007
1,963
0
Argyll
A few days ago over on the 'Midges are back..' thread Angus Og mentioned the product Smidge. A fairly new insect repellant to the market made by the folks who give us the Scottish Midge Forecast.

Now I, like many of you, have tried just about every idea / solution out there bar selling my Grans soul to the devil, so I was fairly sure I'd be disappointed with this too. I've tried Avon, and fairly good results but not 100%, plus if you are out and about in gthe sun chances are you could burn. I've tried both 'Don't bite me' and 'Highland Midge' patches (transdermal type) and had no luck with either. Since everyone has a different body chemistry I was basically sure I was one of the unlucky ones who would have to wearsome sort of body armour out here by Loch Eck.

How bad are the midges out this way? So far even in the hot sun there have been a few of the wee blighters, never mind once the temps fall,or it gets a bit humid. Leave the light on, and outside is an angry army of flying blood sucking, flesh ripping evil thugs.

So after reading up on Smidge and it's active ingredient Saltidin, I bought a bottle from a shop in Dunoon. Must say I nearly thought being eat was preferable to paying the asking price, but then - well no not even close. £7.99 per 75ml bottle. Cheap? No. Long lasting? Thats still to be seen.

Once up the road, I decide to mimic the Smidge sites example - cover one arm with it and leave the other bare. Went out in to the woods beside the house, where even during the day the midges feast. Sat down and waited. Sure enough, within a few minutes a cloud of them were flying around, and started to have a drink on me. Only on the non-treated arm though. Not long after that, I decided to cover the rest of me. Back in the house, other arm, face and neck done, I went out to the woods again. Sat down and waited... and waited.. and waited.. sure lots of them flying about, but no bites. Many were landing on my clothes but none on my treated skin. Well actually one or two did, but they didn't bite. I went back out a couple of hours later and did the same test and same results. With the exception that after washing my hands twice, I had a couple midges on them. Literally a couple though.

So far I have to say it works. For me anyway. 8 quid is a lot to fork out to test something, so please keep this in mind if you decide to try it, everyones body is different. Having said that, the active ingredient, Saltidin is apparently recommended by the World Health Organisation.

PS, tonights final test will be leaving the kitchen light on and going out into the killer swarm.... wish me luck, but I don't think I'll need it?:confused:
 

Stuart69

On a new journey
Jul 7, 2008
488
0
54
Glasgow
Thanks for the review Nag I've been meaning to get some of this to try. Sounds good so far, It'll be interesting to hear the rest of your results.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
Thanks for the review Nag, good to hear that it's looking like a success :cool: :D
Be interested to hear how it works for a range of folks........those patches worked for me apart from blistering my skin, and so far the Autan is the best I've ever found, but the more weaponry we have against the horde of horrors the better :D

cheers,
Mary
 

listenclear

Nomad
Aug 19, 2008
266
0
East lothian
Nice review mate.
The patches don't work for me and nordic summer doesn't either. Good to know there are more things to try.
Cheers and keep us posted!
 

Nagual

Native
Jun 5, 2007
1,963
0
Argyll
Same active ingredient as Autan (Icaridin = Saltidin)

http://www.thehealthcounter.com/view/detail/53

little bit cheaper

Ooo, them sneaky devils. Aye you're right tis the same stuff right enough - well, time to be looking out for Autan stuff then, as long as the Autan stuff contains the same amount of it.

EDIT: The Autan Protection Plus has the same concentration as Smidge, 20%. For the same price as the Smidge I got today, I could order 2 Autan body pumps from your link nitrambur... :lmao: and have 200mls instead of 75. Although to be fair to Smidge, it claims to be waterproof, and Autan isn't. So anything involviing water, canoeing, sweaty hiking etc may benefit from Smidge... or just reapply Autan.
 
Last edited:

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
Well, we didn't know, we think we do now :)
How come they've made another bottle load of stuff that sounds like the same formula as the Autan ?
Tell you what Nag, Gavin bought me a pack of bottles of the Autan since it actually works on me without burning my skin off :cool: (Scotsman to his soul that man, he said it worked out cheaper that way :D ) how about I get one of the bottles down to you and you can have a shot with it and see if it is actually as effective as the Smidge stuff ?

cheers,
M
 

gsfgaz

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jul 19, 2009
2,763
0
Hamilton... scotland
That sounds worth a try , i've tried everything .. skin so soft does'nt work for me
i found the tesco's own spray is pretty good ..
or just use the dreaded net ..
 

Nagual

Native
Jun 5, 2007
1,963
0
Argyll
Well, we didn't know, we think we do now :)
How come they've made another bottle load of stuff that sounds like the same formula as the Autan ?
Tell you what Nag, Gavin bought me a pack of bottles of the Autan since it actually works on me without burning my skin off :cool: (Scotsman to his soul that man, he said it worked out cheaper that way :D ) how about I get one of the bottles down to you and you can have a shot with it and see if it is actually as effective as the Smidge stuff ?

cheers,
M

Sounds like a Plan Mary! Be interesting to see a side by side comparison as it were. Well, if nothing else we are spreading the knowledge about.
 

Nagual

Native
Jun 5, 2007
1,963
0
Argyll
Okays.. here is the latest bit of test result...

Left the light on for a bit, and just went outside.. with in moments there was a thick cloud of midges. However within a few minutes I was getting bitten, so I retreated inside and reapplied the Smidge. Back outside and stood in the cloud. Many landed on me, but flew away or tried to, as they got stuck on the slight wetness on my arm hairs. I think I breathed in more than landed on me though. Didn't get bitten this time. First application was around 4pm, so not quite the 8 hours they claim, but still damn good.
 
Jun 23, 2010
4
0
Edinburgh
Hi folks. Glad you liked Smidge - just to correct you, we are not Autan! Smidge & Autan do have the same active but Smidge is a patented formulation to provide long-lasting and water/sweat proof protection. Take the Smidge Challenge if you dare - if you buy from www.midgeforecast.co.uk, RRP is £6.90 and you'll get £1 of your first bottle. We're getting great feedback from Smidge, so would like to get more users out there.
 
Last edited:

Nagual

Native
Jun 5, 2007
1,963
0
Argyll
Hi folks. Glad you liked Smidge - just to correct you, we are not Autan! Smidge & Autan do have the same active but Smidge is a patented formulation to provide long-lasting and water/sweat proof protection. Take the Smidge Challenge if you dare - if you buy from www.midgeforecast.co.uk, RRP is £6.90 and you'll get £1 of your first bottle. We're getting great feedback from Smidge, so would like to get more users out there.

Thanks for your post Midgeforecast, but as you can see from my above posts, I made sure that everyone knew that Autan and Smidge were different products. More so I pointed out that Smidge says it's waterproof and Autan isn't. However buying from the website is not cheaper than buying from shops, once you include postage normal purchases of a bottle is £10.13 ( introductionary price is £9.13)

Rest assured I will be doing an indepth comparitive study, since I live in Midge Hell. All things being equal, if the only difference is the waterproof qualities of Smidge, it makes Autan much likely to be favoured in most condidtions.
 

Doc

Need to contact Admin...
Nov 29, 2003
2,109
10
Perthshire
Hi folks. Glad you liked Smidge - just to correct you, we are not Autan! Smidge & Autan do have the same active but Smidge is a patented formulation to provide long-lasting and water/sweat proof protection. Take the Smidge Challenge if you dare - if you buy from www.midgeforecast.co.uk, RRP is £6.90 and you'll get £1 of your first bottle. We're getting great feedback from Smidge, so would like to get more users out there.

Interesting product, and one I will be trying.

Different formulations using the same active ingredient do seem to make a difference. Another repellent, DEET has been around a long time but many DEET preparations are foul to use, whereas the modern 3M Ultrathon formulation of DEET is far more pleasant to use and in my experience, works better than the older DEET products. It's used by the US Army.

Smidge looks rather promising based on anecdotal reports, though there's very little published research on the comparive effectiveness of repellents for the Scottish midge.
 

Nagual

Native
Jun 5, 2007
1,963
0
Argyll
Good one Nag - photos of you in clouds of frustrated midgies would be good for your full report thanks ;-)

lol , Andy I actually tried to get a photo last night of the cloud of midges, but the camera just wasn't for it, that or the wee blighters were flying around too fast.. A better camera and someone who knows how to use it would work.. any volunteers? Although for the sake of balance, the camera person should not be wearing any repellent.. :D
 

Nagual

Native
Jun 5, 2007
1,963
0
Argyll
Interesting product, and one I will be trying.

Different formulations using the same active ingredient do seem to make a difference. Another repellent, DEET has been around a long time but many DEET preparations are foul to use, whereas the modern 3M Ultrathon formulation of DEET is far more pleasant to use and in my experience, works better than the older DEET products. It's used by the US Army.

Smidge looks rather promising based on anecdotal reports, though there's very little published research on the comparive effectiveness of repellents for the Scottish midge.

Very true, I've used a couple of DEET products with various amounts 10% - 30% and wasn't impressed with any of them really. Smidge certainly works, I have no doubt of that. Had someone not mentioned Autan, I would be encouraging everyone to go out a get themselves a bottle. However, since Mary has very kindly offered to send down a bottle of Autan she had kicking around, I'll do a comparitve test. Since both products have the same amount of the same active ingredient, it will be interesting to see if the different 'recipes' work differently. There is only a couple of possible outcomes, one will work better than the other or they will work the same as each other. Should the Autan be the better one or even if they appear equal, Smidge is still (not tested by me yet) waterproof and would certainly be useful in many outdoor activities. If the weather wasn't as cool today I'd go for a swim in the loch, but as it is I may just hose my arm.. :D

Back in about 10 mins with a loose waterproof report..

Cheers,
 

Angus Og

Full Member
Nov 6, 2004
1,035
3
Glasgow
Not tried it yet might buy a couple of bottles and send one up to a friend in Kinlochleven give a good try out.
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE