The dreaded midge

[gordonmac]

I use Lifesystems' Natural Plus Insect Repellent (http://www.lifesystems.co.uk/psec/insect_repellents/natural_plus_insect_repellent.htm) up here in the north east Highlands and have found that it smells quite nice, doesn't feel like you've doused your skin with sulphuric acid... and most importantly it seems to work pretty well against those little *^&^%$££ers

 

[ickyan]

smear yourself in garlic,

but people might think your French

 

[Melonfish]

smear yourself in garlic,

but people might think your French

yeah but then the midges are attracted to you due to the "exotic" cooking smell.
i mean everythings better with garlic right?

 

[Miyagi]

That the highly flammable stuff ?

Apparently so

Best keep Andybysea away from it then, oh and the blow poker too.

Mind you if he's running around yon beach in flames the ticks will think twice.

 

[drewdunnrespect]

ladys and gents there is a simpler answer than anything you lot have tried and that is to go out with a bigger built person than me at ten stone racing snake cos midges like bigger built people so hey never been bitten yet touch wood

 

[lab72]

I like the smell of that 'nordic summer' stuff (anyone else come across it?), which appears by looking and smelling, to be boiled down wood tar. Probably full of carcinogens and lovely noxious things and I'm not sure it even works cos midges seem to have gone off me anyway for some reason (happily).... but its smells lovely!! And it comes in a little diddy tin and is solid, which is always good.

yeh i use nordic summer, it seems to work and yes it smells lush

 

[poddle]

Constantly having a ciggy on the go

Get killed by cancer instead of blood loss,

Seriously though I used Bushman Plus when I was in Africa last winter and it worked really well. Not cheap, and 80% deet, but it does have sunscreen built in.

It can be applied to clothes, so it need not affect the skin.Its an Aussie product

Millions of the bleeders out last night the sky was full of them

 

[Toddy]

ladys and gents there is a simpler answer than anything you lot have tried and that is to go out with a bigger built person than me at ten stone racing snake cos midges like bigger built people so hey never been bitten yet touch wood

Son2 is 6 foot tall and weighs in at a smidgen over the 10 stone, and he gets eaten alive just like his Mum.
Son1 however, is 5' 9" and weighs in two and a half stone heavier than his brother, and he *never* gets bitten.
I think I want a blood donation from J tbh

cheers,
M

 

[Melonfish]

See thats my prob, mozzies don't like me, they think i taste odd, however midges and horseflies LOVE me.
midges are an annoyance, horseflies are deadly!

 

[Miyagi]

Sometimes I get bitten and sometimes I don't. TBH I've never set out to discover what I've done differently on the occassion.

Maybe that old bottle of "Hai Karate" I use still has some kick (boom tish).

Avon skin so soft works mostly (the Army taught me that one!!) and it makes you smell better than some of your smoke tainted bimblers.

Jungle formula works too but melts plastic - as some on here have discovered.

I think insects are like drunks, if they're hungry they'll eat anything. Never mind leftover cold kebab in the morning, I've been so hungry after a booze session I'd bite the head off a tramp.

I'm sure insects are just as discerning.

Liam

 

[Front Room Woodlander]

I also seem to remember one of our Scottish members claiming to be using a new product whilst on one of the Lochs and coming away unbitten.
I think I remember it seemed to be something like a patch applied to the skin?

 

[Andy2112]

You can get Nordic Summer from Bison Bushcraft
http://www.bisonbushcraft.co.uk/page1/page1.html

£8.00.

 

[Melonfish]

I also seem to remember one of our Scottish members claiming to be using a new product whilst on one of the Lochs and coming away unbitten.
I think I remember it seemed to be something like a patch applied to the skin?

http://www.highland-midge.co.uk/midge-repellant-patch.htm
these things. mixed results from different people but then i think there's been several types of patch tried. i know toddy had a bad reaction to the glue on one brand!

one brand i saw had 10mg of thiamine in, these things have 75mg!
because scottish midges are just harder then your average midge its all that feeding on whiskey infused blood i reckon

edit: the original thread: http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43001

 

[Teepee]

I read somewhere that eating Marmite keeps the midges away.

'Yeah, right', I thought to myself.

As it turns out, yeast extract contains much more thiamine (vitamin B1) than most other foods. 5.8 mg per teaspoon, apparently.

Just below this (half of the amount) is lots of the fortified breakfast cereals.

For my next scottish trip, breakfast will be Marmite on toast, then Weetabix.

I'm gonna follow this up with a Deet shower, put 10 citronella candles in my hat, and start chain smoking Cuban cigars. That oughta' do it.

 

[Toddy]

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Shewie]

I think we all need to visit the Yukon in mid summer and experience the mozzies and black flies, when we come back the little guys won't seem so bad then.

 

[lab72]

I read somewhere that eating Marmite keeps the midges away.

'Yeah, right', I thought to myself.

As it turns out, yeast extract contains much more thiamine (vitamin B1) than most other foods. 5.8 mg per teaspoon, apparently.

Just below this (half of the amount) is lots of the fortified breakfast cereals.

For my next scottish trip, breakfast will be Marmite on toast, then Weetabix.

I'm gonna follow this up with a Deet shower, put 10 citronella candles in my hat, and start chain smoking Cuban cigars. That oughta' do it.

 

[poddle]

went out popping rabbits earlier and the midges started to play up, not biting as such but what I call kissing, just little itchy bounces along the skin, still drives you bonkers.


A quick smear with the Bushman stuff and it was all stopped a minute or so later.
Good stuff

 

[Tengu]

OMG, they arent out already?

 

[Toddy]

They are
I got bitten in the garden last night. However, I do have two ponds and there's a burn runs not 20metres from the side of the house.

If there's not really much water about they're a lot rarer.

cheers,
Toddy