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If you are planning to visit Scotland in the summer months, don’t miss this complete guide where I explain everything you need to know about midges and how to avoid them ruining your vacation in Scotland.
What are Midges?
The midge or Scottish midge as we call it is a species of midge called culicoides impunctatus. In Gaelic it is known as “meanbh-chuileag” (almost nothing), which means something like “small fly”.
They are smaller than a gnat, (they measure about 1.4 mm, about the tip of a pin), and although their origin is not Scottish, the type of vegetation and Scottish climate makes Scotland the ideal place for them.
Why are they biting us?
Not all of them bite, only the female does it, this is because they need the proteins carried in the blood to produce their eggs.
In other words, midges take advantage of any type of human or animal blood to obtain the protein they need. And this is where we come in!
Having ingested a good blood ration, a single female midge could produce around 200 eggs.
When is midges season?
We will find them during the months of summer. Midges are usually born at the end of May and stay with us until September.
Generally they are found throughout the day, taking special care when there is no direct light (dawn and dusk).
Where can we find them?
Rural areas in Scotland, (don’t worry, we don’t go pushing midges down the Royal Mile), and when I say rural areas I mean everything that are not cities.
They are located in higher degree in the western part of the Highlands as the environment is optimal for them. They love it:
– Moist, muddy, peaty soil.
– No direct light.
– No wind.
So if you come to Scotland during the summer months, beware of the Scottish forests! They are sheltered, wet and rainy places.
Where you will NOT find them are windy places (beaches, cliffs…) and when you are at an altitude higher than 500m.
How long do they live?
The midges mate and lay eggs during the summer months. To lay their eggs, they choose a wet soil or muddy. During the winter, they go through four larval stages and in late spring the adult midge will finally emerge.
During the mating season, males find a female to mate with and then die.
Females, on the other hand, will lay their first batch of eggs without ingesting blood. From that moment on, they can lay two or more batches of eggs depending on the weather and survival.
We remind you that they have to ingest blood in order to lay another batch of eggs. When autumn arrives, the females die and start all over again.
Depending on the weather conditions of each year, what is known as bivoltinism (a second and sometimes third midges season) can occur.
Thus, depending on the weather we can predict whether we will find many or few midges, (if it has been a dry May, June, we will have fewer midges that summer).
What attracts midges?
The main source of nutrients for midges are flower nectar and plant sap, so they are always found in green environments. However, they are attracted to humans or animals because of the CO2 we emit when we exhale, our body heat and the scent we wear.
Midge sting
As I was telling you before, the females are in charge of pecking. Although we would really be talking about biting, their jaw is different from that of the males, they have very fine teeth that work like two saws, cutting the skin. They then excrete saliva into the wound so that the blood does not clot, creating a pool of blood from which they feed.
Each person or animal can respond, or not, if it does not bother us, the female will be feeding for a couple of minutes.
Why do some people have more stings than others?
There are also people who are “more attractive” to midges than others, there are people who can be around and hardly get stung and others who are much more sensitive to them.
This will depend on body odor or body heat.
In fact, there is a hidden substance in body odor that midges HATE, this is ketone. If we have this chemical it works as a natural repellent for midges.
It seems that they are currently doing research on it in order to isolate the gene and in the future turn it into an anti-midges pill. Can you imagine?
How to treat a Midge bite?
Normally these stings are not dangerous and disappear on their own. Some people will get large bites with red bumps and others will notice a small red mark at the site of the bite.
But if you are allergic to stings or are prone to being stung, here are some tips that can help alleviate the discomfort:
– Wash the sting with cold water and salt.
– Shower before going to sleep.
– Apply tea tree oil to refresh and soothe the skin.
Midges Forecast
Effectively, as if we were checking the time map, but this time of midges. This is calculated by forecasting the weather with past statistics.
Definitely something to look at before heading up to the highlands during the summer months, here is the direct link to the midges forecast.
Tips to avoid them
– Clothing
Protect arms and legs. Wear long sleeves, tuck pants into socks and a hat.
Use light colors in clothing, they seem to prefer to attack dark colors.
Additionally, look at the Midges forecast in the previous section and if you go to an area full of Midges I recommend that you wear: gloves and the net.
The net is a (rather funny but effective) net that you wear over your head. This prevents them from reaching the face, scalp, neck, etc.
– Mosquito repellent
It is very important to always carry mosquito repellent. They are not perfect but they help a lot.
Midges flee from:
- DEET
- DMP
- Citronella
- Thyme
- Smidge Repellent
- “Skin so soft” by AVON
As for midges repellent I always use Smidge, I use it because it does not have DEET, does not damage the skin and works quite well. Both smidge and net repellent you can get it on Amazon.
– Camping
If you go camping, be sure to keep your tent closed and even spray the entrance with repellent.
– Citronella candles
– Bonfires
Smoke from the barbecue or simply from a bonfire scares them away.
– Avoid perfumes and lotions
– Be careful with the sunrise and sunset.
– Do not go to rural areas in summer
– Climb a hill
Since midges do not go above 500m.
– Enjoy the Scottish wind
Since midges have such small wings, they cannot fly well in windy conditions.
In places such as beaches, cliffs or places where the air flows you will be safe.
And so much for the guide to these little devils.
I hope you find it useful. Feel free to comment below in the comments if you know of any alternative remedies to combat midges. And if you liked the article, please share it!
See you soon, but first, I’ll say goodbye with a bit of Scottish humor.
Mary
Midges challenge
