SAMYL
Well-known member
Listerine mouthwash works very well. Rub some on any exposed skin.
Midges - advice
- Thread starter dylanwinter
- Start date
jimmcgee
Active member
the wee shop in Luss on Loch Lomond sells a midge net for over your head , £15 hahahah ,
Andrew G
New member
Vegemite with lots of Vitamin B is the go (truly), none of that Marmite rubbish! Andrew
rbmatthews
Member
Never had any problems with them on the boat, but on the land it is a different matter 
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http://shetlandf4.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/img_0833.jpg
R.
...http://shetlandf4.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/img_0833.jpg
R.
duncan99210
Well-known member
+1. Just bought their insect proof netting and made up a new insect cover for the companionway. The stuff has a very fine mesh (required for midges) and is very strong, unlike all the stuff we've used up to this point, which has tended to fall into holes before the end of the season.
That said, we did the Caledonian Canal a few years back and didn't get bothered by the little darlings at all, so a good supply of Autan should probably do you unless you get unlucky.
Kelpie
Well-known member
Have never been bothered by them whilst on the boat. A different story on a still evening ashore. But we try to go sailing when it's windy, ergo no midgies.
Interestingly when we lived on Lewis there were virtually no midgies anywhere, I think it was too exposed for the, Skye is a different story :/
Interestingly when we lived on Lewis there were virtually no midgies anywhere, I think it was too exposed for the, Skye is a different story :/
dylanwinter
Active member
this is wonderful news all round
does the listerine trick really work?
I could live with us all smelling of listerine
so
midge nets for the companionway and fore-hatch and a fine selection of unguents
does the listerine trick really work?
I could live with us all smelling of listerine
so
midge nets for the companionway and fore-hatch and a fine selection of unguents
Last edited:
oldharry
Well-known member
dylanwinter;4695988 so midge nest for the companionway[/QUOTE said:
pmagowan
Well-known member
As others have said, while onboard there is no problem. The most tenacious midges I have come across where on Jura, at Craighouse. They followed me as I rowed out to the boat but luckily they gave up at the last minute. They are very annoying on shore but you can buy midge net for over your Tilley hat all throughout Scotland. I have never found a spray that has any real effect including skin so soft. The Crinan canal is really the only likely place you might come across them when on the boat. They don't come out if there is a breeze anyway.
Uricanejack
Well-known member
Yes.
No.
they cannot be avoided
Seriously just anchor 100 plus feet from shore and they wont bother you.
Worst in the early evening under trees or where there is any shelter from the wind. even a slight breeze is enough to keep them at bay.
The cloud of smoke from a smoker is supposed to work but I preferred the midges.
Best just to ignore them.
awol
Well-known member
Para Handy's remedy for "mudges" was to smear all exposed skin with treacle - please report the results.
KellysEye
Active member
Fit mosquito nets over the hatches, assuming they are open, they need small lead weight around the bottom to hold them down. For the main hatch we used Velcro to hold the net. Deet, used in Jungle Gel, is the by far the best repellent and is used by the army. There are mosquito candles but they only knock the mosquito out, when the candles go out the mosquito are ready to bite. That's what we did in the Caribbean. Note Jungle Gel has 50% DEET the army uses 100% but we found JG works fine.
Poignard
Well-known member
"Chust sublime"
afterpegassus
Active member
I, and my crew can testify to being driven nuts by them some years ago when we were halfwway between Neist and Canna on the stillest of evenings. When not scratching everywhere else, we were scratching our heads as to how they came to be aboard and could only conclude that they had inhabited some rainwater puddles on the wheelhouse roof. So, though you are less likely to be bothered by them aboard, you might not be free of them.
The only certain way of having a midge free cruise is to cruise areas that are midge free - which I recommend to those such as Superheat6k
The only certain way of having a midge free cruise is to cruise areas that are midge free - which I recommend to those such as Superheat6k
ffiill
Active member
The traditional cure-after finding yourself somewhere where the midges are aweful and there is no one around,strip off and let them do their worse.
It does work as many years ago I was camping outside the Sligachan hotel and just before dawn I crawled out of the tent for a wee.
They bit everything but ever since whilst I feel them bite I no longer get a reaction lump.
I live in nw Scotland where if I leave my bathroom window open they come in and bite me in thebath!
It does work as many years ago I was camping outside the Sligachan hotel and just before dawn I crawled out of the tent for a wee.
They bit everything but ever since whilst I feel them bite I no longer get a reaction lump.
I live in nw Scotland where if I leave my bathroom window open they come in and bite me in thebath!
nigelmercier
RIP
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Is that true? I always assumed the smell was due to some active ingredient.
I quite like the smell, makes me think of nurses
rustybarge
Active member
ghostlymoron
Well-known member
My friend, on arrival on the west coast, thought he had arrived at a bee-keepers convention - he soon found out why everyone had chosen that particular headgear. http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/trekmates-mosquito-head-net-p120869?gclid=CNiv1NDdy70CFUTlwgod4U4ABA
Quandary
Well-known member
Why do midges not bite Celts? well they do I suppose but we are bred to put up with it. Living right by the Crinan Canal and keeping our boat there we have never had a real problem though they can be an irritation when you go for a walk on a damp still evening. Our boat is Finnish where they have real mosquitoes so came with a complete set of fly screens for all the openings but here in the West of Scotland we do no need them and they are still in their plastic pouches beneath one of the berths, anyone want to make an offer?
However it is accepted that midges are a real problem for those of Saxon lineage probably because of their richer blood which the female midge likes to dine on before sex (bit like beer and curry then?) and so Anglos can be recognized here visually by the netting adornments and also by the range of strange smells they exude as they pass. However if you have problems think of the poor midge, hatches, takes flight, wee feed of blood, bit of sex, lays eggs and dies, even with a few bites you are having far more fun.
Ticks, however, are a much more dangerous insect carrying some really nasty infections and diseases and while not as numerous as midges are in the vegetation nearly everywhere that there are sheep, deer, hares or rabbits.
Perhaps it is safer down south, Awol gives good advice on this!
However it is accepted that midges are a real problem for those of Saxon lineage probably because of their richer blood which the female midge likes to dine on before sex (bit like beer and curry then?) and so Anglos can be recognized here visually by the netting adornments and also by the range of strange smells they exude as they pass. However if you have problems think of the poor midge, hatches, takes flight, wee feed of blood, bit of sex, lays eggs and dies, even with a few bites you are having far more fun.
Ticks, however, are a much more dangerous insect carrying some really nasty infections and diseases and while not as numerous as midges are in the vegetation nearly everywhere that there are sheep, deer, hares or rabbits.
Perhaps it is safer down south, Awol gives good advice on this!