1x 150ml SKIN so SOFT ® AVON Dry Oil Body Spray ORIGINAL® +jojoba insect repellent

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There are often two peaks in emergence which are the worst months for midges in Scotland so these are the best times to avoid – one in late May/early June and the second in late July/early August. Explore quintessential England walking the Cotswold way or one of our other carefully curated Cotswolds tours. The West Highlands of Scotland and the North Highlands have the highest population of midges, and this is due to the slightly wetter conditions compared to the east and south of Scotland.

It’s a known fact that midges cause misery to Scotland’s tourists across the Highlands and Islands where they gather in vast numbers between May and September.

Midges don’t hate light-coloured clothing but pale colours can make you a less obvious target to midges. the Highlands, the north and west coasts, and the west coast islands, but obviously you will then miss out on seeing the most scenic parts of Scotland. These are really effective and suit outdoor eating scenarios, picnics and BBQs, although BBQ smoke does a good job of keeping the midges away too.

This page may contain affiliate links (including Get Your Guide) where Out About Scotland receives a commission for any items you purchase. Leaving a living room light on with a window ajar is an open invitation to a midge, so keep everything closed tightly. One theory is that the oily film it forms on the skin hinders insects' ability to actually land on the skin and bite. There are an estimated 181 trillion midges in Scotland and for every square metre of ground in the Highlands there could be 250,000 eggs waiting to hatch and go on the hunt for their next meal of tasty human blood.Lifesystems also have a product formulated especially for midges which contains myrtle extract and DEET. For hundreds of years, people have been trying to find ways to get rid of them and, whilst it is clear we can't do that, we have found ways to keep them at bay.

However, outdoor types discovered that as well as keeping skin soft, the product was also highly effective at keeping away midges. As with everything, there are a few negatives to this product which include not being waterproof, and I’m rather suspicious of the claimed 8 hours of protection from one covering.If you’re going to be spending a lot of your visit exploring the great outdoors at peak midge time, wear long trousers tucked into your socks or boots to thwart them. Citronella, peppermint, lavender and eucalyptus essential oils can be used as natural midge repellents.

If we’re honest, there will be more than just a few midges around in some west coast places, and especially in the early morning and as the sun sets in the evening. However, the effectiveness of these devices has not been extensively tested and there is some debate about whether they are truly effective at repelling midges.I’ve already mentioned that midges are most prevalent in the Highlands but if you really don’t want to be bothered by them you should spend time outdoors only when the wind is above 7 mph when they’re unable to fly, so high elevations and the coastline are certainly areas to head to. Nature’s way There are said to be some natural midge such as essential oils like Eucalyptus, lavender and lemon. Midges target their victims by sensing carbon dioxide in exhaled breath and other odours associated with their targets. Though we are coming towards the tail-end of summer, midges can still pose a big issue when stalking out in the field. Also, the 5-hour study used Avon products that contained icaridin, an ingredient found in some lower-tier repellents, at least in Canada .