Insect repellent

[cmarcol]

Hi all! I frequently read the forum here but very rarely post.

It's not even May yet and I've already been quite badly bitten by those fun loving creatures you get a few of in the scottish countryside. I'm like a magnet and it's something that really can ruin a trip for me. I have a bottle of deet from a trip abroad but I'm really reluctant to use it in the hills seeing as it melted a hole in some clothes before.

So my question is, what do people find the most effective midgey repellent that doesn't damage synthetic materials? I don't want to ruin anything like my waterproofs.

Any recommendations would be great! (Any extra handy tips people have found would also be great!)

C

[shewan284]

marmite on toast for breakfast. works for me even thought I HATE marmite..

[basscadet]

Oh Berrocca works a lot better, and tastes a lot better although I haven't had much luck with that tactic deterring the midge, in Oz it worked for the mozzies really well
The other insect repellant that gets recommended all the time is smidge, but I'm sticking to Deet - nothing is so effective, but you do have to apply carefully as you found out

[Caberfeidh]

Doesn't Deet have quite a dangerous side-effects list, culminating in "Convulsions and Death"? I'd never apply something that lists "Convulsions and Death" as a side-effect. Tea Tree Oil is fairly good, but having a good dose of Vitamin B12 seems to be the best; a previous Mrs Caberfeidh who was vegetarian used to sit demurely unflustered as I was eaten alive by a cloud of vampires. Vit B12 is available in tablet form, if you can remember to take it, start now and don't stop til the first frosts!
http://www.environmentalhealth.ca/spring03hazards.html

[floma]

Try:
Avon So Soft; October-April ; Cornwell .
F

[CharlesT]

I tend to use DEET based products as they appear much more effective than others, but I haven't tried Smidge. However it remains a good idea to cover up and wear a hat. Looser fitting breathable clothing with long sleeves and trousers with ankle draw cords will help a lot, this also helps keep ticks at bay. I don't use a head net as I find them claustrophobic, but they seem to work for others.

[rockhopper]

I -tTend just to use DEET (various strengths) and smidge although I find the former more effective than the latter. Midge head net can also be useful at times - cheers

[basscadet]

Aye, DEET is supposed to have some bad side effects, but my parents were using it on me when I was only weeks old, and I've used it regularly ever since. The smell brings back happy memories of camps in Glen Shee, playing games with my sisters I certainly have never knowingly had any ill effects.. Not as bad as nae getting my dinner because there are too many midges to open the inner sanctum of the tent

I heard Avon have changed their recipe, and iavon so soft is no longer effective
Was never that good, especially for multi day camping trips with limited washing facilities - like an oil slick so it is!
Good for spraying about the tent to suffocate the ones that got in though

[Shug]

Wasnt it just the citronella or lemon oil or something like that that made avon stuff work?
You can get natural reppellants containing above, but unfortunately probably nothing works as well as deet.

[cmarcol]

Thanks for all the replies! Will hopefully find one of these works for me - even if I have to force marmite down at breakfast!

I used skin so soft once years ago and I swear the little gits thought it was the equivalent of tomato ketchup! To add to that I took a mild allergic reaction to it! It was almost funny!

C

[Caberfeidh]

You'll notice no-one is actually recommending just tolerating the little [expletive deleted] . Horrific memories of a night spent inside my sleeping bag lying in the rushes by the burn outside the Kingshouse as I lacked a tent... still muggy hot weather.... O God, it was awful! And up in Sutherland, when they rose up like all the demons of Hell, pattering on the tent like drizzle....

[rockhopper]

You'll notice no-one is actually recommending just tolerating the little [expletive deleted] . Horrific memories of a night spent inside my sleeping bag lying in the rushes by the burn outside the Kingshouse as I lacked a tent... still muggy hot weather.... O God, it was awful! And up in Sutherland, when they rose up like all the demons of Hell, pattering on the tent like drizzle....

know what you mean quote from one of my past WRs :
The wind dropped completely over night. When I went out the tent at 4am I was hit by the largest cloud of midges I’ve ever seen. Bad idea wearing shorts – must’ve had over 100 bites on each leg. Jumped back into the tent, DEET can out and that held them at bay. Dead midges everywhere. Had an early breakfast and then decamped with my headnet on. The DEET seemed to be working. - cheers

[cmarcol]

I have memories (which may be exaggerated a bit seeing as I was a wimpy 16yr old at the time ) of camping on the shores of Loch Lomond and in the morning there were so many dead ones between the two layers of the tent that from inside the tent you could barely tell it was light outside! They are nasty.

My worst experience was definitely last summer. My dad parked his camper van near Loch Torridon for the night. It was sweltering hot so the van doors and windows were open. The plague eventually arrived so he shut all the windows and the door before spraying a household bug zapper. He sprayed so much of the stuff we couldn't breath in the van so we were forced to join them outside while the van defumed! I'm only just beginning to laugh about it now almost a year later!

I've never used a repellent before though so hopefully any of the advice above will help!

C

[linei]

Any word on how bad the midges are currently in the northeast?
We'll be going there the coming weekend ...

[gordonmidd]

Hi all! I frequently read the forum here but very rarely post.

It's not even May yet and I've already been quite badly bitten by those fun loving creatures you get a few of in the scottish countryside. I'm like a magnet and it's something that really can ruin a trip for me. I have a bottle of deet from a trip abroad but I'm really reluctant to use it in the hills seeing as it melted a hole in some clothes before.

So my question is, what do people find the most effective midgey repellent that doesn't damage synthetic materials? I don't want to ruin anything like my waterproofs.

Any recommendations would be great! (Any extra handy tips people have found would also be great!)

C

Start taking vitamin B1, they won't come near. I'm a magnet for all insects and it works for me. Need to start a coupe of weeks before your trip or just take it regular.