The Midge - The Facts

Walking down the road today we came across West Ardnamurchan's best-known builders clearing a blocked drain at one of the holiday cottages, one hopping up and down and waving his arms wildly in the air, the other calmly smoking a roll-up. We stopped to talk - briefly, because midges can't keep up if you walk briskly - and some interesting facts came out of the conversation.

From this morning's evidence, the Highland Scots seem to have evolved differently from the rest of the human population as they seem much less bothered by the midge. I suppose it's logical, since they have co-existed for millennia. It's a trait which is transferable to other insects: my mother, a black Scot, lived most of her life in Africa, and maintained that mosquitoes died when they bit her.

Anyone who has come to the Scottish Highlands will have met the Scottish midge, Culicoides impunctatus. It's the females that are so horrible - the males, bless them, are sweet little creatures which feed from flowers. When the ladies are at their worst, to describe them as a scourge is an understatement. The last time our daughters went camping together, while they walked the West Highland Way, there were so many midges in the tent, despite the insect-proofing, that the inside was black with them, and when they cooked their porridge in the morning it came out grey with added protein.

So one good result of last winter's cold, and the dry, bright weather through April, May and June, was that we had very few of them. They've reappeared in the last few days, with a vengeance, intent on making up for lost time. The worrying fact is that, this year excepted, they seem to be operating during a longer period each year. One website gaily states that they are at their most vicious from May through to September, but they can be just as bad in any of the warmer months.

There are various things that can be done to reduce their impact. Wearing a midge net is effective but suffocating. Avon's 'Skin So Soft' is the best ointment we've come across to deter them, and Jungle Formula spray helps. For those of us who live here permanently and are genetically 'at risk', they're a nuisance we can usually avoid. And they're a very, very small price to pay for the privilege of enjoying this beautiful place.

There's lots more information about midges here. Thanks to Rachael for the picture of the inside of her tent.