Midges & Ticks

Midges

The Southern Upland Way, just as other areas of Scotland, unfortunately suffers at certain times of the year from the dreaded “midgy”. However, the problem is not as bad as some people would like you to believe.

Early July to late August appears to be the worst months but it is not necessarily the time of year that matters, it’s more the conditions. Midges prefer damp conditions which are warm but not too hot and not too much sun. They like still air and they are mostly encountered in the early morning or evening near to natural water, especially still water such as ponds.

Take a look at the Midge Forecast Website

Most walkers walking between 9am and 5pm would miss the worst time of day but be aware that should your walk entail waiting at a pick up point then standing or sitting around is the most likely time you may be affected.

The midge, also known as "midgie" or "midgy", is a tiny flying insect of the genus "culicoides". There are many thousands of midge species, of which only a few bite. One of the most ferocious biters is the Highland Biting Midge, Culicoides impunctatus. This is known in Gaelic as "Meanbh-chuileag" which means "tiny fly".

Due to its extremely small size the midge is sometimes known as a no-see-um (or "noseeum").

Yes it’s true! One of the most unlikely sounding midge repellents is Skin-So-Soft from Avon. Initially launched as bath oil in 1961 its use as a midge repellent was entirely unforeseen and it has even been used by the British Royal Marine Commandos. There doesn't appear to have been any serious scientific research on its effectiveness, however many people buy and use it regularly.

Vist our Market Place

Ticks

The UK Tick population seems to increase year after year. Whether this is due to global warming, the soar in deer population, or warmer winters, or whether it's because more of us are out and about with our dogs, would be interesting to find out, and the scientists are working hard to determine what we can do about ticks.

Sometimes, we are just flooded with too much information, and there is certainly plenty of tick removal information on the web. Unfortunately, sometimes, it just becomes too confusing. We are here therefore to keep things simple. There are 2 things we need to consider when thinking about ticks:

   1. Tick Removal
   2. Tick Prevention
   3. Tick Protection

The Tick Twister is the simplest way which we have found to remove a tick, from dogs, pets, or people.

For more information and to purchase: Tick Removal