Scotland & midges??

[HJ]

Ah - that time when I punctured, it was under tree cover near a stream so I was out of the sun.

The other time that I've been badly 'midged' was when I stopped to have a chat with another cyclist at dusk near a stream. I got bitten about 50 times then too.

Midges and mosquitos really seem to like me. I get bitten when people with me don't.

A friend of mine works on midges, she is part of the research group that came up with the midge forecasts and the MidgeEater, as part of the research project they found that some people really are bitten more than others. I can't remember why though.

And yes, Rando, we do have Jungle Juice in the UK, and as it is mostly DEET, it is effective against midges. In fact any repellent with a high DEET content will do, but some people with sensitive skins can have a reaction to DEET, also it will melt some types of plastic, so be careful when you use it.

If you would like to know more about midges, I can highly recommend George Hendry's Midges in Scotland which is a very readable wee paperback...