hot dry periods of weather and midgies Scotland

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
 CurlyStevo 04 Jul 2018

Last summer we had like this in Scotland was maybe a decade ago. It knocked the midgies for 6. People were going to skye and none reporting midgies in any annoyance. It was a bit earlier in the year that we got the dry spell so perhaps that stops them getting going? Also glencoe for a couple of years before that was bonkers. Like hundreds on your trousers pitching your tent and it took them years to recover to anything like that. 

Is this year seeming to be having similar positive affects yet? 

I have a theory it’s why they never reach numbers in dartmoor like they do a bit further north as despite the rain and terrain, there are too frequent hot periods that really dry a lot of the land out - say more than once every 3-6 years ish could be a problem for them and that’s what hurts them most, far more than cold winters do, to which they seem pretty well adapted.

Off topic but are they at all bothersome right now in the peak with the land so Dry?

Post edited at 22:20
 mrphilipoldham 04 Jul 2018
In reply to CurlyStevo:

I’ve barely seen any in the Peak, and what I have seen haven’t been biting. That said, at Wormstones this evening I do have a few bites. Though it was shaded from the sun and no breeze, so to be expected. Certainly significantly fewer in number than my visit this time last year though, which resulted in us fleeing for the pub.

Post edited at 22:49
 Tringa 04 Jul 2018
In reply to CurlyStevo:

I can't comment on the midges in the Peak, but here in Gairloch they are well down compared to the average year. I think this is due to two, related, phenomena.

1. It is very dry, I mean really very dry. In the last 15 or so years I have only seen it close to this dry once before. Most of the areas that would, in a normal year, still be boggy now are dry, so breeding ground have been reduced substantially, and

2. It is very sunny, which links to the dryness. If it is very dry in NW Scotland then it has been very sunny and midges do not like bright light.

Clegs, however are, in the words of Ian Dury, doing very well.

 

Dave

 Lizziecc 04 Jul 2018
In reply to CurlyStevo:

The midges were out in force at Froggatt last night. The wind was blowing over the crag so fine on top, but looking down it was like a sea of them... pretty horrid!

 John Kelly 05 Jul 2018
In reply to CurlyStevo:

Midges have been well down in Langdale during this hot dry weather, fear they will all appear en mass at the first drop of rain.

 BnB 05 Jul 2018
In reply to CurlyStevo:

As anyone in the Hebrides knows, midges hide away in an Easterly. And, with that having been the prevailing wind direction this summer, the little pests have kept quiet.

 Jim 1003 05 Jul 2018
In reply to CurlyStevo:

During July , August, large black flies can be just as annoying as midges, and the wind doesn't shift them...

1
 JohnnyW 05 Jul 2018
In reply to CurlyStevo:

I was bitten by midges well whilst on Mull and Ardnamurchan in late May, but since then, I have seen next to none, despite many days working in the hills. The combination of sunlight, breeze and desiccating heat has seen them off fabulously.

As for clouds of black flies and clegs however...................

 

Post edited at 16:02
OP CurlyStevo 05 Jul 2018
In reply to JohnnyW:

I can't remember ever being bothered by black flies in Scotland, have they been getting worse? Clegs are another matter.

 jonny taylor 05 Jul 2018
In reply to JohnnyW:

I was also rather alarmed to encounter swarms of biting mosquitoes in the Ballater area a few weeks back (as well as a few bites in our garden west of Glasgow). Haven't been aware of that in previous years - a bit disappointing...

 malk 05 Jul 2018
In reply to CurlyStevo:

just returned from a few days camping in the Hebrides and midges were fewer than i expected in the light winds but still annoying at times.

the paps of jura walk was memorable for several hours of full-on horse fly attack on the vegetated slopes - wrong day to wear shorts..

 

 

 

 jimmccall 06 Jul 2018
In reply to CurlyStevo:

I quote from Murray... ‘Mountaineering in Scotland’ ... ‘No matter how well we ate, the midges ate better...’ 

  I also like your story about hundreds of midges pitching your tent... I haven’t seen that before.

Post edited at 19:48
 alan moore 06 Jul 2018
In reply to CurlyStevo:

Not many midges in Kinlochbervie this last week, although they do appear when it turns grey and sultry. Lots of clegs and other biting flies in the bright sunshine though.

 Wee Davie 06 Jul 2018
In reply to CurlyStevo:

Clegs are a bit of a bother in my village- which is unusual. I've spent about 80 hrs repainting my wooden windows over the last 2 months. A few midgie bites but considering how much I've been stood painting I've got off fairly lightly. Had reports from pals who've climbed on Arran in the last week that the clegs are horrific over there.


New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Loading Notifications...