The Midge

Since we've been in Scotland, we've heard about an infamous insect that plagues the country during the summer months: the Midge (pronounced Midgie).

While camping, I was introduced to them. Yes, they are as horrible as everyone says. Actually it's worse.

Imagine gnats, but in much larger quantities, that bite, and leave itchy spots that might swell up. They're attracted to carbon dioxide, so they love to be right in your face. They are absolutely horrible and when they're really bad, it makes doing anything outside almost impossible.

They love damp, cloudy conditions, and don't do well with the wind or sunshine.

The first and last days of our camping expedition, we were invaded by midges at our campsite. Before I left, I'd been informed as to what types of repellent to use, and stocked up with a few different kinds; I was prepared. Or so I thought.

The first day, as the midges began to get bad, everyone pulled out something called a midge net and put it over their head. I had no idea these things even existed. Life would have been much more bearable if I had one of them. Here's what they look like:

If you take a close look at the sky in this photo, all those black circles you see aren't smudges on my camera, but midges. But that doesn't even begin to capture how many there were.

Here is a photo of how midges can cover an object. I was trying to wash some dishes one night and it was useless; as soon as a dish was washed, it was covered in midges. We'd open our tent, and suddenly there'd be 50 midges in there. Thankfully, they were only around for two days.

Here's my bit of advice for you: if you come to Scotland in the summer, bring a midge net.