1x 150ml SKIN so SOFT ® AVON Dry Oil Body Spray ORIGINAL® +jojoba insect repellent

Product Information

So next time you’re jotting down a shopping list, include these items for a midge-free Scotland break. They’ll make you smell nicer too in the process. It’s no big deal to avoid being their next meal Don’t worry too much about the midges in Scotland and don’t let them put you off visiting this beautiful country. Midge bites don’t irritate me as much as mosquito or cleg (horse fly) bites and as midges don’t transmit disease to humans, I’m more relaxed about midges. We generally find it’s too windy for midgies most of the time anyway! When you go out and it isn’t that windy, carry a couple of different natural insect repellents and a midge hood and hopefully, you should be fine.

First and foremost, this stuff smells great and it blows all other midge repellents out of the water when it comes to making your skin feel soft (the clue’s in the name I guess) plus it dries into your skin without leaving it feeling oily, and it doesn’t leave any marks on your clothes as opposed to DEET which can bleach clothes and plastics. Still, if you want to give midges the elbow this is one of the best products to buy and the fact it doesn’t use DEET or indeed any nasty chemicals is a massive bonus. Midges tend to come out in Scotland around the end of May and will hang around annoying us until the middle of September. Midges love warm and damp conditions the best. This makes dawn and dusk particularly popular for them. If you have to go outside during their key weather conditions, make sure you’ve liberally applied the aforementioned insecticide, and wear long-sleeved/legged clothing to cover as much exposed skin as possible. There are nearly 40 species of biting midge in Scotland but only five of these are thought to regularly feed on people. Of these, the Highland midge, Culicoides impunctatus, is the most bloodthirsty, and the species responsible for most of the bites of people.Nature’s way There are said to be some natural midge such as essential oils like Eucalyptus, lavender and lemon. The results vary between people although these oils can make you smell rather nice! A brand called Incognito make hair and body wash infused with citronella and tee tree for "natural anti-insect camouflage". Eating Marmite before and during your time near midges is also meant to repel them. We’re not sure about this one. Make friends with bats! A single bat can eat 3,000 midges and other insects in one night. Make sure you carry repellent with you and if you avoid wearing perfume and aftershave this can help too - it can also make you feel as wild as the countryside! Your midge-free months in Scotland range from October through to May, so if you really don't want to deal with them then these are the times to visit Scotland. In saying that, the closer you are to the sea, the less you are likely to experience them. Read about the best beaches in Scotland. Which areas of Scotland are affected by midges? Midges are insects with a wingspan of just 1-2mm. They need blood to survive and enjoy feasting on animals and humans. There are, however, ways to avoid midges which include avoiding the regions where they’re most prevalent ie. the Highlands, the north and west coasts, and the west coast islands, but obviously you will then miss out on seeing the most scenic parts of Scotland. I had to laugh recently when a friend of mine said "I can't understand how I've been bitten... I was covered in Skin So Soft!". I wasn't bitten, and I was wearing this, which I swear by:

Using Avon’s “Bug Guard” is a good solution for a (relatively) cheap repellent that also aids your skin. Regular Avon Skin-So-Soft will work too, but only for a fraction of the time, it seems. Though, it’s better than using other items around your house, such as Listerine. Avon Skin So Soft is a beauty product that has been recommended as a midge repellent for years, which I always thought was an old wives tale until I tried it myself.There are several natural methods that can help to keep midges away. Some of these include using essential oils such as citronella, lavender, and peppermint which have natural insect-repelling properties. We prefer to use insect repellents which don’t contain DEET or DMP. Although DEET and DMP are more effective than non-DEET or natural midge repellents, they are capable of melting some plastics (such as credit cards, glasses and synthetic clothing) and that’s not really something we want to put our skin. As non-DEET insect repellents seem to work fine for midges, we don’t find DEET repellents necessary. Best midge net for Scotland It’s a known fact that midges cause misery to Scotland’s tourists across the Highlands and Islands where they gather in vast numbers between May and September. Never worked for my other half in Scotland against the midges and never ever worked for for either of us with mossies, and I have to live with the dam things every day. Each application lasts for up to 8 hours. Re-application may be required in areas with high temperature and humidity.

As with everything, there are a few negatives to this product which include not being waterproof, and I’m rather suspicious of the claimed 8 hours of protection from one covering.Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information at the time of writing, Having the right stalking clothing to help keep midges away is a good place to start, but you will still need something to deter them from making a meal out of any exposed flesh left on your body, such as your hands or head. It’s actually only the females that bite as they need lots of protein to form their clutches of eggs, but while they mostly feed on cattle and wild animals they’re also quite happy to chow down on any passing human that comes within range whether young, old, male or female. Hi Wanda! Skin So Soft is available on the web at http://www.avon.com/repstore/wbrown2148. Thanks! Reply

It’s also the cheapest of the bunch, has a manual pump dispenser, and it’s infused with natural oils so it’s virtually free of chemicals. Midges are small biting insects found in the Scottish Highlands and the west coast that are part of the Ceratopogonidae family of midges. They are only 1-3 mm in size but they gather in large swarms near water and damp ground in the early morning and evening. The best method to stop being bitten in the Highlands is to use a repellent and to recognise the conditions when midges are likely to be most active and avoid going out in them. My other half swears by it so I thought I’d give it a go last year and… it actually works. No matter if I sat outside in the evening or walked through the Highlands in the early morning, midges seemed to avoid me whenever I used Avon Skin So Soft.You can also stay indoors during their most active times – early morning and early evening – but that means you’ll lose several hours of each day just because of these infuriating insects. I actually used Jungle Formula in the jungle several times in the past (I used to work in West Africa) so I can say hand on heart it definitely does the job when it comes to keeping flying nasties away. Lifesystems also have a product formulated especially for midges which contains myrtle extract and DEET.