Here Comes The Super Midge

Grim news from Edinburgh University which is predicting, gawd help all climbers and walkers, the development of the super midge in Scotland. Apparently global warming means the little buggers will live longer and, even worse, will be able to breed three times a year meaning they could reproduce as late as September.

They'll also spread further east and north east away from the midgie heartland in the west of the country.

Here on OUTDOORSmagic we've had enough of the clouds of biting horrors and so we're prepared to name and shame the guilty culprits starting today:

Bog Myrtle: Midge obsessives may recall research into a repellant based on bog myrtle, a plant with a scent as attractive to midges as, well, as midges are to mountaineers. Sadly it seems that so much bog myrtle would be needed to produce the repellant that the entire highlands of Scotland would have been given over to growing the stuff.

... and if you want to know more about Mary, Mungo et al, click here...

More details on midges? Click here for the Northumbrian Mountaineering Club's page on the little horrors.