h_henry

Err.. not quite sure how to put this rather subjective question diplomatically, but here goes:

Are Canadian mozzies/blackflies worse than Scottish midges? Whilst in interior BC I spoke to locals who had to resort to wearing what seems to be bee keeper kit just to go outside in the summer months. Are they really that bad or are Canadians just a bit less tolerant of being bit compared to us Scotland lovers? Tried to be tactful.

Cowtown

Yes they are worse in Canada. I've been out in bits of Scotland where the midges are bad but never felt the need for bug spray. It never crossed my mind. Canada - I'm reaching for the spray! So unless tolerance declines with age.....I'd say its worse in Canada.

willmore

You obviously have never lived or visited in Manitoba or the cottage country in Ontario over the summer - the mozzies are bad - but the blackflies are pure evil - they take a chunk of skin with them when they bite - no kidding! It hurts like h*ll!

Voyager970

Och yer all a bunch of pussies over there
Willmore your the biggest pussie of them all !!!!!!
Ya big fearty !!!!!

The good auld Scots midgie beats you hands down
The family spent nearly a month in London Ontario in July, we never had any problem with any bugs.

Have you ever went camping on the bonnie banks of Scotland, the midgies eat you alive, millions of the little buggers all wanting a chunk of yer skin
I have cut short many a camping trips due to the dreaded midgie.

So I say the Scottish Midgie wins by a mile and thats from experience !!!!

Eddie fae a cauld Scotland

MapleDragon

I have been to Egypt at Summer, I thought those damn mozzies were bad there... until I found out that was pretty tame compared to Manitoba. Misery making!

flashman

The mossies just love English blood. I develop red welts while my Canadian wife is immune.

Tiaribbon

This time of year is about the only time that you aren't being attacked by some sort of flying critter!!

I come from Scotland and no way are the midges there even a patch on what is available over here .

Black flies bite and take chunks out of you! If you are bitten by one then there is no way you wouldn't say "Oww" - it is just involuntary.

The orange things that look like UK Ladybirds also bite in a similar fashion to Blackflies and they also hurt.

Cluster flies don't bite but try to make your life a blooming misery by flying at you constantly and they must breed like mad 'cos there are tonnes and tonnes of them.

The skitters aren't so bad as the other insects I don't think as you know when they are out and you either just avoid going out then or you spray yourself with DEET.

Sorry but anyone who tells you that the insect-critters aren't bad out here, quite obviously are not living here LOL!! So don't believe a word of it.

iaink

There is a couple of weeks in the spring too

Back to the OP...there is no comparison. Canadian are a league apart from anything you will find in the UK. Dont know anyone in the UK desperate enough to pay for a serious mosquito zapper (SkeeterVac, Mosquito Magnet etc), but here they are becoming more and more common. We bought one, our neighbours bought one, a few others in the neighbourhood got them too. They do help to reclaim the yard in the daylight hours at least.

hot wasabi peas

Hell, yes.

Sutherlands

Midges occur more in the north and west of Scotland than in the south or the east. They especially like wet and uncultivated land, something those parts of Scotland have in super-abundance.

It is the female midge that bites. It can only lay its eggs after it has had a blood meal; which is where you and I come in. Midges start to become a problem in June and usually last through to August when their numbers diminish rapidly, before they finally disappear with the first real frost of autumn. The numbers of midges vary considerably from year to year, depending on the severity of the preceding winter, the amount of spring rainfall, and the temperature.

To avoid midges, it helps to know a little about their likes and dislikes. They like the cool indirect light of dawn and dusk, and dislike direct strong sunlight. They like damp conditions and dislike dry conditions. And they like still air and dislike anything above a fairly gentle breeze. All this tends to mean that midges are less common the middle of the day than in the mornings and evenings; that they are rarer on exposed hills than in sheltered valleys; and that the can be fond of woodland and forest areas. Finally, it is worth knowing that midges prefer dark coloured clothing to light.

My Husband comes up in big lumps when bit with the Scottish midge, where I do not, but saying that when on holiday out in Canada I was the one to come out in the lumps when bit and he was not..

Sutherlands

h_henry

Thanks everybody. We've been to BC, AB and Quebec but only in autumn, spring or winter so have no concept of Canadian biters except for watching wildlife programmes showing ungulates attacked by Blackfly.

I was given some advice by a Dutch lady who emigrated to BC - when you're looking at areas, check out the windows and doors of properties in the area and see if they have netting/wire on the entrances. If they do, perhaps you want to think again.

What's Nova Scotia like for biting insects? Never even heard of skitters? Do As I correct in thinking Canadian mozzies don't carry malaria?

I once tried a "green" midge repellent whilst on the Isle of Arran, Scotland and it didn't work!!!!!!! I was foolish enough to wear black whilst climbing up a mountain at dawn. I was bit to b**gery.

Souvenir

Bug screens on windows and doors are a godsend round here. We have flying pihranas. In our back yard we have a bug-proof Summer house thingy that enables us to eat outside.

ACL

This year wasn't too bad for mozzies in NS (in response to h_henrys question)...well in our area anyway but the 'black fly' are horrid and you find your scalp bleeding and the bites come up in big hard swellings...ikkkkk!!!!

iaink

Correct, but there is West Nile here instead.

DEET is the most (only?) effective repelent I've used, although some people swear by citronella, eating garlic , drier sheets and a few other home made things Ive never had much joy with.

Only problem is DEET has risks of its own.

Sutherlands

TRY THIS,

Avon SKIN SO SOFT will stop them biting you, hands down, ask any Avon rep in Scotland if this product works and they will say yes, but!!! Avon will not admit to this as they don`t want to go down this path with their product,

My dad`s a park ranger and he and all the hairy red blooded males use this in the highlands to stop the little midge from eating them alive...oh and they have nice skin too

Sutherlands