Those pesky midges ( in Scotland ! )

oldtech

Guest
Good Morning Campers !
....please read this with a strong Welsh accent ...( Ruth Madoc ? )... and a "Bing-Bong" sound ! .

I read a posting on this site a few days ago where someone was complaining about midges .....
but now I can't find it , so I thought I'd write this as a new thread anyway ....

Scotland is NOTORIOUS for the worlds most annoying midges in summer ....
.... especially around Loch Lomond area.
(Sorry , that should read"Summer" ... ha ha ! :lol-061: )

A few years ago I was at a car boot sale with a mate who is a professional golf caddy.
He spotted a stall were a lady was selling Avon products and she had something called 'Skin So Soft'.
To my amazement , he haggled with her and got a price for her entire stock of this product.... 4 cases !!

Naturally , I thought he suffered from some sort of mental problem ..... but NO !.

Two days later he was working at the Scottish Open Golf and after 24 hours he had sold every bottle at
5 times the price he paid to the car-boot lady.
Players , Caddies and Tournament officials had bought the lot .... and the day after that he was having
to beat people off with the proverbially "Mucky Stick " .

No-one seems too sure what it is , exactly , that makes this stuff so effective .
Some say it's because it contains Citronella , but LOTS of insect repellants have this ingredient.....
... so that can't be the whole story.

I emailed him before I wrote this ,and he say's that a friend of his in the British Army told him that they
get issued with something that smells EXACTLY the same as Avon's " Skin So Soft " !!.

And he should know ! .... He is a Golf Fan and got a bottle from my mate at Loch Lomond !!!!

Please reply if you know just what is in this stuff that midges hate so much ....
.... let's go into business and make our fortunes ... ha ha ! :tongue:

Keep on enjoying the "Summer"

Oldtech
 
skin so soft works a treat not only here but abroad too,you will not get any bites or stings but it will not stop midges mithering/dive bombing/trying to get in your mouth,nose or ears
On our latest trip to Oban i almost ran screaming down the road like a schoolgirl trying to escape a cloud of midges that wanted to be not only on me but also in me:scared:
Delete almost !
 
Skin so Soft works!! simple as that, don't know why (and really don't care) I use it when sailing in Scotland and the workers on the Isle of Rhum swear by it.

cheers
 
Lao Tzu / Confucian Philosophy

Hi Derrick

A man after my own heart !!! .... another fan of the Wisdom of Lao Tzu

My personal favourite .... and the Maxim for my whole life ...

" The Way abides in stillness , yet nothing remains undone "

Your friend in Confucian Philosophy .....

Oldtech
 
skin so soft definately works for me but if your one of the unlucky people who give off the right oudour to attract the midge then they will get you. If you are bit DONT ITCH and apply a good aftersun to cool your skin down .
 
Avon says..........

Hi Oldtech - I have copied an email I got from Avon below. I wrote and asked what the product was called nowadays and got the following reply, which at best is quite understated.

I have used this product for y e a r s! I am much sought after by mosie's and midge's and this works better that Anything else I have used.

Avon do not market it as a bug repellant as they would have to do research and trials to validate their claims. Very expensive, and TBH, they don't need to as everyone knows it works!

----------------
Response from Avon:

Thank you for your recent email.

We have had reports from Representatives and their customers that Avon Skin-So-Soft, Soft and Fresh (known originally as Woodland Fresh fragrance) Bath Oil and Dry Oil Body Spray acts as an effective insect repellent.

Our Quality Control Department advises that the aroma of the product that has a repellent effect is citronella. Citronella is in the perfume and as fragrance oils are ‘propriety compositions’ and the property of the vendor, due to vendor confidentiality, we list this ingredient as Parfum. However, we market and sell this product as a bath preparation only. We would not recommend any Skin-So-Soft product for any other use. Unfortunately, Skin-So-Soft products in any other fragrance do not contain the same ingredients as the original Soft and Fresh.

We can confirm that the product in question can be ordered using line number 06700.

Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards

Avon Sales Service Centre
 
Avon "Skin So Soft "

wind dancer said:
Hi Oldtech - I have copied an email I got from Avon below. I wrote and asked what the product was called nowadays and got the following reply, which at best is quite understated.

I have used this product for y e a r s! I am much sought after by mosie's and midge's and this works better that Anything else I have used.

Avon do not market it as a bug repellant as they would have to do research and trials to validate their claims. Very expensive, and TBH, they don't need to as everyone knows it works!

----------------


Our Quality Control Department advises that the aroma of the product that has a repellent effect is citronella. Citronella is in the perfume and as fragrance oils are ‘propriety compositions’ and the property of the vendor, due to vendor confidentiality, we list this ingredient as Parfum. However, we market and sell this product as a bath preparation only. We would not recommend any Skin-So-Soft product for any other use. Unfortunately, Skin-So-Soft products in any other fragrance do not contain the same ingredients as the original Soft and Fresh.

We can confirm that the product in question can be ordered using line number 06700.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well done , Wind Dancer !!!

You seem to have got down to the nitty gritty about this product !
My only question would be .... Why do other products containing Citronella not work NEARLY so well ?
I am guessing that it may be a combination of the Citronella along with another ingredient which makes
"Skin So Soft " so fantastically effective against midges , mozzies etc where all other products fail.
Of course , it may just be that the Avon product has MORE Citronella than the average insect repellent

Thanks for your reply !

Oldtech
Click to expand...
 
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I have 5 bottles in my van just in case but tend NOT to go into Midge country in June-August.
East coast of Scotland has much fewer Midges owing to coastal breezes I suspect.
 
Steer clear of the Linn of Dee car park ( by Braemar) if your bothered by the little blighters, as a local we visit regularly and my poor son looks like he's been used as target practice by them, doesn't matter what I cover him in!
Did a tour of Northern Scotland a couple of weeks ago and it was fantastic but we did have to be careful of the midges!
This is a fantastic country to tour so I hope no one is unduly put off by the midge, take precautions and you should be fine!
 
Skin so soft seems to be the only thing that works for me. But many people I know (living in a potentially midegy area) recommend taking an antihistomine tablet on a daily basis - doesn't stop the b***s biting but the bites won't irritate so much. Haven't tried it myself but it makes sense
 
Hi all
While in Scotland a few years ago getting nearly devoured by these tiny pest in the highlands i got some excellent advice to go to chemist and buy sos and aww what a relief,
Anyway i avoided the midge season after this episode until 3weeks ago and went on a ccc site only £6 night with EHU on hard standing which was right along side Loch Lomond beautiful that is until the dreaded little pest showed up when the sun went down
So thought i better get myself some of the magic sos,
After big lumps appearing behind ears, face, arms, etc i couldnt wait to smother myself in the always works sos,
Well sad to report the magic stuff never worked on me this time,
And because it started effecting my pugs as well took an hasty retreat to Edinburgh :banana::D also started taking antihistomines befor going st Scotland but these had no effect,
 
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dont blame the poor midges. you are invading their territory.
the way they look at it you are the problem.
tony
 
Sorry to say SOS only works for some.

It certainly did not work for myself or my wife and she suffers badly, actually she has sores now where she was bitten 15 days ago on Arran. Just tried to put up a pic of them but site says 2.4meg is too big?

Pilotewanderers
 
Hi, as a resident of the north west highlands, yes for the majority of folk sss works, in my experience (living with the flying piranah) sss does not seem to repel them so much as seems to stop them actually biting. (yes I have been seen running across the glens in fear of my sanity, with the dark cloud about me). Best things I found are direct sunlight and being in a breeze. (vampires are not the only things that don't like bright sunlight).
 
:yeahthat:
Sunlight and a good breeze work wonders, so always plan to go where it's windy :)

and for when it's not, I have a midge hood ......... AND I'm not afraid to wear it! :cool1: :wacko:
 
oldtech said:
Well done , Wind Dancer !!!

You seem to have got down to the nitty gritty about this product !
My only question would be .... Why do other products containing Citronella not work NEARLY so well ?
I am guessing that it may be a combination of the Citronella along with another ingredient which makes
"Skin So Soft " so fantastically effective against midges , mozzies etc where all other products fail.
Of course , it may just be that the Avon product has MORE Citronella than the average insect repellent

Thanks for your reply !

Oldtech
Click to expand...

It is my belief that there is indeed an additional ingredient in it. I have also heard that the texture of it is off-putting and makes it hard for them to bite through.

I decant some SSS into a little container which I keep in my pocket when walking, just incase I unexpectedly run into the horrors (i.e. if the wind drops!) I Always carry some in my MH.
 
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