A MIDGE TOO FAR! - My Worst Wild Camping Trip Ever, Millions of Biting Insects
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- Опубліковано 27 лип 2022
- A wild camping trip goes horribly wrong when we are attacked by swarms of Irish midges. These tiny biting insects can detect people from 200 meters away and fit through mosquito nets. They seem to be much worse in 2022 than other years.
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Rotten…I’ve been that soldier too! They are the bane of our summer camping with no breeze existence 🤕⛺️ You captured the nightmare so well!
I've experienced them before, but never as bad as this. Next time I'm checking the wind forecast!
How to avoid if I go to Scotland or Northern Scandinavia?
@@ramdas363 1. Try not camp next to water
2. Check the weather forecast - if there is wind or a strong breeze it helps keep them away.
3. Buy a midge net to help protect your face and some midge spray incase they are about.
I’ve no idea if there are midges in Scandinavia but they are definitely in Scotland in the Summer months.
Hope that helps!
I had the same on a mountaineering course years ago in Glen Coe. It was the worst experience of my life. Absolutely demented to the point of madness.
It's just relentless, you can sit and take it for a few minutes, but yeah it drives you mad
Unreal!
The catchy title hooked me in but what a video mate, I'm speechless. Never seen midges that bad in my entire life, fair play to you for cracking on and at least finishing the video. You really captured the horror of the midge...
You've got yourself a subscriber! 💪🏻
Thanks for subscribing! 🙂 Although I have to give my wife credit for coming up with that title 🤣
Was definitely not the video I planned to make and at one point I wasn't going to bother filming anything I was so annoyed. Glad I managed to in the end. people enjoy watching me suffer!
@@StephenJReid I'm impressed that you managed to film anything at all! 😂
I think that would've been too much for me...surviving the midge is one thing but then putting together an entertaining film at the same time is quite another.
Well played to you both and bravo to your wife for the catchy title 👍🏻
Keep up the great work...
Stephen terrible times mate looking forward to getting out with you soon, thanks for sharing this experience big like
Only just realised who this account is! Definitely be glad you skipped this one!
This is so relatable 😂
Relatable content indeed.
Thank you for this!
Should have seen the state of my equally disastrous camping trip 🎉
Haha mutually experienced misery!
Once asked a guy living on the Isle of Arran what he did when the midges came out ? He replied we go in!!
Sounds about right! 😂
You've shown how a bad it can be, you coped much better than i ever could , Thanks 👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks! Was just the worst
There needs to be a way of capturing and cooking midges. There can be so many of them they'd make a nourishing meal.
I remember walking in the Cairngorms and being not far from where I was due to wild camp, I could see people already there doing a dance of some kind. That's cool I thought.
Of course when I got there I realised it wasn't so much a dance but the midge-induced-mad-flappings of the near-crazed wild campers being devoured by the little bastards before sunset.
Then it was my turn to start dancing...🕺
Eating midges?! 🤢
Look up the midge burger on Google. Can't remember if its brander Lodge or the Ben cruachan Inn
I live in a tent in the Scottish Highlands 24/7 and have done for just over a year now. I use either a common fire or if there's barely any breeze Incence sticks. Another way is a small metal tin, put some holes in the lid, glue 4 or 5 Incence cones in the tin, glue a strap to the back of the tin. Light the cones, strap it onto an arm, use one on each arm if needed, constant close stream of smoke that smells quite nice and helps deter the midges.
Ahhh I think I’ve seen videos of people doing something like that with the incense on their arms! I’d heard horror stories of how bad they get in Scotland, this is the worst they have ever been over here
@@StephenJReidcamping as a kid in the highlands with my mother, she got so badly bitten on the eyelids that she looked like a boxer, totally swollen shut.
I'm so glad I couldn't go with you in person on this one. Makes me understand the "Lord of the Rings" marsh scenes way better than I ever have. 😵😵💫 I've been in mosquitoes that thick in Canadan and Alaska but something that tiny seems to me would block your airways.
Haha, this was the worst! Tolkien stayed in Scotland a few times so would have been familar with Midgies
Love your work! Comenting for the algorithm 🌻 😂
Love your comments! 🙂
Could be used as a weapon of war those things - when I camped at Loch Awe in Argyll a big fire usually dealt with them but there was one time we had an extra large fire and they were literally suiciding through it to get to us...must just go on super crazy frenzy every once in a while - well captured considering your plight! 👌
Yeah we had a small fire and it had zero effect on them, they just flew straight into it
It was so nice to meet you last staurday at the foot of Slieve Donard. We were camping for 3 days in Tollymore Park. It was great fun and an amazing part of the world. We only went there because of your videos.
I hope you didn't mind me doorstepping you. My son was actually star struck when he realised who you were.
There wasn't anything like the wildlife you had down in Tollymore Park. However, I have about 25 midgey bites from that trip.
Hey good to meet you too! And no problem, makes my day meeting people who watch my videos 🙂
I need to run on Saturdays more often. Usually run during the week and no one says hello 😭
Glad you mostly avoided the midges!
Reminds me of Ontario Canada when in spring the sky goes black with mosquitos, horse fly, deer fly, midges, sand fly and finally black fly the nastiest insect ever. Black flies land on you very gently, inject you with local anesthetic then bite a disc of flesh off and fly away. first thing you know is a wet arm because it's bleeding then the anesthetic wears off and it stings badly and often becomes infected.
High humidity and zero wind and it's like this everytime. Hatching day!
Scratching day!
My skin is crawling just watching that Stephen
I’m still itching!
Great video subbed for your pain of showing what's poss ible if you go on the Moors. There must be a lack of natural predators to eat them or something
Haha thanks! It gets like this most years in certain areas, massive population explosions of them and if the wind is below 6mph, they are out in force
Never bring a mosquito net to a midge party. I was lucky to receive this advice beforehand.
Wish someone had told me?
Feel your pain, was camping in mournes few weeks ago no breeze and got ate alive 😩
Make The Mournes Windy Again!
I feel ur pain , we sprayed the tent with permetherin the last time we went to scotland and they wasnt as bad x
I did that for this summer and my tent has killed thousands of them so far 😂 everytime I go camping I wake up with dead midges all over the tent
Me this weekend camping next to a river outside snake wood. Closest I have come to packing up. Itching all over now 😂
I really want to go camping again soon but had a similar although probably not quite as bad experience at Lough Shannagh last August so I'm not very inclined to go in the height of summer any more! Maybe take advantage of a windy day or likely wait til autumn now. Bet you won't be rushing out camping again soon 😂
Haha yeah, or at least I’ll go armed with a proper midge net next time and maybe a flamethrower! 😂
Every time I'm asked about the mosquitos, I mention midges. Much much worse.
OMG its like the mini apocalypse has come to visit. But you sure took it in stride. And more importantly got the video. Would lemon oil help or are they just too overwhelming? As always great video
thanks! Video is a mess as it was mostly shot on my iPhone mostly vertical as I was initially only grabbing some clips for instagram. I had my good camera with me but phone as all I could bring myself to use it was so bad. I don't think anything would have helped with the swarm being so bad as that, even if they didn't bite, it was unpleasant just sitting with them all over you.
Very little actually work against midges, we've got a heap of them in Scotland too, many a camping trip would folk just leave through the night cause they couldn't deal with the midge swarm.
Burning a little of a certain green herb inside your tent works wonders but that’s not an acceptable solution for everyone.
Smoking cigars helps a little if you puff them up while your putting your tent up but tbh nothing works 100%
That looked absolutely horrendous! Those nasty midges that is.
Wouldn’t recommend it
I remember them on the hills above Tralee. Absolutely terrible. North West Scotland is bad to
Nightmare on wings
The dreaded midgepox! I caught a dose up at Oban the other week, little blighters ate me alive.
Nightmare beasties
One of the reasons I prefer winter hiking😁😄
Haha, yeah!
‘We are not equipped for this manner of engagement’…..Star Trek Beyond.
😂 I’ll be ready next time!
Looks like great fun
OMG we had this on Skye back in June. Relentless little buggers. They even got into my mates packet of tissues which he hadn't opened and into the dehydrated meals we were cooking. Brutal.
I hear the Skye midges are particularly nasty
@@StephenJReid yep they don't just bite but give you the Glasgow kiss too.
they are no joke, was at a lake for 2 mins, saw i was covered in them. 2 days later i have 100s of red itchy hives. nightmare.. i had bad sunburn before and i rather than anyway
The midge hand print wiz mighty 😎
Could be a new artwork 😂
The bane of my wild camping, believe it or not I found the feckers on Skye the worst, they even have kilts on. Brutal mate , theres just no way i could have stayed there, roll on the Winter wild camping season.
I’ve heard the midges on Skye are particularly brutal. Seems absolutely nothing works against them when swarming that bad either.
Was at the campsite for about 11hours, spent 7 in the tent. We finally got a bit of relief around about 11:15pm when it got colder and a breeze appeared. Just horrible
we were up at Lough Shannagh around the same time as this and it was hell. We arrived and everything was fine but within minutes of putting our packs down we were hit with thousands of the little buggers. Even moving up to the saddle at Doan did nothing
Complete nightmare! It happened to me again a few weeks later, see my next wild camping video 🙈 thankfully we managed to get away from them this time
Happened to me on a 14 peaks route in Wales. Had to abandon ship at 3 in the morning. A nightmare trip.
Yikes, were you not in a tent? I was grand once I was sealed up inside
@@StephenJReid yes in a tent but not midge proof!
I remember vividly about 40 yrs ago having a bad experience then about 20yrs later I for some unknown reason I tried camping again luckily with the car not wild camping ended up abandoning the tent slept in car and went home the next day that was 20yrs ago never camped again during midge season ever
one flew over the midges nest 😂😂. looks horrendous tbh . Never seen them as bad as that .
If I found the midges nest I'd have firebombed it! 🤣
used to live there- it's torture!
OMG 😱... That looks scary.
Was not fun!
I felt itchy just watching that!
That looked like hell lol. How do you find the pole on the Rab Ridge Raider? I find it hard work to get out, read a couple of stories of people breaking their pole trying to get it out as well.
Haven't had any issues with it myself, can't complain.
@@StephenJReid Cheers mate.
Ugh, that’s just the worst! My skin is crawling just from looking at them! Gah! So itchy! 😬
You’re itchy?!
Horrendous mate
Thanks for sharing
ATB
Tam
I’m still scratching away today! Thanks for watching 🙂
Got caught myself one time back in Connemara the little feckers nest in the ground
My mate takes me fishing because the midge's love eating me and he doesn't get bit hate the little 💩
😂😂
So that’s the answer, take a mate with sweeter tasting blood! 🤣👍
@@Rajamak it works for him 👍
That thumbnail though 😂😫
I feel sorry for myself just looking at it 😂
You wouldn't get me in the Rab midge coffin.
I would def have panic attack
😂😂 it’s fine when they aren’t in there with you. Although I did have to kill a few of them!
I felt itchy watching this! Terrible creatures! 😖
I had a physically response editing the video. Starting itching uncontrollably, still scratching! I hate them!
Would DEET work? I am one of those people who is not afraid to use DEET if I really need to. I keep a 98% version handy just in case. For ticks I spray my clothes with permethrin. I have never had to fight midges.
Not sure, I’ve got some to test. I feel like the midges just didn’t care about anything
Aaagh, bring back the wet & windy Irish summer 😱
Never thought I’d now be checking the forecast to make sure there’s enough wind 😂
And the memories/nightmare of a Duke of Edinburgh trek in the midge infested Mournes in 1996 come flooding back 😩😭
Haha!
That was mental. Makes me itchy just watching that!
It was not fun
Went wild camping last month too of carn and was bit of wind hence no midges was perfect
Next time I see a low wind forecast I’m heading for the summits!
Hi Stephen , what protective case do you use for you camera when wild camping . Thanks
I don’t. For damp forecasts I’ll use my GoPro, iPhone or my weather sealed mirrorless camera. If the rain gets very heavy I’ll just use the GoPro.
I’ve gotten non-weather sealed cameras and drones totally soaked before and they survived. Bit of a risk obviously but for me it’s worth it for the vido
@@StephenJReid cheers mate I’ve got the canon R6 which is weather sealed . Would rather find a case for piece of mind so I can keep it in my rucksack as I won’t be taking my proper camera bags . Thanks
Mostly do hill walking now in Scotland late September to April. If it's not the midges that get you here it's the ticks!
Last time I was in Scotland I got 5 ticks. At least they can’t fly!
@@StephenJReid don’t know m8 the fecking midges ate me alive on west highland way last wk 😩
"Late sept to April" .. i.e. don't go Scotland in summer. 😉
@@MarkoCoomo True 😂
Wouldn't camping further away from the stream help? I've never seen them that bad before, that could actually be a horror movie 🤣😂🤣
We tried going about 100meters away from the stream and no difference.
They don't need water sources, just damp ground and they THRIVE!
Eating garlic for several days beforehand is supposed to discourage them. But somehow those ones were so numerous and out early in the the morning too!!
There is a fungus that grows on dead beech trees, called beech fungus. It looks like a large saucer growing at right angles to the trunk. It's hard and woody. You collect one or more of these - you'll need to belt it with a stick or a hammer to remove it. Next break it up into small pieces about 2"x1", You might need your hammer or a saw for this. It is quite tough. When you go camping you put three or four pieces on a rock, or a metal plate at the entrance to your tent (or camper van) and light it. It will not burn, it will smoulder for quite a long time, giving off a not unpleasant smelling smoke. This deters midges, mosquitoes, clegs (horse flies) and anything else that flies and bites. Best thing is it's free and you made it yourself. I live and camp in Scotland. I use this every time.
Ah yeah I’ve seen that used to hold a spark from a flint and steel for fire lighting
@@StephenJReid I suppose if you come from SE London, the trouble is finding a tree, let alone a beech tree, let alone a dead beech tree. Up here in the Galloway Forest it's not such a problem .
There’s loads of beech trees right beside my office and a couple have huge bracket fungus growing on them.
There is something twistedly pleasurable about watching this video. ;)
😂 thanks
@@StephenJReid I think there is an HBO series in your future: Stephen J. Reid's "Suffering" (said in that movie trailer voice).
OMG that's probably the worst I've ever seen it was more like a cloud of then wow. 🤘🤘🏴🏴🏴
Cloud is right! Or smoke. Literally breathing them in
Go camping they said.
It's going to be fun they said.
Hahaha Youch! This was disgusting hahaha. Thanks for sharing!
Haha, you’re welcome. I’ll not be camping there in a hurry again
@@StephenJReid Yeah wait for winter. Only then will you have peace of these pesky flies. :P
I have had them bad but not that bad !!! Arghhh I’m itching now I hate the little feckers ……..
Haha the video is making a few people itch!
😮 A classic example of never underestimate the power of small things! Had similar midge experiences on the North York Moors and Arran. Complete skin coverage - gloves in summer - and a sex pest hat is vital. Repellents don’t seem to work for me either! Apparently midges are attracted by CO2, so if you stop breathing that sorts it 😂
I'll bring a scuba rebreather next time 🤣
@@StephenJReid😂
Take a lemon. Scratch the surface and then rub it on yourself. Let ke know bof ot helps keepnthe midges away next time
Does that work?
I now find myself asking will my Highlander head net be sufficient.
Hope so!
I was close to there last month. Did see any haha
Yeah i know, I bumped into you on the way out! 😂
@@StephenJReid ha that's right. Think I might give that spot a miss for a while haha
That looked like hell 💀 I use stuff called Nordic Summer it's by far the best I've ever used although I'm not entirely sure it how much it would have helped in those conditions Stephen lol 😆
It was the worst! 🤣 Dunno if anything helps when they are swarming like that
@@StephenJReid Just bug out
You can outsmart and outrun midges by not being in midgey places at the wrong times and by keeping moving but you can't get away from CLEGS or horse flies, they like warm dry sunny weather and they can fly at 50 mph. I'd gladly suffer 1000 midge bites in preference to one horse fly bite.
Sometimes there are no non-midgey places. I know someone who was on a summit camp the same night as this and got eaten alive too. Funny I could count on one hand the number of cleg bites I’ve gotten, they seem to leave me alone.
Has anyone tried out the sonic midge repel devices?
Do you mean thermacell? I’ve read they won’t work on swarms like this
@@StephenJReid Yes. Maybe get 5 of them 🤔 or more lol
I can't stop itching now. I feel as though I have those tiny little shite bags all over me!
Take up smoking cigars. And sit downwind of a smoky campfire. You'll smell like an ashtray, but it helps 😜
Haha, I chucked a load of grass on a small campfire but didn’t seem to help, they started flying into the fire! Kamikaze midges!
Yea camped on the top of Bearneaugh on the Fri night before your vid. Midgets were still a pain. Seen a inversion, cool as !!!!. Leassion learned the hard way. Midgets terriozzeed me and a fox eat all my food, chewed through my shoulder strap the prick. Stole my bavai bag.And side stepped my boot to knock out one of me poles and ripped out a tie our point from my tarp a few year ago. I fecking love wild camping. Not for everyone. Thanks to the hot chick who give us midget spray on the hike up.
Yea spelling champ 1994. True story the fox was amped up on my M&M s and enjoyed my chicken an black bean, sauahes rolles, Alice's baps and my Rodger Kipling's morlallll busters poor excustue for a tray bake ffs. Keep up the good work awesome channel. I thought u had binned the rad ridge raider. Awsome bit of kit,u can lottery put it any were. But u need a tarp for cooking. U only need to learn 2 knots and a shed load of para cord and u set for life. Keep up the cool vids, u make me laugh me ass off. Your one of the good people I hope to meet in the hills. Feck the beers
Haha I think I’d prefer foxes to midges after this! I’ve heard of several people now being pestered by the foxes up there. Probably does help that some people were feeding them to try and get photos.
Yeah still have the Ridge Raider! It’s my pitch anywhere, ultralight option for running or just when I fancy it.
Hopefully run into you some time!
Yea people feeding foxes explains a lot. Fox that stole me food was down bottom of Ben Crum big water. Buy the foxes reaction when I shouted at him from 20feet away he's been at this for some time, he took another few mouth fulls of food and only when I got within kicking distance did he side step me and head down the valley. I was cooking spicay chicken fillet burger at the spot u were in. Seen a fox drop down to the river about 50m away. I have perfected me angry dog, but gonna stop at the bon bon shop in Newcastle and get meself a cap gun 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Seen a fox at that spot many years ago on the trail he bolted. Meet a man who had all his B&Q meat stolen from his tent. If hungry foxes all wee have to worry about we'll be grand 😹😹😹😹
lesson learnt, don't going camping in the warmer months when there's little wind lol. Did you go out and buy a proper midge net afterwards, or you already had one but didnt bring it?
I bought two!
@@StephenJReid 🪰🪰🪰🪰🪰🪰🪰🪰🪰
Oh hell no. And people wonder why I have a flame thrower. I have used yeast in a two liter bottle, warm water and the top cut and inverted. But, that looks like flame thrower territory.
Haha, flamethrower sounds like a perfect solution for next time!
@@StephenJReid they are actually called pecker knats over here. 😳
@@apocsurvival916 ewwwww
Horrible creatures. I've still bites from last Friday night. Bring on the winter camps 😂
Or bring a flamethrower on summer camps 😂
That is giving me the itch
So much itch
What did the people in the early centuries against this?
Smoke. It’s also possible they weren’t as bad hundreds of years ago due to more trees
Itchy for a few days after that 👀
Yup!
oh no.. this is really bad. 😂😂
Yes! Yes it was!
Abandoned tent!🪰
Yeah the abandoned tent didn’t even look like anyone had used it
I am I itchy watching this 😱
Sorry! 😂
Stop emitting CO2 and you’ll be fine🤣, we get them here in Northumberland too, worst I ever experienced was fishing from a boat in West Scotland.
Haha I’ll just hold my breath the next time I go camping. Or wear a scuba rebreather 😂
In New Zealand we have sand flys, which are also little evil f@#kers that can totally ruin a trip..
Nasty!
Yikes, absolute midgery!
Just the worst!
Now I'm itchy 😖
welcome to the club!
blasting midges with dw40 and a lighter is brillant fun
Next time…
This vid made me dead itchy
I still get itchy thinking about it!
I m scared of my upcoming whw..
At least they didn't steal your front tooth.
Haha! Heading to dentist next week to get fitting for a crown, got a temporary one in currently.
I'm highly entertained, more midgets plz
I’m highly itchy!!
Well get the video cam out 😂 we wana see
and Scotland 🤣
Haha yeah!
My idea of hell right there.
Yup!
Nothing worse than getting to camp and that happens!
They waited until we started to set up to pounce
@@StephenJReid aye. Not surprised whoever was there before you abandoned camp!
@@StephenJReid can I ask... Have you had a surge in subs/views since camping with Messner???
@@GrizzlyGaz I gained about 500-700 subscribers in 24hours after that video. But haven’t seen a huge increase since. Overall my views and monthly growth has been mostly the same for over a year,, slowing down if anything.
At one stage about 1.5years ago I was gaining 1000 subs a month, it’s about 400 now.
I think It’s because I used to focus more on tech, it’ll take a while for things to rebalance. Currently I often loose subscribers when I publish new outdoors videos. Even though they are growing overall.
UA-cam is a hard game and it’s never certain if something will work or not
@@StephenJReid that's interesting. I thought you would have gotten more from your camp with Messner because that's the best intro he's ever done! (The one you filmed)... Your editing style is spot on so I'm sure you'll just keep building the outdoor views. The UA-cam 'experts' keep telling us we need to stick to one thing but it's hard when you enjoy different things. Have you thought of doing another channel just for the tech stuff?
So £8 quid for a bottle of Smidge is a waste of cash?
I’ve had good results with smidge in the past, normally does the job. But seems to not work when they are swarming like this.
I went camping once, first year was nice, second year we got eaten alive by blistering midgies. Find a natural predator, breed them and release them en mass, someone please.
I think bats eat them but there aren't enough trees in our mountain areas for a big bat population
Haha
Thanks for the sympathy 😂
🤣
Uhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmm.........absolutely and utterly NO FREAKIN WAY!! Couldnt have spent 5 minutes there....but glad YOU did!!
Wow....amazingly cringeworthy content!!!
I spent nearly 11 hours there and only 7 of them in my tent 😭😭
@@StephenJReid a better man than I my friend...so do you self harm as a hobby too? Lol....anxiously awaiting your next adventure
Next time bring a flamethrower or 1000 frogs