Category: Midge Season Update

The 2023 Midge Season, Back With A Bang!

We are a little late with this year’s first blog, mainly because it has been midge and Smidge mad! But here we are with a few updates on the season and things going on at Smidge. As you’ll know, we had the hottest June on record in Scotland (and the UK). This coupled with a …

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A strange season for the Scottish midge…

Hot Summer It all started with an unusually cool Spring that delayed midge emergence by around two weeks, leading to a later-than-usual first generation midge peak in mid June. Eggs from these midges would normally give rise to a second-generation peak 5-6 weeks later but this was significantly suppressed by the hot, dry weather experienced …

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Midge Season 2022 and New Smidge Animation!

Firstly, welcome to our brand new website! We hope this update makes Smidge more informative, the midge forecast clearer and the shop easier to navigate. We will be continuing to update it going forward. 2022 Midge Season In other news… the 2022 midge season is upon us! We’ve not just heard reports of midges appearing …

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End of Season 2021

The midge season is just about over for another year! We are still receiving reports of a small number of midges in areas of the Highlands and Islands but with the weather taking a wintery turn and the summer holiday season being over, it’s time for the Midge Forecast to close for the season and …

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2021 Midge Season Update

With the 2021 midge season fast approaching and lockdown easing around Scotland and the rest of the UK, we thought we’d put out a short blog on what you might expect from the early midge season. The first real emergence of midges is (as always) expected in May, with a first generation peak in June. …

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Midge Season Update – May 2020

The 2020 midge season is well under way and the midge forecast is live! We are receiving lots of reports of midges being out in high numbers across the whole of Scotland. This, combined with the weather conditions, leads us to believe we are likely 1 or 2 weeks into the first-generation peak! Which means …

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The season ahead…

The COVID-19 outbreak is going to have a serious impact on tourism, but it certainly won’t stop the dreaded midge from appearing! The 2020 midge season is fast approaching. We would expect to see the first batch of midges around May peaking in June. However, we have had a very wet and stormy couple of …

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End of Season Update 2019

You’ll be glad to know that it’s nearing the end of the midge season! Numbers are starting to decline around the country, with fewer and fewer reports coming into us of midge activity. This means that the Midge Forecast is soon to shut down for the season. It’s at this stage that females will start …

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Midge Season 2019

The relatively mild winter and warm spring has seen the first midges appearing a good week earlier than we would normally expect, with “bitings” recorded from Lochgilphead all the way up to Wick.   The Scottish Midge Forecast has been relaunched this week, using algorithms based on our knowledge of midge population biology, weather-forecast data …

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