The Midge Menace
Anyone who has visited, lived in, or worked in a midge-infested area realises just what a pain the tiny insect can be.
The biting midge really punches above its weight. Anyone who has visited, lived in, or worked in a midge-infested area realises just what a menace midges can be.
Because it is found in such dense populations - it is estimated that in some parts of Scotland, one single hectare of land can host up to 50 million biting midges. This means the equivalent of ten midges for every man, woman and child in the whole country. The midge really punches above its weight.
midgeater max beats the midgesThe biggest problem is that in areas such as the Scottish Highlands the midge season coincides with the tourist season.
Throughout the summer the Scottish economy suffers because of the midge. Tourism is vital, worth around £2.5 billion per annum to the country, yet a survey carried out by a team led by Edinburgh University's Dr Alison Blackwell indicated that the majority of tourists visiting Scotland for the first time, during the height of the midge season, are discouraged from returning to the country at that particular time of year. Furthermore the study suggested that 86% would warn their friends not to visit Scotland during the key summer months of July and August.**1
It is estimated that each day of the tourist season is worth £286 million to the Scottish economy, so it is clear that the midge menace costs the country millions every year.
But it is not just tourism that suffers. Midges cause sweet-itch, a debilitating and incurable condition which affects up to one in twenty of the UK's horses and ponies, and that up to one fifth of all forestry working days in Scotland are lost to midge attacks.**2
The midge has been biting people in Scotland for some 8000 years, it causes leisure activities to be abandoned and can even make selling property difficult.**3
The biting midge really punches above its weight. Anyone who has visited, lived in, or worked in a midge-infested area realises just what a menace midges can be.
**1 Dr Blackwell's team surveyed tourists in campsites, bed and breakfast accommodation and youth hostels, during the height of the midge season. The research indicated that two-thirds of visitors felt that midges had put them off returning to Scotland at that time of year and that 86% would advise friends not to visit the country during the midge season.
**2 Midges in Scotland: George Hendry.
**3 One leading firm of surveyors is believed to advise clients not to put their property on the market during the midge season, Midges in Scotland: George Hendry.
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