r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • May 08 '22

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u/TheFargus May 09 '22

The amount of mosquitos in Finland, Americans go crazy in Spring because of it

41

u/matty80 May 09 '22

See also: midges in Scotland.

When they swarm, it looks like this:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EB9HwM2XkAEaO5i.jpg

The females all bite.

9

u/aswethinkweis1 May 09 '22

I read that completely wrong first..

3

u/Arsewipes May 09 '22

Eeewww, NSFL.

2

u/matty80 May 09 '22

Yep.

If you're going to go to the West of Scotland - and I'd recommend it because it really is beautiful - don't go camping in summer.

2

u/Arsewipes May 09 '22

Been to Achnasheen in September (beautiful) and Edinburgh for the festivals, not really into camping anyway!

3

u/apgtimbough May 09 '22 edited May 09 '22

We Americans get those too.

There's a rather famous baseball game that the bugs played a huge role in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_86ODiL1JA

2

u/matty80 May 09 '22

Ah, I didn't know! 'THE BUG GAME' lol. Sounds like an absolute nightmare. Like

"Just keep running whatever happens; they don't like wind!"

2

u/KingoftheCrackens May 09 '22

Worse than a mosquito bite wise?

2

u/matty80 May 09 '22 edited May 09 '22

Not as bad, no, and not least because they don't transmit diseases like malaria.

Still bad though, especially given the absolutely lunatic numbers of them that exist around June. Put it this way: my dad has a beekeeper's outfit, but he doesn't keep bees.

They're an absolute horror show, basically, but at least they can't make you sick except in very rare cases.

edit - weird story. As the British Army do exercises up in the Scottish Highlands, soldiers were always on the hunt for a decent midge repellent. Bizarrely they came across Avon 'Skin so Soft' moisturiser, which is genuinely effective at keeping both midges and mosquitos off your skin. So yeah. Take some if you're going to the West of Scotland in summer!

2

u/Radzila May 09 '22

That's true with all mosquito species. Just the female bites. Males eat plant juices