Midge Eaters

StarCraft

Hi folks,
I live in an area that can become unbearable with midges at certain times of the year. I have read a bit about 'Midge Eaters' that can attract and trap midges. Do any of you out there have any experience with these? Are they any good? Do you know where to buy them in Ireland? I would need one to cover an area of about 1 acre.
Thanks!

mr chips

Can't remember any brand to recommend it, but they do work.  I've had a couple of week-long holidays in rented cottages in the Scottish Highlands - one at the edge of a village, one by the shore of a big loch.  In the village one, we had to keep all doors & windows closed all the time to prevent hundreds/thousands of midges flying in, especially after dark.  You couldn't hang about outside on a still day or you'd be tormented.  The one by the loch was interesting - the side of the building closer to the road (away from the water) was even worse for midges than the first cottage.  However, the side facing the loch was absolutely fine.  We were able to sit outside for hours at a time, enjoying the view and the sunsets.  Kept an eye out for midges and occasionally saw one.  The difference was there was a midge-eater about 50m away, down by the water's edge.  They work by burning a small amount of gas to emit carbon dioxide, which attracts the little blighters (thinking it's a nice big warm-blooded creature) and then vacuums them into the thing.  I remember looking them up some years ago, but they were hundreds of pounds to buy - dunno if that's still the case or not.

mr chips

PS Looked one up and seems like you'll still have to fork out at least €500 for one - http://www.midge-machines.co.uk/prodList.asp?idCategory=58

dball

OP , we have the the same problem here, my neighbor got on in Ireland a few years ago. - it never did anything but i researched it a lot then and found these:

I never bought one and never got in touch with regard to pricing or delivery but this website seems to offer a variety
http://www.grupposgd.it/data/mosquito.pdf

dball

i think its your breath exhale that attracts them in the first place

Lumen

The leaves of walnut trees are supposed to repel insects, so if you don't mind waiting 15-20 years you could grow yourself a nice place to sit. :-)

Sausage dog

A bat can eat over 1,000 midges a night. Any chance you could encourage some bats to the area?

Lumen

Sausage dog wrote: »

A bat can eat over 1,000 midges a night. Any chance you could encourage some bats to the area?

Lovely idea.

This sort of thing seems to be ideal:

https://www.nhbs.com/1fw-bat-hibernation-box

Up to 180 bats in that!

Lots of DIY vids on YouTube.

carbonceiling

+1 on the bats. We have bats living nearby and every evening after dusk I can see one of them doing laps of the garden. The midges have no chance against that.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Sausage dog wrote: »

A bat can eat over 1,000 midges a night. Any chance you could encourage some bats to the area?

carbonceiling wrote: »

+1 on the bats. We have bats living nearby and every evening after dusk I can see one of them doing laps of the garden. The midges have no chance against that.

Just on Bats. They are notorious for not taking up residence in Bat Boxes for many years after they are installed. Over 60% of Bat boxes are never used, even if there is a healthy population of bats in the area.

StarCraft

Thanks everyone for your input.

Thanks for the links Mr. Chips and dball. I'll definitely be looking more into those.

We do have some bats nearby - I do see them flying about at night - but there mustn't be enough of them to keep the midges at bay...will look into other ways of attracting more...

Lumen...like your idea - I'm a bit too impatient to wait 15-20 years though!!

Thanks again!