Are midges related to mosquitoes? The reason I ask is that mosquitoes can't fly very high (or so I'm told, though I haven't actually run any tests on this :-) Could be that the answer to V's midge problem is for her and Mr V to get a flat on an upper story of an apartment block and remain there, and at other high altitudes, during the midge season.

Useless Information Warning: I heard recently, might have been this morning actually, that spiders don't like conkers. So anyone who doesn't like spiders but doesn't mind conkers can place some of them around their home - they don't need to be on strings (the conkers that is not the spiders :-)

Cure for sheep ticks on dogs - Moss got one last week on Preseli mountains;

Liberally dowse offending tick with alcohol (whiskey), it was over his eye, enormous creature, wait a couple of minutes for the tick legs to relax and then remove with sharp tweezers. The one on the dog dropped off, drunk presumably, and it was a couple of hours before we found it...yuk. Not sure if they get on humans though.