Beating the bugs

As we reach the height of summer, you may notice a few extra guests turning up to your barbecue party!

Tiny as they are are, midges flies and wasps can be a real pest when you are barbecuing - and now is the time to fight back! Below we profile some of the products you can use to beat the bugs, and we Midgeater look at some more natural steps you can take to keep them at bay...

The Midgeater

The Midgeater is a thorough and efficient way of ridding your garden of pesky midges. Midges are attracted to humans by the carbon dioxide we breathe out - and the midgeater ingeniously mimics this, giving off a scented bait to lure them close.

When the midges are close enough, they are sucked in and held in a disposable bag - meaning you no longer have to swipe them away from your face as you chat to your guests!

The Midgeater now comes in various forms, with models to suit domestic properties as well as pubs, bars and outdoor restaurants. For commercial enterprises, the Midgeater Max is very popular, while its smaller brother the Midg-It is a lighter, more portable machine ideal for smaller gardens and outdoor spaces.

For more details on the Midgeater range, visit the official Midgeater website

Citronella lamp

A somewhat different approach to the Midgeater - the Kemper Citronella lamp is a more understated attempt at keeping midges and flies at bay.

In fact, whether you have midges in your garden or not, the lamp finds use as a decorative terracotta centre-piece for your alfresco dining table. Of course, the flickering candlelight also makes for some atmospheric illumination as the sun goes down on you and your guests.

It works by burning citronella oil from a cartridge held inside the base of the lamp. The citronella scent isn't at all attractive to gnats and midges, ensuring they keep a safe distance, but it still smells perfectly pleasant to human senses!

It is probably one of the most attractive insect repellents around, and can easily be topped up with a new citronella cartridge when the current one runs out. The lamp costs just £25 from the Calor BBQ Shop, with the replacement cartridges £5 each. Each cartridge runs for up to ten hours.

Natural steps you can take

The above products are fantastic ways of keeping midges and insects at bay. If, however, you prefer to fight the fight yourself, here are a few practical (and some not so practical!) tips to help you...

Insects are attracted to strongly scented personal care products - so if you are wearing aftershave or perfumes you may be a prime target.
You may also notice that bright clothing attracts the insects. Try toning down your colour scheme if you don't wish to be the centre of gnat attraction - wasps are particularly fond of the colour yellow.
Crazy as it sounds, you may want to try avoiding bananas before you go out to a barbecue party! Some pests will be attracted to the nectar through your skin!
Scented oils like lavender, lemon and peppermint, as well as citronella, help to keep insects away from you.
There's another smell the insects aren't fond of - garlic. A near sure-fire way to keep the midges away is to cook and eat plenty of the stuff at your barbecue.