AN anti-midge machine launched yesterday will help control the insect population and could also generate millions of pounds for the Scottish economy.
Tourists have long been dissuaded from visiting the Scottish countryside by huge swarms of the biting summer pests, but a device called the Midgeater promises to banish the scourge of the Highlands.
The (pounds) 1000 machines are powered by propane and use the latest technology to mimic human breath, attracting midges and sucking them into large bags.
Dr Alison Blackwell, of Edinburgh University, a world-renowned scientist in the field, claims the problem will be ''greatly reduced'' by the introduction of the Midgeater.
She said: ''The Midgeater is designed to run continuously throughout the midge season.
''Every midge caught not only reduces the current midge population but also means there are fewer available to breed which should result in a smaller population the following year.''
Research carried out by Dr Blackwell's team discovered that over half the tourists visiting Scotland for the first time are discouraged from returning because of the midges.
Their findings also revealed that 86% of tourists would warn friends against visiting Scotland in the key summer months of July and August.
The unit has been researched and developed by Dr Blackwell and Calor Scotland, together with the Scottish-owned engineering company, Texol, at a cost of about (pounds) 500,000.
Gavin Tomlinson, Calor Scotland communications manager, said: ''More than 14 million tourists trips are made to Scotland each year worth (pounds) 2.5bn. The height of the tourist season of June to August coincides with the height of the midge season. Midges cause sweet itch, a debilitating condition which affects up to 5% of the UK's horses and ponies.
''The midge is a little horror which costs the Scottish economy millions. If visitors stay just one more day, an extra (pounds) 286m is generated for the country's economy, so the launch of this device clearly has major positive implications.''
Dr Blackwell said that the machine would not upset the country's eco-system.
The Midgeater, which is aimed mainly at commercial establishments, runs off a Calor gas supply housed within the device.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article