Why the summer hills bite back

There's a particular kind of joy in a long June evening on the fells — the light going gold, the curlews calling, the whole ridge to yourself. There's also a particular kind of misery in waking the next morning with a dozen midge bites on your ankles and a tick buried behind your knee. Neither has to ruin your summer. A bit of forethought about where you walk, when you walk and what you wear will see off most of the trouble.

Midges and ticks are different beasts with different habits, and it pays to understand both. Midges are weak fliers that hate wind and dry air, so they're a problem of still, humid evenings in sheltered glens and beside lochs and tarns. Ticks are patient ambush predators that climb to the tips of grass and bracken, wait for something warm to brush past, then latch on and feed quietly for days. One you can mostly dodge by choosing your ground; the other you have to check for afterwards.

Pick a breezy route, not a sheltered one

Wind is your single best midge deterrent, and it costs nothing. On a still day, a steady five miles per hour of breeze is enough to keep midges grounded, so plan routes that keep you on exposed ridges, open moorland tops and wind-funnelled valleys rather than deep, tree-lined glens.

• Head high rather than low. A summit plateau with a bit of air moving over it will be far more comfortable than a campsite in the lee of a crag.
• Avoid still water at dusk. Tarns, lochans and slow burns are midge nurseries. If you're wild camping, pitch on higher, drier, more exposed ground — you'll trade a little comfort for a lot of peace.
• Time it well. Midges are worst in the two hours around dawn and dusk, particularly on calm, muggy, overcast days. A midday walk on a bright, breezy day is almost always clear.
• Check the forecast for wind, not just rain. A day of light southerlies on an east-facing escarpment can be lovely; the same day in a sheltered north-facing corrie will be grim.

Cover up, and cover up properly

Exposed skin is an invitation, and the old advice about long sleeves and trousers genuinely works. Lightweight, tightly woven fabrics are best — midges can bite through loose knits, and ticks will happily crawl underneath a baggy cuff.

• Tuck your trousers into your socks when you're crossing bracken, deep heather or long grass. It looks faintly ridiculous and it works.
• Wear light colours. Ticks and midges are easier to spot against pale fabric, and dark clothing absorbs heat, which attracts them.
• Add a head net. It weighs almost nothing, costs little and turns a hellish evening into a tolerable one. Carry it from May to September even if you don't expect to need it.
• Bring thin gloves and a buff. Wrists, neck and ears are the bits people forget, and they're the bits that itch the most.

Repellents, smoke and a bit of cunning

A good repellent applied to skin and, crucially, to clothing edges — cuffs, collars, waistbands and sock tops — makes a real difference. Look for products containing DEET or picaridin for ticks, and remember that permethrin-based treatments for clothing (not skin) are especially effective against ticks and last through several washes.

Reapply after sweating heavily or after a river crossing, and don't forget the back of your neck and your ankles. Beyond chemicals, the old tricks still hold: a smouldering fire or a smoky stove will clear a pitch, and sitting in the open with a breeze on your face beats huddling behind a rock every time. If you're eating outside, keep moving — midges find a stationary target far more easily than a walking one.

Ticks: the bit that actually matters

Midges are irritating; ticks are a health concern. They can carry Lyme disease, and the risk rises the longer a tick stays attached, so a proper check at the end of every walk through rough ground is not optional.

• Check within a few hours. Strip off and look carefully at warm, tucked-away places: armpits, groin, behind the knees, the nape of the neck, inside the belly button and along the hairline.
• Use fine-tipped tweezers or a proper tick tool. Grasp the tick as close to your skin as possible and pull steadily upwards without twisting or squeezing. Don't burn it, don't smother it in Vaseline and don't yank.
• Clean the bite with antiseptic and note the date in your phone. A photograph of the bite is useful if anything develops later.
• Watch for symptoms over the following weeks — a spreading circular rash, flu-like aches, fatigue or joint pain. See a GP promptly and mention the bite, even if you removed the tick cleanly.

Small habits that make a big difference

Shake out your tent, gaiters and rucksack before packing them away, and give your walking trousers a hot wash after a day in bracken. Keep a tick tool in your first aid kit and a head net in your pack all summer — they weigh grams and save days. And if you're walking with a dog, check them too, especially around the ears, eyes and paws; they pick up far more ticks than we do.

None of this needs to make you paranoid. The fells in summer are glorious, and a breezy ridge at midday is about as good as Britain gets. Choose your ground, cover your skin, check yourself over a brew back at the car, and you'll spend your evenings admiring the view rather than scratching at your ankles.