The most feared animal in the UK that bite through skin with 'scissor-like mouth pieces'
Scotland is a beautiful place to visit all year round, yet any summer trips might just be ruined by what many consider to be the most feared animal in the United Kingdom, complete with 'scissor-like mouth pieces' that will tear through your skin.
Going on a lengthy walk through the hills and mountains is meant to bring a sense of serenity that only nature can provide, yet heading to the Scottish Highlands during the summer months can often be ruined by one particular animal's presence.
From these descriptions you might be thinking that it's a beast you'd typically associate with danger, like a mountain cat or fearsome bull on the loose, but it's actually something far less unexpected.
Don't be fooled into thinking it's harmless though, as many people have been bitten – both figuratively and literally – by underestimating this beast, as it's earned its title as the UK's most feared animal for a reason.
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What is the UK's most feared animal?
The Scottish midge, sometimes also referred to as the Highland midge, is widely considered by many to be the UK's most fearsome animal despite it's relatively tiny size.
While it might not seem like something you should be all that scared of, especially when each individual one is typically smaller than an ant, they can be horrible to deal with when you're attacked in numbers.
They boast miniature 'scissor-like' teeth that can tear through your skin, and typically hunt in packs of hundreds that can swarm and stick to your body if you're not careful.
Scottish midges only emerge in the Spring and Summer, favoring damp and humid conditions and relatively low light, and they even track you through the CO2 that you expel with your breath.
How do you deal with the Scottish midge?
Unfortunately, one of the reasons why the Scottish midge is so dangerous is the lack of options you have for dealing with the little monsters, as you can either attempt to avoid their most prevalent conditions or try your luck with a repellent spray.
First and foremost you'll want to try and stay within the conditions that midges avoid, so bright sun and dry land, and you can also use midge forecasts like this one from Smidge to see which areas of Scotland have the highest danger levels right now.
Beyond that you'll just have to stay on the lucky side, as you never know when midges will strike. One commenter on Reddit has revealed how quickly they can overwhelm you when an attack starts, and it's not pretty:
"I remember walking near Loch Leven. Hadn't seen a midge all day. Walking back to Kinross to catch the late night coach," they explain. "Suddenly they were everywhere. I ran for 20 minutes straight with my jacked pulled over my head and still wasn't out of the midge cloud. They didn't stop. Hellish experience."
Any encounter with Scottish midges is bound to sound like it's straight out of a horror film, so definitely don't take their threat likely as they're rightfully discussed as a prevalent danger for a reason.