# Mosquito magnet!



## Muddy (Jan 14, 2010)

I'm a mosquito magnet in the UK at least and would like to know if there are any particular areas I should avoid if and when I make the move to Spain?

Conversely are there locations that don't have any problems with them? 

I can be out with a group of friends here in the UK mountain biking and I'm almost always get at least one bite and they seem to get little or none!

Now the funny thing is I've never been bitten in Spain, but I was for the most part in the mountains approx 800m up! So I'm assuming higher up means less mosquito's!!
Some friends of mine on their hols haven't seen any the last couple of weeks but they're 2000m up!
I'm not a beach bum, but I'm not a mountain goat either so hopefully I'll not have to climb too high lol:smow:

On a serious note tho I know Tiger Mosquito's can be bad news, read here..
Disease-carrying tiger mosquitoes found in Marseille - The Connexion

So if they can get this far North does this mean they're down in SE Spain! Or is it too dry for them?

Some info on bugs to keep an eye out for...
Dangerous Creepy Crawlies in Spain - caution for children and pets

PS. was 21c here in the UK yesterday and felt like summer lol That's probably a cold day for you guys down in the S East


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

i think mossies are all over really, more so near water. i don't know why but i used to get bitten a lot but this year hardly at all (perhaps after a good nibble on me they told all their friends i tase bad!)

wherever you go my advice is this... go to the farmacia, buy some repellant spray, and some afterbite - keeps them at bay and also of course treats any bites you get. Also, you can buy plug in devices for your home and this spring I invested in a couple (not the air freshner type, these are supposed to send some kind of magic signal through your electric wires to deter wildlife). For me they worked a treat.

Failing that, bring some old net curtains with you and just wrap yourself in them when you go out 

Good luck!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

We live in the mountains in Cadiz province (400m) and we don't get them, though down on the Costa de la Luz around the saltmarshes they are a big problem. They definitely don't like wind - their wings are too weak to fly - and wind is something we have plenty of! And they need stagnant water to breed.

They detect humans by smelling carbon dioxide and perspiration. So don't breathe and don't sweat, and you should be fine ...

"Mosquitoes prefer some people over others. The preferential victim's sweat simply smells better than others because of the proportions of the carbon dioxide, octenol and other compounds that make up body odour. A large part of the mosquito’s sense of smell, or olfactory system, is devoted to sniffing out human targets. Of 72 types of odour receptor on its antennae, at least 27 are tuned to detect chemicals found in perspiration."


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## Muddy (Jan 14, 2010)

Thanx for the replies guys
Prevention is better that a cure, especially if a disease laden Tiger mossie gets you I'm sure.

Even in the forest with no apparent water about they seem to get me, small pools do collect in trees so maybe that's why they are about in there.

Thanx for the info and also knowing that they're not about at even just 400m is helpful so I can extend my search a bit lower down! lol
I didn't see any of the little critters even when it wasn't windy in the mountains but I'm sure being downwind from stagnant water or up wind from mossies they'll get me 
If anyone's seen a Tiger then let me know plz!!?


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## DunWorkin (Sep 2, 2010)

Many years ago I had a severe allergic reaction after a mosquito bite so, of course, I was worried about moving to Spain.

When I told the doctor that bugs seem to bite me more than anyone else. She said this not true. Anyone is equally likely to get bitten. The problem is not the bite but our body's reaction to it. Some people react to the bite some don’t.

Our first couple of years here I had to avoid sitting outside in the evening - we have mosquito blinds on all windows so indoors is not a problem.

I find now (we have been here 6 years) I seem to suffer less and less. I believe we build a resistance to whatever is in the bite.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

DunWorkin said:


> I find now (we have been here 6 years) I seem to suffer less and less. I believe we build a resistance to whatever is in the bite.


I've been here since 1986/7 and I still get bitten horribly!
But not very much this year at all funnily enough, just when in other areas they've had the tiger.


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

I am the type who reacts to a bite very quickly, but happily enough I have rarely been bitten by a mozzie here (8th year) although there is a lot of water in our area lakes etc, but it is though all moving water & as others have said the little ******s only like still water.
They can be found all over the world of course & are a big problem for instance in the Antwerp area of Belgium (friend of mine makes a good living making screens there)
Saw a program about this devils spawn in Alaska of all places where they will eat you alive given the chance !


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Fortunately there is nothing here in Spain half as fearsome as the mighty Scottish midge!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

I am seriously allergic to wasp stings - carried an epipen for years just in case


I barely react to mozzies though 


& like other posters we've barely been bitten this year at all 


so far


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## DesktopCommando (Aug 26, 2010)

Mosi's only like still water or still air (cant fly against flow) so having fan's around and maybe a pool pump to create a flow of current (and clean pool) will help. Also take anti-histimen straight away, this may deter but is better if you do get bit, it will help straight awy 

Althou seen this website for red top fly traps and wasp traps, maybe helpfull

Products


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## Muddy (Jan 14, 2010)

DunWorkin;
Well I would disagree with your Doc, other people do get bitten when we're all out riding the trails in the forest, and some have an equally bad reaction etc but I always get more bites!
Just found this after a search so it would suggest some people are more likely to get a bloodsuckers than others 
Are You a Mosquito Magnet?
Also I react badly most of the time but it should be noted the Tiger can pass on some nasty diseases, maybe not in the UK but in warmer parts of the world!

Pesky Wesky;
Do I remember correctly reading that Spain had more rain this year than usual? If so maybe the rain washed away a lot of the mossies! wishful thinking perhaps..

playamonte;
Picking up what you said about still and moving water etc.
So what about all the reservoirs you see when on the plane! I would think these must be a good spawning ground!

Alcalaina;
"mighty Scottish midge!" That's one reason I don't go biking up North and for that matter Wales, I know they can be bad there also!

xabiachica;
"epipen" I could have done with one of them a couple of weeks ago, got a wasp inside body armer and the pain just kept coming back in waves for hours like a fresh sting each time. It still hurt the next day ((OUCH))

DesktopCommando;
Yeah good advice, I do take a antihistamine and it does help a bit, the odd bite tho still seems bad no matter what I do or take.

A friend just got a little gadget for zapping the bite area! I'm not going to advertise for anyone but you can search for it (zap-it)!
Has anyone used one and do they reduce symptoms of bites?

Also I do remember seeing a news clip on a drugs company working on a pill so mossies will avoid you! Will be worth a fortune if they succeed I'm sure, might be worth keeping an eye out for it if you're a mossie magnet like me 
I wish women were as attracted to me as easily lol :tongue1:


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

playamonte;
Picking up what you said about still and moving water etc.
So what about all the reservoirs you see when on the plane! I would think these must be a good spawning ground!
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

I guess so ?, but I can only talk about the area I live in with an real knowledge


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## Tallulah (Feb 16, 2009)

A friend just got a little gadget for zapping the bite area! I'm not going to advertise for anyone but you can search for it (zap-it)!
Has anyone used one and do they reduce symptoms of bites?

errrrm yeah and from someone who was bitten so badly when I first started coming here and was laid up in bed with ridiculously swollen legs covered in ice packs...no it didn't work. Thought it would be a good idea and gave it a try (gives the bite a little electric shock) but soon reverted to the afterbite creams, cortisone creams and antihistamine tablets. Funnily enough though I've become more immune over the years and although I still get bitten, they're just little bites that if I leave alone just go away, not the golf balls they used to be.


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## Muddy (Jan 14, 2010)

playamonte;
Yeah thanx, it will be different everywhere I'm sure, at least with a bit of research and replies on here I'm more knowledgeable than I was 

Tallulah;
Thanx for the info, I was about to buy one as a friend said it works! I have read you need to click it 5 to 10 times for each bite!!
Glad you're not getting the golf balls any more, I know how painful they can be cos I got 2 bad bites this summer that just kept getting bigger and nothing I put on them helped that much.
I would prefer not to become immune, just avoid the little sods in the first place
This Wiki link shows a map with the Tiger location for 2007 and you can zoom to full screen if you're not too scared 
There is a small mark on the map in Spain further North up the East coast I guess it flew over from Italy!
Asian tiger mosquito - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Asian tiger mosquito


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