Tis the season for our winged friends to wreak their bloody habit again. I was awoken the other morning to the droning hum of the mosquito, searching for some unexposed flesh to feast on.
Mosquitoes are nasty fellows, and I think only the most fuzzy-hearted of animal lovers would try to catch one of them under a glass and set them free out the window rather than aiming a (usually mistimed) slap in their direction. There are plenty of mosquitoes in Malta at this time of year I’m afraid, so how best to deal with them?
I have heard various theories about the little vampires, such as the fact that bodies of still water, black clothing and leather are all attractants. So if you see Edward Scissorhands sunning himself poolside at your hotel, probably best to give him a wide berth. A friend of mine suggested that living in warmer climates “thickens your blood” and thus makes you somehow less appetizing, upon which idea I of course poured scorn. (Although he wasn’t mightily impressed by the black clothes and leather notion either).
As for avoiding getting devoured each night, I usually go for a combination of that lemon spray stuff along with a smoking coil stinking up the room. Not everyone likes waking up in a haze of sour smelling fog however. Nets are of course a good option, and I’ve seen one for sale on Amazon which forms a kind of tent over your bed, although at about €40 it may seem like an expensive option. DEET is the strong stuff, if you feel the lemon juice won’t act as a sufficient deterrent, although I gather it’s not terribly healthy stuff to be slapping on every day.
You can buy anti-mosquito plug-ins and bracelets to avoid this problem, only to be presented by the more glaring problem that they do not work. Some people download anti-mosquito apps onto their phones, which supposedly repel the beasts with high frequency, ultrasonic soundwaves. In truth, you may as well download a picture of a frog and wave it at the mosquitoes – it will have a similar effect.
So best advice: hang a net over your windows, set off a stinky mosquito coil near the door, and don’t fall asleep next to the pool.
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IUm sure they’ll love my pastie white irish skin when I get out there next yr 🙁
🙂
Completely agree with your preferred method for avoiding mosquitos. We’ve just got to Malta, and the first two nights I was bitten 18 times in total. Four bites within 0.5cm of each other. I even got bitten on my ear! (My girlfriend, on the other hand, didn’t get bitten ONCE – I don’t know why they like me so much!) So when we were looking for a flat, an absolute requirement for me was insect blinds, which we have, and I haven’t been bitten since. Magic!
I used to use mosquito coils, although they can be a little smoky in an enclosed environment (not actually unpleasant, bit like joss sticks really, but maybe a little much). Citronella candles are supposed to work, but I’ve not tied them. Good luck!
Shaun
In biology class we were taught that only the male mosquitos buzz, and only the “pregnant” females suck blood – so if you can hear the buzz, you know at least that mosquito isn’t going to suck. (Of course, the purpose of the buzz is to attract females and mate with females, so I’m sure the buzzing is soon followed by potential blood suckers, anyway.)
The only things that have sorked for me are DEET and Avon Skin So Soft. I use SSS daily, and only use DEET a few times a year, when I know I’ll be outside someplace woodsy or grassy at dusk & definitely a target.
Also – marigolds and catnip in the planters on my balcony & window boxes have been great for repelling mosquitos from even coming into my apartment.
Yes, I have heard this too. Clearly far more learned people than me who have spent lifetimes studying the little beasts know more than I do, but when I hear that buzzing around my head at night, I usually wake up bitten!
I used to use Buhach Powder, which was made from pyrethrum daisies, when I was in Alaska and Minnesota. It was discontinued while I was living in DC, but I planted marigolds, catnip, horsemint, and ageratum along the borders of the yard, and the landlord told me it was the first summer he wasn’t eaten alive by mosquitos while mowing the grass. Skin So Soft is the only non-DEET spray that has ever worked for me, but it has to be the original SSS oil spray, not the newer lotions. Spraying bed linens, bed netting, and window screens/sills with tea tree oil or eucalyptus seems to keep mosquitos away at night, as well.
Try burning eucalyptus oil in an oil burner and putting some drops of it on your bed clothes mozzies hate the stuff
Im so over this mosquito’s, and I dont understand how they can even live here? don’t they need fresh water to lay their eggs in ????
read my blog about malta, love Hanna
http://www.maltachef.blogspot.com/