An invasive species of mosquito has been found in 13 countries in the EU, including France, Spain and Greece, with experts linking their discovery to a rise in dengue fever in Europe.
Climate change is creating favourable conditions for the tiger mosquito to spread, said the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
As far north as Paris, where the Olympic Games will take place at the end of July, authorities have been monitoring and trapping the insect.
The ECDC has warned international travel will further increase the risk of more European outbreaks.
The Asian tiger mosquito, aedes albopictus, which is thought to be the most invasive species of mosquito in the world, is now spreading across Europe from its southern European ‘base camp’.
Man, e got those here in southern California a few years back. They are so awful! They can breed in tiny amounts of water, like what’s in a cupped leaf on the ground. They don’t just bite at dusk, they do it anytime of the day or night. They aren’t great flyers, so they tend to bite your ankles or lower leg if they can. And their bites are horrendous - super itchy, big welts.
Ugh. I’m further north so they’re not here yet, but I swell up like a balloon from black fly bites and no-see-ums. Can’t imagine what’ll it be like with these things.
If/when they get there, the only things that we’ve found that help are fans (because they aren’t strong flyers, you can blow them away) and those mosquito catchers that lure them in with heat, light, and CO2. Actually DEET works well, but we don’t really want to cover ourselves with it everyday.
I DEETed for years tree planting. Mostly stopped since I moved back to the city, but if I have to again, I will.
Oh, the other bad news: they seem good at finding their way into the house, so a lot of the bites we’ve gotten have been inside. Who wants to sit on the couch covered in DEET?
Also, one mosquito will bite multiple times. They really suck (no pun intended).