fidobsa

This is my first summer in Hungary. For the last week or so I've had hardly any sleep as I've been too hot in bed. Last night the outside temperature dropped quite a bit but the house seems to retain the heat. When you walk in from outside it's like going into a building with the central heating on maximum. I had looked at property in Bulgaria but I think I would have found it too hot there in summer. I'm wondering if expats who have lived in Hungary for a few years found they eventually got acclimatised to the higher temperatures here?

Pollypaprika

This is my second summer and I doubt I will ever get used to the heat. To be quite honest I am more concerned about the winter

The one advantage of having an adobe house is that it is cool in the summer, it is an absolute joy to walk into our house from the garden when it is really hot. However we have even had a few 'hot' nights. (That sounds fun doesnt it ) !!

Rural Hungary

Hmmm, might be something you can do there as it shouldn't feel like that! Even our style of house is amazingly cool in the summer, walking from outside into the house feels like walking into a fridge:-)

Evenings can be stuffy, I have a fan on through the night - last night I had all the windows open. Air con would be a huge benefit for you.

I don't know if you ever really acclimatise - not in the short term anyhow - you do however learn to do as the locals do and stay indoors or go shopping to an air conditioned shop during the hottest part of the day. The garden and outdoor work is best done before 9am or after 6pm on the hottest days.

fidobsa

Thanks for the replies. I do have windows open in the 2 main bedrooms and leave the bedroom doors open but in my room the shutters are loosely closed so perhaps that restricts the airflow. It might be worth putting up curtains so I could leave the shutters open. I only have the 2 windows open as the other ones in the house don't have insect screens. I'm already a mass of bites from gardening without having mosquitoes in the house. One night I tried to sit out on the verandah for a few minutes to cool down but was attacked almost instantly.
The problem with doing the garden early in the morning is the high humidity, so you sweat as much at 20 c as you would later in the day when it's 30 c. It is still worthwhile though and last summer I was starting work at 6 am sometimes. I miss the longer hours of daylight we got in northern Scotland. There in midsummer it did not get properly dark until midnight, then it was getting light again by 3 am.

OGSG

Windows ALL open early, closed with shutters/ blinds also closed from about 11 otherwise it's the hot air circulating! Windows open during the night. Bed sheet as a cover at night, if only to protect against the odd midge, that's the way we do it!

FenTiger

I always thought if you close the shutters with the windows open/shut it keeps the house cool. Here in the UK we close our curtains to stop the heat getting through the windows. It certainly keeps the house cooler.
As for air circulation maybe you need to experiment which windows enable the air to circulate more freely.
To avoid mosquitoes put a small plate of vanilla sugar next to your bed. If you are outside put on the floor. They don't like it!

Rural Hungary

Yes, I thought the shutters were supposed to be shut completely during the day to minimise the amount of heat entering the house and then they can be opened at night to aid air circulation. That said, your type of house should be cool, assuming you have thick walls, earth insulation and unfelted roof?

The mossies you should become used to in a year or two, they will still bite but you should react less. A spray made with water, eucalyptus, lemon grass and citronella oils should work well and a major deterrent is zinc tablets, take one a day and you will notice a difference.

Pollypaprika

The mossies you should become used to in a year or two, they will still bite but you should react less. A spray made with water, eucalyptus, lemon grass and citronella oils should work well and a major deterrent is zinc tablets, take one a day and you will notice a difference.[/QUOTE]

I made a spray the other day with citronella, lemon grass, lavender, garlic and rosewood...similar to the above which appears to have done the trick! Also apparently the herb lemon balm is an excellent deterrent. I have just planted some...but be careful...once planted it doesnt stop. Didnt know about the zinc tablets, will give that a go

Rural Hungary

I made a spray the other day with citronella, lemon grass, lavender, garlic and rosewood...similar to the above which appears to have done the trick! Also apparently the herb lemon balm is an excellent deterrent. I have just planted some...but be careful...once planted it doesnt stop. Didnt know about the zinc tablets, will give that a go [/QUOTE]

Apparently it's the citronella in particular that they hate. Works just as well - if not better - than the chemical sprays from the chemist and is of course more natural and very refreshing, especially on sticky evenings!
I know a few people now who take Zinc tablets and the mossies tend to stay away, I believe it repels them though it takes a few weeks to build up in your system.

judybaby

Thanks for this post!

This is our first summer here and I am being bitten to death!

My poor right calf has 2 bites on both badly inflamed and red.

I can't believe how badly I'm reacting to the bites either!

I'm getting some Zinc tomorrow for sure!

Rural Hungary

Minimum 60mg per day and it will take a few weeks to build up.
That along with the spray should help and next year your body should react less to them.

Found this site:

so it appears your best bet is lemon eucalyptus oil, zinc(not mentioned on here) and no alcohol

judybaby

Thanks Rural, not sure that the "no alcohol" rule is going to be kept though!

Rural Hungary

No, I think I'll be giving that one a miss myself

Austin Allegro

Our Budapest flat gets very hot in summer. We do have A/C but I try not to use it as it's expensive and I don't think it's very good for one. So I let cool air in at night then close the windows around 11am and put up three of those car-windscreen sunshades at the sunniest windows (you can also buy the material on a roll at Obi's or just make something yourself with tinfoil) then close the curtains and run the fan. I leave one window open a crack just to keep air circulating.

fidobsa

I have kept forgetting until now but I looked for zinc tablets today in the vitamins section of the supermarkets. I didn't find any, do you have to get them in a pharmacy?