No mosquitos this year
 

Probably not true of the whole of Hungary but we've been here 6 weeks, the whole summer hols and none of us has had a mosquito bite. I haven't even heard that mosquito whine at night when they zero in on you. Yes - we keep windows open at night to stay cool, we try to keep lights off in the evening but you can't hide the flicker of a TV or computer monitor.

Same in your neck of the woods?

Re: No mosquitos this year
 

Here near Hévíz and the Balaton there were enough mosquitos at the beginning of summer - but then the authorities flew everwhere spraying the bacillus turingensi whi kills the larvae, so there were less later.
But evrey window or door that has to stay open has a mosquito screen in our house - that also keeps out the wasps which build their nests in the wood under our roof.
PS: We didn't really use our terrace (where usually mosquitos congregate ...) this summer - first it was too cold and then too hot, over 30 Celsius at 9 in the evening ...
No one of our guests wanted to sit there either - they all came up into our living room to enjoy the A/C at 25 C.

Re: No mosquitos this year
 

All of them were down here in Southern Somogy County and in Baranya County near the border. You could not go outside or have a window open for the things this year.

Re: No mosquitos this year
 

Plenty earlier on in the summer near Eger when we were at our weekend house but maybe not quite as many as previous years

Re: No mosquitos this year
 

I live near Encs around 100 kms from you and this is the first summer in the 11 years I've lived here that I've had more than a couple of mosquito bites.

Re: No mosquitos this year
 

Very interested to hear what's actually used to kill mosquitoes, as in Tiszaujvaros and Macs, near Debrecen, we've been sprayed at low level, by helicopter and biplane. I expected crop dusting but not indiscriminate spraying over a city and village. Shades of DDT! There didn't seem to be any odour or signs of spray in evidence at ground level. It does seem effective regarding mosquitoes, and presumably the bacillus doesn't affect other insects too much, if at all. I've been told that nearer the Tisza, in some areas/ times, the air can appear quite black with mosquitoes if spraying hasn't been done.

Re: No mosquitos this year
 

Re: No mosquitos this year
 

Sorry for the spelling mistakes, here's the wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_thuringiensis
In Germany at least you can buy another variety in small vials where you add a few drops only to the rain water you collect - it's called Neudomück and really efficient

Re: No mosquitos this year
 

Thanks for the link, Wolfi. It seems this is a sort of bacteriological rather than chemical warfare, and the link is fairly eye-watering in complexity! Somewhat OT, I'm always amazed by how (apparently) few pests exist in the NE of Hungary, given the huge field sizes. Back in UK I'm contemplating the use of nematode parasitic worms to combat the army of slugs, which don't seem nearly so prevalent in Hungary...too many ducks?

Re: No mosquitos this year
 

Don't even mention the slugs!
We had so many this year, horrible. They're hiding everywhere, especially in a derelict wall of the old barn. So in early summer every evening I went out with a kind of knife and cut them in half, that helped a bit.
My wife decided to have tomatoes and paprika only in buckets which I put on some kind of wooden pedestals - made it also easier for her to water and harvest...

Re: No mosquitos this year
 

Bacillus thuringiensis is a commonly used organically acceptable bacteriological warfare used against garden pest caterpillars. There is a variety for general caterpillars (called Dipel) and another type (called Novodor) that is used against Colorado Beetle. Novodor doesn't kill the beetles but is very effective against the grubs - and it is the grubs that do the damage. Bees are not harmed by its use.

Re: No mosquitos this year
 

Late to the party but just got back. What mosquitoes that were in the North must have hitched a lift down Zala way. Millions. Been bitten to shreds and only been back a few days. Cutting brush and grass with thick denims on. 2 long shirts. Gloves. Heavy socks and wellingtons. However its still bloody hot down here during the day so after about an hour and a half thats me done for a few hours. Then at it again about 3 ish.

Tried the shorts - t shirt and trainers like I used to do and lasted less that 5 minutes. Must have 30 or more bites and that was from a single session. Dont seem to remember the problem last year but the grass and brush was shorter and under control.

Re: No mosquitos this year
 

GBA, here near Hévíz it's similar now that they've stopped spraying and our grapes are ripe -good food for wasps too ...
So we also go out in the garden for work essentially only in the early morning!
And the heat is really something - it's supposed to get cooler by the end of next week.This must have been the warmest September here ever - we never had a barbecue or party on our terrace like we did in the last years because of the heat!
Went inside with our guests - and switched on the A/C. :lol:

Re: No mosquitos this year
 

Talking of wasps...last Sunday I was outside stirring my alma cefre when a wasp flew up the back of my shorts and stung me 4 times on the backside before I could get my shorts off! On Sunday the stings were painful, then they glowed bright red, then they itched for about 3 days.

Re: No mosquitos this year
 

Paul, be thankful that you're not allergic to wasps - it's quite common.
An anaphylactic shock can be deadly - a friend of mine always hashis special meds with him. Now he's trying an anti-allergic treaatment, but that's very time consuming.