Ressources
Species dossiers, surveillance primers, and reference material on mosquito-borne disease in Europe. Drawn from ECDC, SpF, ISS, peer-reviewed open-access work, and our own surveillance feeds.
diseases
- 18 Jun 2026
Italy opens 2026 West Nile season: Caserta and Firenze report the first mainland EU cases
ECDC's Week 25 report confirms Italy's first two locally-acquired West Nile cases of 2026, one in Caserta, one in Firenze. They are mainland EU's first cases of the season, and the line they open from is Italy's 779-case, 72-death year in 2025.
- 14 Jun 2026
Europe's 2026 mosquito season has opened, and the first fortnight of June moved the front line north
West Nile virus is now circulating in Berlin's house mosquitoes. Italy logged an early local case near Florence. France's tiger-mosquito response has become a daily municipal beat. Two weeks into June, here is where the 2026 season actually stands, and why the barrier, not the spray, is the layer that holds.
- 21 Apr 2026
Dengue confirmed in Alpes-Maritimes: what the cluster tells us about Aedes albopictus in southern Europe
Three locally-acquired cases, one hospitalisation. Genotype matches the southeast-Asian lineage circulating since 2024. What it means for residents, travellers, and summer policy.
- 10 Apr 2026
Andalucía reports earliest-ever dengue import of the season
A confirmed dengue import in Cordoba province on 8 April sets a new early-season record for mainland Spain. The index case returned from Colombia; entomological investigation finds Aedes albopictus breeding sites within 200 metres.
- 02 Apr 2026
Global picture: Southeast Asia dengue season 2026 runs three weeks ahead of baseline
The 2026 dengue season across Southeast Asia is tracking three weeks ahead of the 2015-2024 baseline, with Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia all reporting record Q1 case counts. The European import implication is significant.
markets
- 31 Jul 2026
Mosquitoes in Germany: the species, West Nile virus, and the real risk in 2026
Germany now has two mosquito stories running at once. A native mosquito already carries West Nile virus in the east of the country, Berlin included, and the invasive Asian tiger mosquito is pushing north and west, from the Rhineland to the capital. This is the plain-language guide to which mosquitoes bite in Germany, where and when, what the disease risk actually is in 2026, and how a household protects itself without fear and without gadgets.
- 24 Jul 2026
Mosquitoes in Spain: the species, the seasons, and the real disease risk (2026)
Yes, Spain has mosquitoes, and they are more than a summer nuisance. The common house mosquito bites across the country from spring to autumn, and the invasive Asian tiger mosquito is now established along most of the Mediterranean coast, the Balearics, and increasingly inland. This is the plain-language guide to which mosquitoes you meet in Spain, where and when they bite, the low but real disease risk, and how to protect a household without fear or gadgets.
prevention
- 11 Jul 2026
The Mosticare mosquito risk explainer: reading ECDC's four risk levels
ECDC now sorts every area in Europe into one of four risk levels for locally-acquired dengue, chikungunya and Zika. The framework is written for public health authorities, but it maps cleanly onto a household question: how much protection do I actually need where I live right now? Here is the honest translation, level by level, with no fear and no gadget upsell.
- 05 Jul 2026
Why mosquito bites itch, how to stop the itch, and when a bite needs a doctor
A mosquito bite itches because your own immune system is reacting to proteins in the insect's saliva, not because of anything the mosquito left behind to hurt you. Here is what actually calms a bite, what the internet gets wrong, how long the itch really lasts, and the specific signs that mean it is time to see someone.
- 03 Jul 2026
How to get rid of mosquitoes, indoors and out: what works, and what only looks like it does
Almost everything sold to kill mosquitoes is either a supplement or theatre. Two things actually reduce them: removing the standing water they breed in, and putting a barrier between the insect and your skin. Here is the honest, evidence-based order of operations, and why the coils, candles, zappers and ultrasonic apps do not belong near the top of it.
- 03 Jul 2026
Skeeter syndrome: when a mosquito bite swells up, why it happens, and when to worry
A mosquito bite that balloons into a hot, red swelling the size of a golf ball looks alarming, especially on a child. It usually is not dangerous. Here is what Skeeter syndrome is, how to tell it from an infection, how to calm it, and the red flags that do warrant a doctor.
- 02 Jul 2026
DEET and Picaridin Work. They Are Still Not a Barrier.
The honest critics of the mosquito aisle keep getting one thing wrong. Skin repellents are effective. The real problem is that they are sold as complete protection when they are a supplement, and that protection ends the moment you forget to reapply. Here is why the base layer belongs at the bed, the window and the door.
- 02 Jul 2026
Do Citronella Candles Actually Work?
The honest answer is a little, at arm's length, in still air. As real outdoor protection, no. Here is what the peer-reviewed evidence says about citronella, coils and repellents, and what actually keeps mosquitoes off you.
- 02 Jul 2026
Plug-in vaporisers and the sealed bedroom
A plug-in mosquito diffuser releases a low dose of insecticide into the air you breathe all night, in a room you have deliberately closed. Convenience is the selling point. The part nobody has cleanly quantified is what repeated overnight exposure adds up to for the way people actually use these devices. Here is the honest picture, and the barrier alternative that goes nowhere near your lungs.
- 02 Jul 2026
Protection or Illusion: How to Tell a Mosquito Net That Works From One That Does Not
A mosquito net is either a barrier or a decoration. Four things you can check for yourself, mesh, durability, certification and correct use, separate the two. And there is one honest limit no net can cross.
- 02 Jul 2026
What Is Actually in a Mosquito Coil
A mosquito coil is a spiral of plant filler and binder dosed with a small amount of pyrethroid insecticide, and you set it alight indoors. The insecticide is not the real problem. The smoke is. Peer-reviewed testing found that burning one coil releases as much fine particulate as burning between 75 and 137 cigarettes, which is why the coil is the clearest actively harmful case in the whole aisle.
- 28 Apr 2026
Screen doors and windows: the simplest mosquito barrier that works
Fine-mesh screens at every opening cut indoor mosquito exposure dramatically. What to look for, where to install, and what gets missed.
- 12 Apr 2026
"We stopped being polite about diffusers.", a Parisian paediatrician on 2025
A practising paediatrician at a Paris hospital describes what she saw in her waiting room during the 2025 mosquito season, and why she now advises families to stop using plug-in insecticide diffusers entirely.
products
- 24 Jul 2026
Mosticare Terrazza TE-UNO: the untreated mosquito-net gazebo for the 4 × 4 m outdoor room
The Terrazza TE-UNO is a free-standing, 4 × 4 m, fully untreated mosquito-net gazebo for the terrace, the balcony and the courtyard. The mesh is 156-count polyester (25 holes per cm²), the shade roof is solid, the standing height is 3.0 to 3.5 m, the weight is 20 kg, the price is 150 EUR. It carries no permethrin, no WHO prequalification, no EU BPR authorisation. The barrier is purely geometric: a mesh fine enough that the tiger mosquito cannot pass through, with nothing on it that you breathe, touch or eat.
- 02 Jul 2026
The Uncertified Net Is the Purest Snake Oil in the Aisle
A generic net sold as a marketplace listing can look like protection and be an open door. The failure is never the price. It is a mesh that may be too coarse for the tiger mosquito, no certification, no durability rating, and sometimes a treatment claim with nothing behind it. The fix is boring and specific: ask for the mesh count, the standard, and the durability rating before you buy.
species
- 24 Jul 2026
Are there tiger mosquitoes in Croatia? Split, the Dalmatian coast, and what the bite really means
Yes. The Asian tiger mosquito has been established along the Croatian coast, Split included, for well over a decade. Here is what the ECDC and Croatian data actually say about where it lives, the short seasonal risk window, how to recognise it, and the cheap barrier-first steps that keep it off you.
- 03 Jul 2026
The Asian tiger mosquito: how to recognise it, what its bite really means, and how to keep it off you
A small black-and-white mosquito that bites in daylight, breeds in a bottle-cap of water and is now settled across much of Europe. Here is how to identify Aedes albopictus, what a tiger mosquito bite does and does not mean, and the four things that actually keep it off you.
- 20 Apr 2026
ECDC raises Aedes albopictus surveillance tier for Lombardia and Emilia-Romagna
West Nile virus detected in mosquito pools across Pavia and Milan provinces. One human seroconversion confirmed in Lombardia, the earliest in the region's recorded surveillance history.