How bad are the mosquitoes and other bugs and insects in Algarve?

The mosquitoes and other insects are not that bad here in Algarve. We are not Florida and we are not Central America. Anyone who is accustomed to living in those places would find Algarve to be a welcomed relief. We clearly do get some flies and mosquitoes in the summer but they are not at the epidemic level. Some houses here have pools so sometimes mosquitoes breed in the water and we have to swat them away but it’s not a big deal. People here often get wax candles that have a...

The mosquitoes and other insects are not that bad here in Algarve. We are not Florida and we are not Central America. Anyone who is accustomed to living in those places would find Algarve to be a welcomed relief. We clearly do get some flies and mosquitoes in the summer but they are not at the epidemic level. Some houses here have pools so sometimes mosquitoes breed in the water and we have to swat them away but it’s not a big deal. People here often get wax candles that have a scent that repels mosquitoes. These candles are easily available at the department stores or hardware stores and cost between €1 (US $1.10 or £ 0.75) and €5 ($5.50 or £ 3.69) depending on the size of the content. It’s a very efficient way of getting rid of mosquitoes. 

 

Inside houses, you can also have electric, plug-in mosquito repellant units, but overall, there is no need to use mosquito repellant all the time here in the Algarve. To date, there has not been any outbreaks of any kind of diseases which are brought about by mosquitoes, such as malaria or dengue.

 

(Medieval castle,  Castelo de Alcoutim on the San Marcos River, Algarve, Portugal, pictured. )