Advice needed on severe mosquito problem at Tuscany holiday rental

[ZanyOpalPoet]

Hello

I would really welcome some friendly guidance please. I’m currently on a family holiday in Tuscany with my husband and two DDs (under 10). It’s a beautiful place with a pool - with 99% of reviews 5*. However, we are being eaten alive by mosquitoes. We have been here about 36 hours and between us have 120+ bites. We have bought local mosquito spray from a pharmacy, have bracelets, itch cream. The place is an old building so no ac. We knew this when we booked it. It’s also been extreme heat weather the last couple of days - topping 40 degrees. The neighbouring buildings have nets at the window but the place we are staying at has nothing. The host is away so there was not an introduction or any hand over welcome. The only protection the host provided was these vape devices (like calpol plugin) which he told us the morning after the first night. He said we need to plug in and buy the refills from the supermarket. Today after squishing two mosquitoes full of blood in a space of minutes after waking up after sleeping for about 2 hours the whole night- I messaged the host. He advised us to go and get a mosquito net from this ‘China store’ as it’s a national holiday here in Italy and everything closes. He only offered to pay when I said I wasn’t happy having to pay to so my family can be protected from mosquitoes. I have complained to the intermediary organisation I booked it through and at first after providing evidence they said they would connect me to an advisor who then contacted the host. The host has advised to put these vape machines on, open the windows to air the house and it should all be ok. We have said tonight we will try but within minutes misquitoes have flown in. We have also sat in darkness the last two nights. The intermediary company have said because the host has offered these vape devices he doesn’t have to honour a refund. I’ve paid a lot nearly £2k for a week as it is a special birthday. I don’t know what to do. If I was in England I would leave and go home but the flights are 1000 euros+ to get back to the UK. I am so upset. Can anyone offer advice please?

@Jk987 But the property nearby has nets. This owner is too tight to provide them even though he is charging £2,k for a week of accommodation.
OP, I feel your pain. I react badly to the bites and get bitten a lot. The plug in vapes can work but you need several in each room and they need to be in all rooms.

Did not work at all for me and painful to use.

Have you got fans? They can’t fly in a breeze. Also deet.

The spray you bought locally clearly isn’t working.

Heating your skin with a hairdryer does this too. It just needs to be for a few seconds until your skin feels really hot. You might have to repeat every few hours.

Hoover them up? We did this as kids after we all woke up absolutely covered in bites.

Sorry, op. The worst holiday I have ever been on for mosquitoes was Tuscany, and I got bitten to death by black ones at night and stripy ones during the day (this was near Cortona). There was literally not a moment without them coming for me, and it was miserable. I would seriously consider moving to a hotel for the last few days.

If you can order an Amazon prime to your accommodation order “cinq sur cinq” - the one in the black bottle. It is a highly effective French mosquito spray. Better than any others I’ve tried with or without deet
you must wear long sleeves and trousers in the evening when they are most active and spray around your wrists ankles and necks anyway. Windows and doors must stay closed at all times so you can sleep safely. Ignore this advice to open them. You will fill the place with mozzies and won’t know they are there and they will continue to maul you at night. I would take heat over mosquito bites any day of the week
I have had holidays ruined by mosquitoes I don’t anymore.

The first time I went to Kefalonia in 2025 I took Incognito repellent spray which is natural (DEET free) & works fine at home.. soo I got bitten. This year I went back to Kefalonia and took Boots Tropical roll on containing DEET which worked very well, no bites. There were mosquito shutters at the windows but a few of the bastards still got in so I wore the roll on in bed too, with success. Obviously if I ran into any of the local feral cats I was careful not to let any DEET roll on transfer from me onto their fur when stroking them.
So next time you go anywhere with mosquitoes that’s the product I can recommend. Forget anything natural sorry.
Hopefully you can find a local place that sells a repellent containing DEET? Is it at all possible to order off Amazon to your villa or am I being daft?
Definitely pay for the mosquito nets.

We spent July in Italy and the mosquitoes were awful. In Florence there was a type that bit during the day and another that came out at night. I wore leggings and a long sleeve T-shirt every evening/night, sprayed deet (although pharmacist said it wasn’t suitable for children), lit citronella candles, used citronella wipes… I think covering up was the only thing that saved me, I was fine after that. We were in our campervan so there was no escape from the outdoors! I found 5pm to midnight the worst time for them.

i saw ton of recommendations for an Avon spray or cream, I can’t remember the name but I’m getting some for next summer!

It doesn't work as an insect repellent on me.

Avon doesn’t work on me either.
Only Jungle Formula works for me.

The Avon stuff is called Skin So Soft and it is a body lotion cream . I found it effective but others don't. As it's just body lotion and not expensive it's worth a try .
As a child used to get bitten . Used to put rubbing alcohol on them to stop the itch . It sounds horrible OP. Can you escape to the seaside for the day , no mosquitoes there.

Citronella has been proven not to work

In our family of 10 it works for 7 of us and does nothing foe the rest. Obviously don't do it so hot it burns or hurts!

This is just like having a tantrum because the rain doesn’t stop. Neither you or the owner have any say over nature.

I get badly bitten by mosquitos wherever I go, I was almost eaten away a couple of weeks ago in Scotland and had a few terrible nights in Brugges in a delightful hotel that happened to be next to a canal and a park (perfect mosquito breeding areas).

I just tried to cover myself the best I could at night, and stay out as much as I could manage. You can’t go abroad and expect other people cater to your expectations against nature.

I too react badly to mosquito bites. Some end up the size of a golf ball, like a clear balloon.

My parents live abroad.
We keep the house shut up all of the time, only opening doors to go out, but shutting them immediately afterwards.
We spray each room every night about 30 minutes before bed.
Outside in the evening we cover up, sadly. I have loose yoga type trousers complete with elastic at the ankles and a top with the same at the wrists.

Hate it!

.

Agree with posters above recommending a repellent containing DEET. Or picaridin, also proven to work. Anything else is not going to work on the mosquitoes in Italy, which are vicious little buggers!

Citronella proven not to work and on top of that, citrus oils applied to skin can heighten sun sensitivity and increase sunburn risk.

Burn mosquito coils if sitting outdoors in the evenings.

Use the plug ins as well as repellent at night, and a net if you can get one. Close windows and doors at night if you can bear it, and have a fan going. Check all corners of the room before you turn off the lights and kill any you see.

Keep plugs over open drains in bathrooms and sinks.

Yes, this is the best way I've ever found to stop the itching. And it's free!

These threads are like mosquito bingo.

Citronella ❌
Skin so Soft ❌
Eat garlic ❌
Take vitamin B ❌
Lemon shower gel ❌

@GrandmasCat I think this in the OP is relevant - The neighbouring buildings have nets at the window but the place we are staying at has nothing.
Yes, there are bound to be mosquitos but it sounds as if this area is especially bad and also as if the landlord is tight fisted and uncaring. If I were OP I'd be adding to the review that neighbouring houses have nets and this one does not.

Take photos of the mosquitoes in the property and the surrounding houses showing nets.

I would query the assertion made by the intermediary company that there is no refund because the owner provided vapes (which are utterly useless against mosquitoes). You've had to buy nets because these were not put in place by the host.

You also get aggressive tiger mosquitoes there that bite all day long. European mosquitoes tend to bit only at dawn and dusk.

I would pack up and move to a hotel in the nearest city to you only after speaking to the intermediary company (is it someone like Airbnb, booking.com?). You need to be distant from any forms of standing water.

We've just got back from South of France - with similar accommodation and mosquitos. However I was amazed at how well the plug in vapes work. Definitely one in each room and keep the windows shut at dusk. We sat outside in the evenings with long trousers etc on and jungle formula. Antihistamines helped a bit as did Antihisan cream.

I’m in Tuscany at the moment and was advised by friends who live here to avoid being outside 5-7pm as the level of insects at that time is particularly bad. I’ve only been bitten once and that was when I was out this morning around 10am walking the dog. BUT…we keep the windows and shutters closed at all times (it keeps it cooler as well as keeping the mozzies out). In the evenings, I wear long trousers when I’m out for dinner etc and my legs have escaped the bites so far.

I was in Norway, Greece and Turkiye last month and the mozzies in all 3 locations were much more savage than the Tuscan ones.