You will have heard the rumours about mosquitos in Mallorca, but how true are they? If you are planning a holiday to Mallorca and want to find out more about the mosquito problem on the island, then this article will give you all the honest information you will not find in any other travel guide.

Plus I’ll let you know how to best prepare when mosquitos attack and which times of the year are the worst in Mallorca for these little pests.

You will see on the YouTube video that will soon play on this page that I was bitten a total of 32 times in minutes by swarms of mosquitos in Cala Sant Vincent at the end of October 2022.

The bites started to appear within 24 hours on my legs, arms, hands and neck.

In fact, this wasn’t the worst case of mosquito attacks in Mallorca.

Dave Roughly who runs the Alcudia Summer Fun Facebook group commented following a holiday to Mallorca this October,

“We were in Alcudia in early October. My partner had to visit the doctor at the PAC (medical centre) in the old town due to the ammount of bites. 3 days into our holiday and she had 160 bites.

“I had quite a few and our daughter had over 60 bites in 20 minutess waiting for the coach to the airport. In almost 30 years of visiting Alcudia, I have never known it to be so bad.”

There are more comments from holidaymakers below.

So if you’re thinking of visiting Mallorca for a winter break, or you are looking to book a Summer break for the season ahead, then find out what you need to know about the current mosquito situation here in Mallorca.

How bad are the mosquitos in Mallorca

Firstly have to say in the 17 plus years I have been living in Mallorca, I have not known a mosquito problem quite like the one we are experiencing in Autumn 2022.

And it is so unusual to be bitten excessively at this time of year.

As we approach winter, the mosquitos tend to die off which always brings relief to the hot summer months.

However, as we entered Autumn, a combination of showery weather, a return of excessive heat, and reports that the Council hadn’t treated the mosquito breeding grounds since the global pandemic seem to have led to a full-on onslaught of mosquito attacks throughout the island.

Is this normal? In memory, no it’s not. I can’t remember a time when the mosquitos have ever been this bad. But it’s time the Balearic Government did something about it.

Which resorts get the most mosquitos?

From comments on the Mallorca Under the Sun Youtube channel and Facebook group, Alcudia, Puerto Pollena and my own experience in Cala Sant Vincent seem to have overwhelmingly the biggest problems with mosquitos.

This is mainly because of the s’Albufera Nature reserve, and its wetlands and marsh area, which are breeding grounds for mosquitos.

My experience of visiting Cala Pi and Cala Sant Vincent recently led to being excessively bitten too.

However, mosquitos are not limited to these areas and I have heard reports from all over the island.

What is worse is that we are being bitten in the daytime which is extremely unusual.

The mosquitos are more likely to come out at dusk or dawn.

But what makes this different is that the mosquitos are biting during the day, which was almost unheard of before.

So any shaded area of the beach, under trees or near the beach showers, and people are getting bitten.

What did visitors say about mosquitos in Mallorca?

I have received many comments on the Youtube channel and Facebook group from holidaymakers’ experiences of mosquitos in Mallorca this Summer and this is what they said:

A Facebook Group member said, “

My husband had 42 bites on his legs, hands, and his head during the summer in Puerto Pollensa and went through hell with them. They actually spoilt our long-awaited holiday.”

A viewer was staying in Cala Egos. She said, “Just spent 6 days in Cala Egos. Had a fabulous time but am covered in bites. Still worth it though, gotta fabulous tan….even if it’s a bit lumpy!”

Another lovely Youtube subscriber who recently stayed in Puerto Pollensa commented,

“…got eaten alive two weeks ago ….. about 30 bites on me too at least, I’m still scratching. I think it happened while I was eating in the evening time. They even bit me through my leggings! Still on antihistamines. Will definitely be bringing repellent next time .”

Another comment received, “Had lots of mosquitos at the Pollensa finca especially in shade and on cloudy days. None on Alcudia beach (enough wind).”

One visitor almost received as many bites as I did, “I was in Cala Millor and got bitten 26 times, you exceeded that, nasty little things, still loved the holiday though.”

And finally, Dave Roughly whose I mentioned at the beginning of the article, whose partner was bitten 160 times, said, “You know how much I love Alcudia but this has made us think twice about returning.”

From these comments, it’s fair to say that the government needs to do something to control the situation or possibly put at risk the tourist season for Summer 2023.

When is mosquito season in Mallorca?

It is possible to get bitten at any time of year. But it’s more likely to get bitten as soon as the weather begins to warm up a little. So I would say the season starts in March. However, the mosquitos are more noticeable from June onwards, just as visitors start arriving for their Summer holidays.

This Summer in 2022, we have experienced not only a longer Summer season in terms of warmer temperatures, and some early October rain, but also an extended mosquito season.

So this year, we are still seeing mosquitos bite, even in November. It is likely that because of the very warm Autumn in 2022, the mosquito season will be extended into December, and it will take some cold and adverse weather to give us some respite from these pests before they make their re-appearance again in March (if they go away at all!).

How can I avoid being bitten by mosquitos in Mallorca?

One of my lovely subscribers commented, “I eat tons of garlic and never get bitten…….it really really works, all jokes aside, mosquitos hate garlic.”

I just have to point out here that I love garlic and they still got me!

It could be down to blood type too, but there was no stopping the attacks I had from these mosquitos.

The lovely Amanda, an Admin on the Mallorca Under the Sun Facebook Group is also a health mentor. She says, “Our Naturopath recommends our multivitamin for mossie bites prevention. It has a high level of B vitamins and should be taken at least one month before travel.”

She has very kindly set up an offer which you can take advantage of here. PLUS New customers get £10/€10/$10 off their first order. You can find this offer here.

On the day I visited Cala Sant Vincent, I wasn’t wearing insect repellent because I wasn’t expecting to get bitten in the middle of the day.

So I would recommend buying the strongest insect repellant you can find and also something to soothe bites because even with repellant, they will find an area of skin that hasn’t been covered.

I have set up an Amazon Shop here which not only has a great selection of holiday essentials for your break, but also some effective mosquito repellant.

I have always used Bloom because if is also child friendly. If you are in Mallorca, you can also buy this in Euroski supermarkets, available in an orange bottle.

However, many holidaymakers swear by Jungle Formula which is for children over 12 only and adults because it contains 50% Deet.

But it is effective and you can see it has 5.5-star reviews on Amazon.

So what other measures can you take?

I would recommend where possible wearing a long sleeve shirt or trousers when going out in the evening.

If you have already been bitten badly, it isn’t pleasant to have clothes sitting on bitten skin. But this will go some way to avoid the mosquitos biting in the first place.

How can I treat mosquito bites on holiday in Mallorca

Make sure you bring some good After-Bite, because inevitably if you are staying in an area where there are many mosquitos, then they will find an area to bite that is not covered by repellant.

My go-to bite relief is this electronic clicker. It delivers a tiny electric shock to the bite which stops the itching.

This does have limited use and you can only use this on certain parts of your body (where there is no vein).

Kids also will not want to use this! So I would recommend, getting some AfterBite here.

This I find is temporarily effective, so if you do get many bites, then I would recommend going to the Farmacia (pharmacy) and asking for antihistamine tablets.

This can cause drowsiness, so I would only recommend taking these at night so you will at least get a good night’s sleep.

If you are hiking and out in nature then one of the best remedies to relieve itching is finding an aloe vera plant which grows all over Mallorca. Break a piece of the plant and use the sap to soothe bites.

This is great for sunburn too!

Two other radical mosquito bite treatments and come recommended by the Mallorca Under the Sun Facebook group. The first being, “If you are bitten and they itch use a HOT hair dryer on them as near to the skin as you can bear and the itch will disappear- do it a couple of times – don’t believe me? Try it! It really works!”

And the second, if you can bear it, “I put a hot teaspoon on the bite & that stops the itching.” I tried this method and it really does work.

Disclaimer: Please only use this at your own risk because you could get burnt! And don’t use it on children.

How to get medical treatment for mosquito bites in Mallorca

As you can see from the comment in the introduction to this article, I have heard reports of some tourists having to see a doctor after getting bitten by mosquitos.

This is because the bites have been infected and antibiotics are needed to treat the infection.

So please make sure you do take out travel insurance which will mean that you will be able to claim back most of the cost of your medical visit.

Bring your EHIC or GHIC card too which can be used in public hospitals.

If you need to see a doctor then speak to your hotel receptionist who can help advise where your nearest medical centre is.

Make sure the medical centre fits the type of insurance or health card you have too.

So let me know what your experience is of being bitten by mosquitos in the comments below.

And share this article too. If there is enough awareness about the issue, hopefully, the Government can do something about this before the 2023 holiday season starts.

If you want to read about another issue we had in Mallorca this Summer, check out this article here.