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Dear readers,

As the season is in full swing and the summer cruise approaches, the time of the bloodsuckers also begins. It is said that mild winters favour the growth of particularly large numbers of mosquitoes. I have also painfully realised this over the past few days. Especially when you have made yourself comfortable at a nice anchorage close to land in the evening, the midges attack you in swarms. You can fend them off with scented candles, sprays and close-meshed nets.

What I find astonishing, however, is how difficult it sometimes is to plan the attacks of the bloodsuckers. Two years ago, I rigged the boat for a summer trip to Sweden with mosquito nets for the companionway and hatches. Plus sprays and scented candles. That would definitely be important in Sweden, according to the general consensus. On the way there, during an anchor stop off Rügen, the first lines of defence failed with mosquito spray on the skin and scented candles in the cockpit and the retreat below deck behind the mosquito nets remained unavoidable.

At least there was a light breeze blowing from the fore hatch to the companionway. Without nets, with the hatches and bulkhead closed, it would have been unbearably hot below deck. Later that evening, however, Toni the dog had to go ashore again. I sprayed an extra thick layer of anti-mosquito spray on his arms and legs for the short trip ashore in the dinghy. Of course, Toni took his time looking for a good place to do his business on the beach, during which I was easily bitten 20 times.

If all remedies have failed to prevent the sting, measures to treat the itchy puncture sites follow: Pharmacies offer gels for application, as well as electrical devices that use heat to relieve itching. How exactly this works varies according to the manufacturer. One explanation is that the heat destroys certain proteins in the mosquito saliva that are responsible for the itching. Another explanation is that the short, sharp pain caused by the heat overstimulates the nerve, which then, as if anaesthetised, does not transmit the itching as well. What is certain, however, is that the localised burn is quite painful for a short time.

The second explanation therefore seems to me to be correct. But then I asked myself why I actually need the additional device if the same effect can be achieved by a firm kick to the shin? It doesn't necessarily provide relief, but the additional pain makes you forget the itch of the sting. And what should I do about my 20 mosquito bites now? Have my shin kicked 20 times? Better to barricade myself behind mosquito nets or put on long clothes for the shore leave than spend the rest of my holiday limping.

• Guide: How to protect yourself from mosquitoes in summer

Sprays and scented candles are more for a good conscience, to have done everything against the buzzing threat, they didn't really offer me safe protection. And this is becoming increasingly important. Increasingly, the itchy bites are not only unpleasant, they can even be dangerous. This is because some mosquito species that were previously more at home in the tropics, where they were responsible for the transmission of yellow fever, dengue or malaria, are now also found in Germany. One reason for this is climate change and ever-increasing temperatures. Although the risk of infection with tropical diseases from mosquitoes is still negligible at the Baltic Sea, experts agree that it will increase in the coming years. There is still the option of adapting your cruise plan so that mosquito bites are a thing of the past: The bloodsuckers don't like sunlight and therefore only come out to prey in the evening. So if you are at sea at night, they won't reach you. During the day, sailors can sleep off the buzzing pests in the anchorage in complete safety. Night sailing against mosquito bites, a holiday cruise in the dark. Doesn't sound like the best solution either.

Incidentally, my negative mosquito experience off Rügen two years ago was the only one this summer. On the Swedish east coast, the area for which I had originally equipped us with scent lamps, sprays and mosquito nets, mosquitoes were not a problem at all that summer. I don't know whether the protective measures were effective here or whether there were simply no mosquitoes. Perhaps the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern mosquito is simply more resistant. My experience, however, is that only mechanical protection with close-meshed nets reliably keeps bloodsuckers away. Since then, I have also had a large mosquito net at home and sleep undisturbed with the window open and a cool breeze. Almost like being on board.

Michael Rinck

YACHT Editor Test & Technology

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