Following a spring with both wet and warm weather, many insects are expected this summer.
"Due to the high temperatures early in the year like in southern Europe, there is an outbreak of mosquitoes and ticks," said insect expert Peter Berx and professor of entomology Frédéric Francis (University of Liège) in De Morgen.
"Temperatures above 25°C cause shorter development cycles in the mosquito, leading to large spikes. We are also seeing larger populations of ticks."
Many Belgians are anticipating the worst, and a quarter of Belgians expect more disturbances from insects compared to last year, according to an annual survey by Vapona & Zensect.
Avoiding destinations with insects
Of the 1,000 respondent who took part in the survey, 45% of those going on holiday fear that insects will be a nuisance as their holiday destination.
The survey shows the insects most annoying to people are mosquitos (76 percent), flies (72 percent) and ants (56 percent). Ticks (38 percent), wasps (37 percent) and spiders (29 percent) are also an annoyance for people.
Four out of ten Belgians take the potential presence of insects into account when choosing a holiday destination. Half say they would never opt for a holiday if dangerous insects are at their destination.
In addition, increasing amounts of people are buying insect protection products. 62%oack it in their luggage, 29% bring protective clothing and 14% take an electric sprayer with them.
