As Seen Abroad: Mosquitos in Italy

We’re on vacation! For the first time since we started this blog, we’re traveling abroad. As we journey across Asia, Europe, and America, we’ll update with some of the fun places we visit. Yay! This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please read our affiliate disclosure.

Today, Eriko explains something we wish we’d known before we went on our trip.

Hello! This is Eriko!

Today I want to share the most important tip I learned in Italy: how to say good-bye to itchy bug bites!

Italy: awesome!!

We visited many places in Italy in September: Rome, Naples, Florence, Pisa, Venice, and more! First was Rome!

Rome had very nice weather and some places were still very hot in September. You can wear T-shirts and shorts, and lots of men wear linen shirts. Women expose a lot of skin! It’s a good idea to have sunglasses and a hat - of course I had these because I am Fashion Girl!

But the most important thing to prepare for is BUGS.

Vicious Italian insects

Actual photo of an Italian mosquito.

Before our long trip, we researched many things: weather, public transportation, food, attractions, different neighborhoods, tipping etiquette, etc.

But one thing we didn’t think about was the bugs! This is maybe because we didn’t expect the weather to be as nice as it was, but it wasn’t something we’d considered.

We walked around so many amazing places in Rome (we’ll write about it some other time), and mostly avoided sunburns, but the one problem was the mosquitoes.

Usually I don’t have so many bug bites in summer in Japan. Maybe I don't go to places where mosquitoes live like mountains or water places so often. And I guess my blood is not tasty for bugs!

Italy was completely different from where we live. I found many bug bites on my legs every day, and they were soooo itchy!

And I got more and more every day. When we left Rome, I could hardly stand it. Super itchy!!

Napoli: oishii yo!

After we got to Naples (So fun! So many doggies! So much delicious food!), we had to find a pharmacy. It wasn’t difficult to find one in Vomero - this is a great neighborhood at the top of the hill that is quiet and has many places to get coffee and pastries, and lots of dogs everywhere, even inside the restaurants!

I couldn’t speak Italian, but I did my best to find bug spray and bug bite medicine. When I brought them up to the register, the woman recommended different bug bite medicine. She explained it had the same ingredients as the other kind, but you get a larger quantity. I don’t know for sure that she said that, but I feel that’s what she was saying.

So we finally bought the bug bite medicine she recommended and some bug spray.

Look!

Autan Defense+ Tropical

I bought this Autan Defense Tropical Insettorepellente spray and SANO STICK Roll-on Dopo Puntura.

Autan is like most bug sprays: you spray it all over your exposed skin before you leave the house, and the mosquitoes leave you alone!

I sprayed every time we left the hotel. After buying this, I didn’t get a single bug bite!

Gregg got bug bites instead of me until he started using the bug spray. Bugs avoided me but they might have found the handsome guy who is next to me and has delicious blood. Hee hee!

The Italian mosquitoes left really big bug bites that were REEEEEAALLLY ITCHY. Gregg’s were so itchy that when he would scratch, it would bleed, and they didn’t go away quickly. That’s why we were glad to have the other medicine.

Sano Stick: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

SANO STICK is a roll-on type, and it worked really, really well. There was a big sting when we first put it on the worst bug bites on our ankles, but it was so soothing and took away the itching. Without both of these medicines, we would have spent our whole time in Europe scratching!

I don’t know if Japanese bug bite medicine and bug spray would work for Italian bugs as well. But I know the Italian stuff worked very well!

In fact, I saw many people who looked like travelers like us who had many bug bites on their legs. I thought they are the same as me and have the same itchy problem.

I highly recommend this bug bite medicine and bug spray. If you have some trouble like me, you can go to a pharmacy, and hopefully there will be a lady like the one who helped me!

Let’s find bug bite stuff in the countries you are visiting!