Cyprus is a warm and humid southern country, which means there are enough insects and small rodents on the island. Fortunately, if done right, they won't sneak into your home and bother you.
What insects are found in Cyprus and how dangerous are they?
The good news is that there is only one deadly insect on the island, and it is rarely, rarely found in apartments and houses in Cyprus. It is a widow spider, a small black insect with a characteristic red spot on its back. Of course, it never attacks humans, so its bites can be easily avoided.
All other insects are more numerous, they can bite and sting, but you never get a dangerous disease or even die from it.
Here is a short and basic list of insects:
- mosquitoes are perhaps the most annoying and ubiquitous insects in Cyprus
- flies and midges are no less numerous, they can bite as well
- cockroaches in Cyprus they are large (up to 5-6 cm in length), and a separate species can fly
- ants: several species like to sneak into housing and look for food
- spiders: there are large and hairy, there are small and inconspicuous
- julidae look like worms with legs, they live mainly in rural areas
- scolopendrae are rare guests in houses, but sometimes they can appear
- scorpions are also rare, they prefer to avoid humans.
It should be noted that mosquitoes, midges and cockroaches are mainly found in city apartments. All the rest rarely drop in. But in rural areas they are ubiquitous.
Rodents of Cyprus, unwanted in homes and plots
Rats and mice live both inside and outside the cities. The only salvation from them is to maintain cleanliness in the entire area. If neighbors together declare a fight to harmful rodents, then they disappear from sight for a long time.
A hedgehog can wander into the home in the countryside of Cyprus. On the one hand, it is a useful animal as it hunts small rodents, lizards and even snakes. On the other hand, a forest animal can do small harm as they steal food, bring some kind of infection, and destroy home. So, the opinion of the villagers about hedgehogs is ambiguous.
Finally, in quiet and close to nature villages can appear quiet rodents like squirrels or shrews. They can build a nest in the most inappropriate places! For example, in the insulation of your home.
How to buy or rent a home in Cyprus without pests
The risks of cockroaches or mice can be minimized as early as when you are looking after an apartment or house in Cyprus. It's easier to choose a good place to live, and not to fight the pests for many months.
Here are some guidelines when choosing an apartment:
- Walk around the territory and see if there are uncovered and big trash cans within a half-kilometer radius
- Be sure to walk along the entrances or corridors of the house, check if everything is clean
- If there are cafes and taverns near the house or on the ground floor of the house, then conduct a more thorough inspection, talk with future neighbors
- Don't buy or rent an apartment on the first floors if the thought of insects, snakes or rodents makes you panic
- If you want to rent an apartment in Cyprus, ask the future owners for a mosquito net.
If you need to choose a house in Cyprus, everything is about the same. Inspection of the surrounding area and conversation with neighbors give maximum benefit.
Also recommended:
- Check the house for all kinds of cracks. If there are many of them and they are large, then the risk to meet new friends is very high.
- Do not take a house next to abundant vegetation (a forest or a neglected area in the neighborhood) as a variety of animals and insects settle in the grass and fallen leaves.
If, for some reason, you nevertheless settled in the "risk zone", there are always many ways to resist uninvited "guests".
How to protect your real estate in Cyprus from insects and rodents
Basic rules help you to keep the house tidy and 'fresh' as well as free of unpleasant insects and rodents.
Here's a minimal list:
- Throw away all food waste as often as possible, and before doing so, store it in a tightly closed trash can
- Do not keep food on the table as it can attract pests. Put everything in containers or refrigerators. Loose products are also reasonable to place in tightly closing jars.
- Try cleaning your kitchen and bathroom floors more often with a disinfectant and scented product. You can drip essential oils into the water (fir, lavender, clove, tea, etc.)
- Try not to allow excessive moisture to appear in the home as some insects love this very much, for example, mosquitoes and centipedes.
- Be sure to use a fine mesh mosquito net. It saves from everyone except small midges
- Place plants on the windowsills that insects hate: basil, lemon balm, rosemary, lavender, nasturtium, geranium
- Seal as much as possible any gaps in the baseboards, between windows and walls, walls and ceilings. If pests climb from there and seep even into tiny cracks, then spray the baseboards daily with water with the aforementioned essential oils.
- Regularly clean your sink, bath or shower drains with cleaning products as this is where black cockroaches can come
- If you have your own plot, often mow the grass and rake the fallen leaves. Mice and snakes are found in the grass, and many insects live under the leafy leaves. And these insects can crawl into the house if they suddenly become uncomfortable on the street.
- If you do not grow any vegetables and fruits on your site, feed the birds. They will solve the problem with both rodents and insects.
These are the simplest rules that work very well together.
What if a large insect climbs into the house?
Often, the sight of a huge cockroach (and even flying) or a nasty centipede causes panic, especially in women. This is a natural reaction, but if the pest needs to be destroyed, you have to pull yourself together and do the following:
- cover the enemy with a can, so that it does not run or fly away
- sprinkle insect repellent into the jar and close it tightly
- if you don't want to kill an innocent creature, close the can, take it outside and release the insect.
It often happens that an ordinary remedy simply does not kill a many-legged one. This happens with cockroaches, crawling and flying. They can be killed by a stronger spray, like one from scorpions. But be careful as it's very poisonous! Cover your face and hands when using it.
If insects fall in love with your home...
It happens that a whole brood settles in an apartment or house, and "newcomers" constantly come. In this case, you need to carefully check all the secluded places and find the "nest". Sometimes it is built in a neighbor's house. If so, it is worth blocking the "bridge" between your and neighbor's apartments.
The safest option is to gather the whole family (including pets) and leave for a couple of days, diligently etching all corners or calling pest controllers. But this is not always possible, so you have to fight with a small arsenal:
- Sticky traps: sugar syrup is boiled, something aromatic is added like fruit juice or jam is best. Lids or small jars are filled with sticky contents. You can collect all ants or cockroaches of the house in such a trap.
- Spread almost all surfaces in the house with odorous water: for 1 liter you need 5-7 drops of essential oil. Basil, lavender, wormwood, citrus or coniferous should help.
- Spread an outside part of the house or apartment all the same ways. Particular attention should be paid to windows and doors.
Some insects don't like the vanilla smell. Therefore, you can sprinkle powder around the edges of the floor or lay out bags filled with vanilla.
How to get rid of mice or rats in Cyprus
It is believed that the most reliable remedy for rats and mice is to get a cat. But that doesn't always work. Sometimes the domestic cat is too lazy, and rodents understand this. And if a small killer is rented, then the mice disappear only for the period of the cat's presence in the house.
Therefore, we must act for sure:
- Be sure to find the hole through which the rodent made its way into your house, and close it up
- Set up a humane trap, not sticky or mousetrap. It's not even about cruelty, but about the fact that you then have to remove the remains of rodents, this is unpleasant and dangerous
- Bring some mint and cilantro into your home as mice hate these scents. Bay leaves are also good.
- Buy an ultrasonic repeller, but only high quality, as cheap you bother you as well. And this is a very unpleasant sound.
Hide all food and water in the house for some time. Rodents are not stupid creatures, they quickly understand that they are uncomfortable in this house, and leave your home.
How do you deal with unwanted guests in your house or apartment?
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