Cyprus-Forum.com

[af]

are there any mossies in cyprus?heard there are snakes insted is this true

[Cheshire Cat]

Believe it , Mozzies a plenty

[juliesewell]

There are snakes in Cyprus but you will probably find they will want to get away from you just as much as you won't want to see them..... the mosquitos however, are a completely different matter.

They will seek you out wherever you are!

If you are prone to being chewed by them - you should use a sunscreen with repellent and always use an insect repellent as soon as it goes dusk (I usually apply around 6pm in the summertime).

Wear long sleeved, light coloured clothing in the evening and pay particular attention to feet and ankles when applying mossie repellent, it's a most favoured place for them!

[Cheshire Cat]

I have been bitten by sandflies too on the soles of my feet , itchy as hell and they come up like blood blisters.

[Sotos]

It depends on where you live. I lived almost my whole life in Cyprus and I have never seen a snake here. And there are some mosquitoes but how many it depends on where you live. If you use the aircondition in summers and you don't leave the windows open then you will not be beaten.

[Bill]

It depends on where you live. I lived almost my whole life in Cyprus and I have never seen a snake here. And there are some mosquitoes but how many it depends on where you live. If you use the aircondition in summers and you don't leave the windows open then you will not be beaten.

you must be lucky sotos I've seen plenty ~ in excess of 20 .

Only two poisonous ones though ~ saw a really unusual one last September ~ a worm snake ~ I must be really lucky as they are very shy and rarely seen.

One of the poisonous ones (a viper ) was curled round a grape vine when I was collecting grapes ~ I didn't see it at first until warned by another grape picker ~ nasty little bastard would have got me if I hadn't been warned .

I had a good look under each grapevine before picking the grapes after that to see if there were any more about.

Bill

[GorillaGal]

what exactly is a mossie?

[Niki]

what exactly is a mossie?

Mosquito.

From May the mossies are really bad, last year we were covered in bites. The worst are the 'no-see-ums' which can get through net as they're so small. At least with mossies you can see and hear them.

I have seen one snake on our path, the poisonous type but I live in an area where there are meant to be many.

[GorillaGal]

what exactly is a mossie?

Mosquito.

From May the mossies are really bad, last year we were covered in bites. The worst are the 'no-see-ums' which can get through net as they're so small. At least with mossies you can see and hear them.

I have seen one snake on our path, the poisonous type but I live in an area where there are meant to be many.

ah! mosquitos! you should see the "mossies" in Alaska! because they are in thier larve so long due to the cold weather, they just keep maturing, and by the time they hatch, they are huge! they call them the State Bird there!

[Tim Drayton]

I often go walking in the Cyprus countryside, and sometimes come across snakes - in my experience you just catch a fleeting glimpse of them wriggling away like mad to escape from you. They are more afraid of us than we are of them! Unless you are planning to go out into the open countryside, you are unlikely to encounter a snake.

However, it is worth recognising this one, ther snub-nosed viber, because its venom is very poisonous:

http://www.ruedigerpreiss.com/blunt_nosed_viper.html

I was once told by some elderly, rural Turkish Cypriots that this snake (which they call the "batsalli") is only dangerous if it has some unhatched eggs around, when it will attack to defend these, whereas at other times it will flee from people. There is a certain brief time of year when they lay their eggs, and at that time apparently you have to be on your guard for them. I wonder if anybody can confirm this, and tell me which period this is.

Another thing I was told by the same people was that the large, black snake kills snub-nosed vipers, so that if you see a black snake around you know that there are no "batsallis" in the vicinity. I also wonder if anybody can confirm this.

The area around Limassol seems to be full of these very long, black snakes, which are totally harmless. I am very fond of them, actually.