March 20, 2025, 12:38 p.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
Orbetello is a popular holiday resort in Tuscany and is known for its special location on a headland that connects it to the Monte Argentario peninsula. But the idyll of the pretty lagoon city is currently being overshadowed - and you could almost mean that literally: millions of mosquitoes have been making life difficult for the residents for weeks. The desperation is so great that a call for help has already been launched via an online petition.
“Let’s save the lagoon of Orbetello” – this is the desperate call of the online petition that a resident of the Tuscan holiday resort has launched on change.org. More than 18,300 votes have already been cast (as of March 20), which is more than the population of Orbetello.
“We can’t live our normal lives”
Mayor announces help
Not the first mosquito plague in Orbetello
The reason for the call for help is a mosquito plague of extreme proportions, which is having devastating effects on the locals of Orbetello. Specifically, it's about so-called chironomids, which buzz through the lagoon in droves and invade houses. "This is some of the mosquitoes that I collected in front of the patio door. Not to mention what's sitting on the walls," writes a resident in an angry post on Facebook.
“We can’t live our normal lives”
The effects of the mosquito plague in Orbetello seem dramatic: “We cannot lead our normal lives,” writes Alessio Segoni, the initiator of the petition, on change.org. And further: "We can't go for a walk in the fresh air. We can't open our windows. We are isolated in the house like in the times of Covid. Our children go to school (...) and breathe in air full of mosquitoes."
In addition to the inconvenience caused by the insects, Segoni points out another problem: "When the dead mosquitoes are eaten by spiders, there is also the phenomenon that the spiders become abnormal."
Addressing the Region, Segoni writes: "This infestation is not a simple nuisance, but the result of ineffective management of the lagoon. We demand that a state of emergency be declared and that the Region and all the institutions involved (including the Ministry of the Environment) intervene with emergency measures to immediately eliminate the mosquito infestation in the Orbetello Lagoon."
Tourism collapsesSevere mosquito plague in popular holiday region in Italy
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Mayor announces help
Meanwhile, the mayor of Orbetello has announced extensive measures on Facebook to eliminate the mosquito plague. The municipality will provide an “unprecedented sum” of 300,000 euros and set up a permanent discussion table. In addition, insect larvae in the lagoon have been combated with appropriate means for several days, the community announced on Platform X.
Not the first mosquito plague in Orbetello
By the way, this is not the first mosquito plague in Orbetello. In August 2022, in the middle of the high season, the small resort also faced an extreme invasion of mosquitoes (Sunnytrips reported). At least: The insects, like the current plague, were not mosquitoes. However, according to Il Messaggero, their hairy antennae can cause allergic reactions when they come into contact with the skin.
The exact reasons for the mosquito invasion are not known. According to “Il Messaggero”, one factor could be the increasing heat waves in recent years. This is believed to have caused a deterioration in the local ecosystem. Above all, the excessive enrichment of the water with nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrates has led to the decline of natural enemies such as fish and amphibians. Since they normally feed on the larvae of the insects, the plague was able to spread unhindered.
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