Biting Midges Now Rival Mosquitoes as Estonia's Summer Scourge
While mosquitoes are scarce this summer in Estonia, tiny biting midges have emerged as a major nuisance, causing itchy welts and proving difficult to repel.
Estonia's summer of 2026 has seen relatively few mosquitoes, but another pest has taken their place: biting midges. According to a report by Maaleht, these insects are so small they are nearly invisible to the naked eye, yet their bites leave swollen, red, and intensely itchy welts.
Entomologist Urmas Tartes explains that these are biting midges, which under magnification resemble tiny black flies. Unlike mosquitoes, they can easily pass through standard mosquito nets and even through most clothing. Midges breed in moist, decaying organic matter such as cut grass, and their presence is not linked to standing water.
Tartes notes that climate change will contribute to the spread and activity of these insects. Currently, warmer and wetter weather increases their numbers, while drought is the only guaranteed condition to reduce them. The lack of rain in spring and early summer has kept mosquito populations low, but horseflies and other biting insects less dependent on rainfall are appearing as usual.
Regarding ticks, which can carry tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and Lyme disease, drier heath forests are areas where they are less common. Vaccinations against TBE are available at pharmacies, but there is no vaccine for Lyme disease. Biting midges belong to the Ceratopogonidae family and are found worldwide except in polar regions.
