Here, on our otherwise wonderful island, we have a few small creatures that may upset you, worry you, or even make you scream! But don't fret - you may never see them at all and if you do, here's how to handle them (or just get away from them...) 


These are the horrible reddish-black creatures that inhabit all the little nooks and crannies. Cockroaches live underground in the sewage systems, they appear from grids, sinks, toilets or even cracks in the ground and some can fly. 


They don't bite or sting but they can carry infections. They are probably more scared of you than the other way round! Either try to ignore them or just squash them...


Be warned that like ants, cockroaches are attracted by food, even bread crumbs left on table tops. So to reduce the chance of an encounter in your accommodation, try to ensure that all food is put away in boxes and not left out on surfaces. It also helps if you take your rubbish out on a very regular basis rather than letting it build up in a bag.


These are nasty little creatures, but unfortunately, they just love tourists...

There is no way you can completely avoid them, but there are a few ways of limiting the nuisance. For the night time, you can buy a small electric mozzie deterrent. You simply pop a tablet in it and plug it in. You can also buy a spray from the chemist to use about your person during the daytime or early evening whilst out and about. If (or should we say when) you get bitten you can buy a small pen-like tube which you dab on the bite and will soothe the irritation.


Garlic in your diet also seems to be a deterrent. Each as much of it as possible so it gets into your blood stream and this seems to put the mozzies off. Of course if you're on a romantic holiday you might want to make sure you partner eats it in equal quantities!


The mosquitoes found in the Mediterranean do not carry Malaria so you don't need to have injections before you visit but of course if you scratch to the point of bleeding you could get an infection - so DON'T!

Small White Butterfly

These are similar to the Large White except are smaller in size. They are to be found all throughout Europe up to 2000m. They are common everywhere and can often be seen in great numbers. Their flight period is from mid-March to October and they have from two to four broods.


Their eggs are laid singly on the underside of leaves of the caterpillar's food plant.

The caterpillar's body is green with a fine yellow line running along the back, with short hairs.


The male butterfly has one dark spot on the white forewing, which varies greatly in intensity.




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