The heavy rain and  high temperatures have created a mosquito plague in the Netherlands, broadcaster NOS said on Tuesday.

‘People all over the country want to know how to get rid of the mosquitoes,’ Wageningen University professor Willem Takken told the broadcaster. ‘It was very wet at the beginning of July and after that really warm. Those are great conditions for mosquito larvae.’

Mosquitoes are particularly keen on laying their eggs in buckets of rain water or in the guttering on houses. ‘They make great breeding grounds,’ Takken said.

Entomologist Bart Knols recommends people check their gardens for small sources of water like buckets and empty them. The best prevention against bites is a mosquito net rather than lotions and creams, Knol said.

Nevertheless, sales of anti-mosquito lotions has soared in recent days, a spokeswoman for high street chemists Kruidvat, DA and Trekpleister told the broadcaster. ‘We are selling twice as many bottles as two or three years ago,’ Jose Mes said.