Auckland's warm, wet weather and high humidity are unpleasant enough, but add the recent high tides and conditions are just right for another late summer irritant - mosquitoes.
There has been plenty of fresh and brackish water around for mosquitoes to breed in and their numbers have swollen.
"The conditions are right for mosquitoes to bite people." said entomologist Gene Browne.
"There have been a few more complaints than normal, especially in the last week. It's quite a bumper crop of mozzies."
In Auckland there are four or five main species of native mosquito but people would normally see only three. Two are known nasty biters: the common black and white striped variety is active at dusk while the common brown bites at night.
The common brown female is likely to be the mosquito that keeps people awake at night with its whining - and dining.
Mr Browne said people living near the airports at Mangere and Whenuapai or near Auckland's ports should not worry too much about getting bitten by foreign disease-carrying mosquitoes because there was strict surveillance for new species at all ports.
"We have our own systems ... we have weekly monitoring and also weekly control in case we do get something coming into the country," Mr Browne said. "If we do it will get knocked off."
Everything's right for mosquitoes to wine and dine
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