Do I need mosquito / insect protection in Morocco?

Let me put this in proportion, because it worries some travellers more than it should: Morocco is not a high-risk insect destination. Malaria has been eliminated here — there is no need for antimalarial tablets — and the serious mosquito-borne diseases that dominate tropical travel advice are not a routine concern. So this is overwhelmingly a comfort question, not a health-scare one. You should pack a little protection, but you can relax about it.

Where mosquitoes do show up, it follows water and warmth. In the heat of summer, in the late afternoon and evening, you will meet them around the lush, irrigated places — the palmeries and oases of the south, riverside spots, the coast, hotel gardens with ponds, and green valleys like the Ourika or the Draa. The high, dry desert dunes and the cool mountains are largely mosquito-free, which surprises people; it is the watered, fertile pockets, not the Sahara itself, where you reach for the repellent at dusk.

In practice the standard kit is plenty. Bring a DEET or picaridin repellent for exposed skin in the evenings, pack light long sleeves and trousers for sundown when the bugs are most active, and favour accommodation with window screens, fans or air conditioning — most decent riads and hotels are well set up. If you are staying somewhere rural or by water in summer, a plug-in repellent or a mosquito coil on the terrace makes evenings far more pleasant. Beyond mosquitoes, the only other critters worth a passing thought are the usual flies around food in markets, which is more a hygiene-and-comfort matter.

My honest summary: do not let insects loom large in your planning. There is no malaria, no vaccine drama, and for most trips — especially outside high summer, and in the cities, mountains and dunes — you may barely notice mosquitoes at all. Pack a small repellent, dress sensibly at dusk in warm, green or coastal areas, and that covers it. As always with health matters, check current travel-health advice for Morocco from an official source close to your departure, since situations can change.