The mosquito population in Estonia is down by at least 400 after the Baltic state hosted its first-ever mosquito-catching championship.

Thirty-seven participants gathered in a field in the city of Tartu to take part in the unusual competition. The field was divided into three-square-metre segments where participants, either individuals or in teams of up to three, collected as many mosquitoes as possible in ten minutes.

The competition rules did not state whether the collected mosquitoes had to be dead or alive.

The winner in the individual participant category was Rauno Luksepp who caught 38 mosquitoes but accumulated about as many bites in the process.

"My legs and arms hurt and itch since the championship. But I feel good now," Luksepp said.

The idea of the championship came from Finland, where there have been mosquito-catching championships in the past.