One thing we have been combating living here are all the biting and stinging creatures. Britton has been stung by a few bees and more than a few ants. I have stepped directly into two huge ant piles and did the ants-in-my-pants dance trying to shake them off and run from the pile at the same time as they bit and stung their fire poison into my poor feet.

We kind of expect it when we are outside, but the hardest thing to get used to are all the bugs INSIDE! Between cleaning out the perimeter around the house and Kitty killing them, most of the cockroaches have (thankfully) disappeared. So lately our biggest (little) enemies have been the mosquitoes -they especially love me! When we are working in the yard we make sure to wear strong bug repellents but usually when we come back into the cabana we shower and wash it all off because we don’t like all those chemicals inside the house or on our skin.

Darn mosquito got my leg!

So we were sort of sitting ducks for the smart little suckers- the mosquitos of Puerto Rico- because they were inside as well! In Colorado the mosquitos are pretty big, slow and dumb. You can easily smack them as they fly mid-air or when they land on your body. Here in Puerto Rico we could tell they were different. They are small, nimble and strike most often when your guard is down.

Especially at the ankles. We call them little ankle biters. That’s why I started wearing these mosquito-repelling bracelets/anklets that are infused with plant oils (like lemon eucalyptus or geranoil) that aren’t attractive to mosquitos. From ant attacks to these mosquitoes, my feet and ankles have definitely felt the brunt of the attacks and I may have scars from the scratching that ensues later.

The mosquitoes go after your feet and ankles for a couple of reasons: 1) feet are smellier and sweatier than other areas -very attractive to these little vampires and 2) you don’t notice your feet as much as other parts of your body -until too late.

One less mosquito!

So I did a little research about the mosquitos of Puerto Rico and found that they are a different species than those in Colorado. The main species you have to worry about in Colorado are the Culex variety -those that carry West Nile Virus. Here in Puerto Rico it is the Aedes mosquito, specifically the Aedes Aegypti that carry the viruses of Dengue Fever and Yellow Fever.

They are considered better flyers and found in tropical areas. They also need flooded areas to breed unlike the Colorado varieties that need still water to breed. This also explains why many times in the dry season (winter) when we have been in Puerto Rico, we didn’t see a single mosquito. The Aedes mosquito likes to hide in dark spaces -like under beds, in closets, on the floor of our truck cab and as we have found, even in our kitchen cabinets! They are like the monsters under the bed eating at our ankles when we are sitting on the bed, when climbing into the truck or chewing on us as we sleep!

So we have devised a plan against these blood suckers. Outside we use the stronger repellents including those that contain DEET (ugh). We keep the doors and truck windows shut at all times to keep them from entering and hiding out. If we see that there are some in the house, then we wear our “indoor” plant-based repellents, burn citronella candles and light incense. We also run the fans to make them lose their direction when in flight.

Our inside arsenal against mosquitoes

So far this has been working and it is nice to sleep without the buzzing in our ears that means bites are imminent. We also considered getting a mosquito net over the bed, but I think if we can just keep those doors closed we can decrease the problem greatly. Life in the tropics is ever a learning experience in things big and small.