Living with Critters

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Photo by Erik Karits

Insects and other creepy-crawly creations play an important role in the world's ecosystem. Some of them are also pretty cool-looking. However, I prefer to appreciate them from a distance. My time in Haiti has brought me up close and personal with more beasts (as my husband calls them) than I care to mention. But I will mention them. Because I don't have other ideas for a blog post at the moment.

The Mosquitoes

I haven't seen too many mosquitoes, but I know they're around because I keep getting bitten. My husband took me to the local grocery store so I could pick up some repellent. The only types they had contain DEET. In theory, DEET is safe for humans to use, but guess what? It turns my skin red. Therefore, I either have to put up with a rash or let the mosquitoes feast. (I know there are natural alternatives to repellent, but I don't think we'll be able to find them here.)

They bite my husband less than they bite me. Maybe it's genetics. Maybe it's the fact that I'm a bigger girl, and mosquitoes tend to be attracted to greater sources of carbon monoxide. Or maybe it's a wrong-place wrong-time type of thing. I don't know what it is, but I know that I'm constantly itching. I'm even itching in places where I don't have bites because I imagine that I have bites.

The Monster

A few mornings ago, my husband and I were enjoying a quiet chat in our bedroom when I suddenly exclaimed, "What is that?" That happened to be a ginormous cockroach hanging out on our wall. My intrepid husband vanquished the beast with some insect spray and a heavy shoe, but my skin still crawls when I think about it.

The going theory is that one of our neighbors has a pit latrine (a whole in the ground for collecting human waste), which are paradise for roaches. Fortunately, we have modern toilets, so hopefully we won't see too many more monsters crawling around our home, but yikees. I don't likees.

Other Beasts

Insects are a part of life here. There is basically no way to stop them from getting into the house because we have a gallery (a windowless sunroom) that leads directly into the rest of our home. We also keep our windows open much of the time because I would probably suffocate in the miserable heat otherwise. We often spot ants hanging out in various corners, and the other night we had dozens of flying beasts invade our home. They were all dead by the next morning, but we had a couple hours of seeing them pretty much all over the place.

One time, we had a stray chicken get into our house. I know that's not an insect, but I found it highly amusing and just had to mention it.

I'm learning not to mind the creepy crawlies, but I rather miss the days when they weren't everywhere all the time.

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