Email & ShareLike any tropical environment, Yucatan has its share of insectos (insects – sometimes called bichos, which means bugs). From the best to the worst, here is our list of the top ten insects in Yucatan.
Fireflies – During late spring and early summer, after the first afternoon rains become a frequent event, luciérnagas (fireflies) often appear around dusk in many of the rural areas of Yucatan. We have been told they were once abundant in the gardens of Merida’s colonial homes, and we have seen one or two in our garden over the years. But nothing compares to seeing hundreds at once. One night, while driving between Yunku and Temozon Sur, we found ourselves in a literal firefly “storm”.
Every direction was lit up with dancing, phosphorescent green flames. We stopped the car, stumbled outside and stood like children with our mouths agape for half an hour. Magic was definitely in the air.
Butterflies and Moths – Yucatan is home to scores of mariposa (butterfly) and mariposa nocturna (moth) species. Many of these are quite large and colorful. Throughout the summer months, you’ll see a profusion of butterflies of every stripe floating lazily through your yard and around Yucatan’s fields and jungles. As a resident, your yard will eventually be treated to a visit of one or more types of caterpillars, who will wind themselves up in cocoons to later emerge and join the butterfly dance.
The only problem with butterflies is that you will undoubtedly kill dozens while driving through their flight path. If you drive outside Merida, you’ll sometimes find them clustered on rural roads, where you’ll be forced to crush hundreds if you hope to proceed.
There is one species of moth here that is similar to the Hawk Moth. It’s very dark brown, with a large, black spot on each wing, and it’s as big as your hand. When we first moved here, one flew into our house and we were sure it was a bat until it finally alighted on the wall. Since then, we have come to expect them as occasional ornaments in the house. Locals tell us they’re bad luck, that when you see one, it means someone you know has died.
Bees and Wasps – There are several species of abeja (bee) in Yucatan, but only two that anyone ever talks about. The world-famous Yucatan Bee is a honey bee. It’s small, unassuming and reportedly doesn’t sting, although we’ve never tested the theory personally. Yucatan honey has long been an industry here, is widely exported and tastes absolutely delicious. There are different varieties here, as in other parts of the world, based on the flowers that the bees frequent. The thriving honey industry owes it all to the Yucatan honeybee and its appetite for the special flowers that grow in this region.
Do you remember years ago when there was a scare in the media about so-called Africanized “Killer Bees”? Well, they’ve arrived in Yucatan. Although rare – we’ve encountered them only once in all our travels – they can indeed bring pain and suffering to an unfortunate encounter. A couple years ago, a school near Motul was attacked and one person died. You’ll know you’re in their presence when you find their nests, which look like heaped up piles of elephant dung.
Most of the avispas (wasps) in Yucatan are not much different than you would find back home. There are a few beautiful exceptions and none seem particularly aggressive. If there’s a place in yours or our neighbor’s back yard that is consistently muddy, you can expect a nest under your tejaban. And occasionally, your pool or fountain will be visited by one looking for water. We have never felt threatened by them.
Spiders – In our experience, Las arañas are not very pesky in Yucatan and probably contribute to keeping some of the more evil insects in check. Although they are a year-round sort of critter, they seem most productive in the Fall. Where we come from (in California) there’s the bone-chilling Black Widow, which lurks just about everywhere – the firewood, the tackle box, an old stack of newspapers – and has one of the most dangerous bites of any creature. We know of nothing like it in Yucatan, but there are some pretty impressive specimens. They can be unnerving because they are rather large, but they’re harmless. (The critter pictured here is not a spider. It only plays one on this website. We are told it is actually a tailless Mexican whip scorpion.)
Locusts – Occasionally, there will be a plague of one kind of insect or another in Yucatan. The firefly storm mentioned earlier is an example, but other sudden outbursts of insects also occur, including locusts or grasshoppers, called saltamontes in Spanish. Our first encounter was while driving east out of Merida when we saw a low, dark cloud approaching faster than clouds should. Before we knew it, we were being battered by hundreds of little hard bodies, as if in a hailstorm. We have since seen a cloud of locusts flying confusedly over Merida. We speculate that they show up during unusually dry summers, because their arrival is not an annual event. We’ve seen them twice in five years.
Scorpions – We’ll be candid about Las Alacránes. They do indeed scare us. We have encountered two in our home over the years and nearly fainted both times. The scorpion pictured here met Working Gringo on his way to the shower one morning, provoking naked panic. Yucatan scorpions are black and can measure up to four inches long, stem to stern. They look really menacing, but we have come to realize they are merely drawn that way. If left to themselves, they would really rather live private lives under a rock somewhere and only come out when forced, usually to look for a source of water. A popular tale told to newcomers is not to leave your shoes on the floor or else a scorpion may crawl inside. We doubt it, but we still shake our shoes out on occasion before putting them on.
We know of one person who was stung by a Yucatan scorpion and she tells us that it is quite painful, on the order of a wasp sting: it burns, it swells and your tongue goes numb. The immediate pain lasts between 30 minutes and four hours. We’ve been told chewing on charcoal helps somehow. Those who are sensitive to bee and wasp stings may develop other symptoms, like difficulty breathing. In these cases, you should go to an emergency room, where you will likely receive an injection of an antihistamine. Scary as they are, a Yucatan scorpion sting won’t kill you.
Cockroaches – We didn’t have much experience with Las Cucarachas before moving to Yucatan, even though they are not uncommon in much of the U.S. What we’ve learned is probably not uncommon either: to respect and loathe them. The species here is the American Cockroach, which can grow to a length of two to three inches. (We don’t think the fellow in the photo is a cockroach, but he demonstrates the general idea.)
Cockroaches must be the most intelligent of insects. They’re probably visitors from another planet. They seem to understand human behavior and adapt to us better than we do to them. They know exactly what your line of sight is and can disappear in a flash like David Copperfield. They anticipate your next move. When motivated, they can fly. They perch atop the door to survey you intently as you frantically empty a shelf near the floor where you last saw them flee. They are seriously uncanny.
They are also unclean and should not be allowed to remain as houseguests. Cockroaches carry bacteria and disease.
Like other insects in Yucatan, cockroaches are both seasonal and periodic. The summer of 2004 was our worst cockroach year so far. At first there were only one or two, which we tracked down individually by trapping them under a plastic cup and bagging them in a Ziplock before tossing them in the trash. But it wasn’t long before we were overrun. We would come home at night, switch on the light and watch as half a dozen fled from the hallway, reminding Working Gringa of her time living in New York City. At the worst point, there wasn’t a room in the house you could enter without upsetting a bevy of roaches. You may never experience a genuine desire to murder something until this happens to you.
That’s when we researched the issue thoroughly, taking the necessary measures to eradicate them and prevent future infestation. Fortunately, there are many effective measures you can take. We have found that commercial roach baits (not traps) are the best, long-term solution. Deposit them in cool, damp, dark places where roaches make themselves at home. Another is to observe their pathways and sprinkle these locations with silica or boric acid dust, which causes death by dehydration. If cockroaches are bugging you, here’s a very helpful article from the University of Florida.
Termites –The variety of la termita in Yucatan is subterranean, meaning they live underground, but this doesn’t limit them to underground activity. They will build “mud tubes” wherever they want to go and will chow down on any softwood they find. For this reason, you should not bring your norteamericano furniture when you move to Yucatan unless it is made of hardwood, cedar, plastic or metal. We didn’t receive this news and brought most of our furniture with us. One of these pieces was a large, overstuffed Victorian sofa. Sadly, the infrastructure was made of delicious Douglas Fir. One day, we moved it away from the wall to clean and discovered the telltale mud tunnels. We flipped the sofa over and discovered an entire colony of termites infesting every scrap of wood that remained. Needless to say, the couch was history.
There are many reasons why Colonial homes in Yucatan are made of stone, and termites might be one of them. Still, they manage to create their pathways along stone and find something to eat. They are industrious creatures, and if you find them in your house, you may need the services of a professional exterminator. There are plenty in Merida to choose from.
Ants – We are outnumbered and resistance is futile. There are roughly six billion humans on the planet and probably twice that many hormigas (ants) in Yucatan alone. If you want to truly understand the relationship between ants and humans in the tropics (and you probably do not), we’d suggest reading One Hundred Years of Solitude
There are many different types of ants in Yucatan. There are incredibly small ants that are almost translucent. If you happen to plow into a bag of potato chips they’ve infested, they light up your mouth like Pop Rocks candy. We dont recommend this experience, and always wear our reading glasses now before eating potato chips.
There are ants that use the channels chiseled inside your walls for the electrical wires as highways through your house. Sometimes they come to visit, other times they are simply passing through. These ants may gum up your light switches, which then have to be replaced. There are ants that infest new electronic equipment, purportedly to eat the insulation on the wires. Beware the ant crawling around your keyboard!
There are “Marauding” ants that show up from all directions like pirates to haul away dead insects or a large crumb dropped from the table. We have watched these for long periods as they coordinate an awkward carcass up the wall to their den. We have also trekked through the bosque and happened upon foot-wide rivers of Army Ants as they devour everything in their path, including the path. We’ve stood on large, seemingly empty swaths of lawn, only to discover that dozens of biting Fire Ants have crawled up our trousers… and had to quickly free ourselves from said trousers in the full light of day. Ouch!
The most interesting and destructive ant species is the leaf cutter. On any given evening in Yucatan, you may see a long line of these marching across the top of your garden wall, each waving a bit of leaf overhead, sparkling in the moonlight like a silent Carnaval parade. For a few moments, the effect is enchanting, until you realize that’s your garden vanishing into the night. Leaf cutters can entirely denude a large plant in one night and can leave a typical garden bare within a week.
The standard remedies for ants generally work in Yucatan, although the results are always short-term and constant vigilance is required. Never leave food out and clean up immediately after cooking. Store anything edible in either Tupperware or Ziplock plastic bags. We put ant powder (Diazinon) behind our electrical outlets and switches to prevent traffic, but in some cases – especially with the “Marauding” ants, we just let them have their way with us, as they generally don’t hang around after their work is done.
Leaf Cutter ants are another matter, once they have a bead on your garden; there is no hope unless you take action (with prejudice – no organic gardening strategy works here). The preventative solution is to plant things they don’t covet. They generally prefer sweet, aromatic or succulent plants because they use these to produce fungal food in their colonies. They are particularly fond of hibiscus, roses and, we’ve noticed, anything colored red. They tend to ignore the common tropical plants that we treat as houseplants back home, like ferns and spider plants. The ultimate solution is pictured here. It is often called padrón by the locals, but this particular brand is called Extermirex. Only use it if you can find the entrance to the colony. Then, while wearing rubber gloves, pour the granules into any holes the ants are using and cover with dirt. The entire colony will be dead within five days. It is the most effective solution we’ve found.
Mosquitos – “There were many dead in the Nootkas village. In each dead body there was a hole through which blood had been stolen. The murderer, a child who was already killing before he learned to walk, received his sentence roaring with laughter. They pierced him with lances and he laughingly picked them out of his body like thorns. ‘I’ll teach you to kill me,’ said the child. He suggested to his executioners that they should light a big bonfire and throw him in it. His ashes scattered through the air, anxious to do harm, and thus the first mosquitos started to fly.”
This ancient legend comes to us courtesy of volume one of Genesis (Memory of Fire Trilogy, Part 1)
There are over thirty species of mosquito in Yucatan that sting humans but only the female does the stinging. They are considered a health threat by the government, which mounts strenuous public education campaigns to raise awareness and prevent the spread of Dengue Fever and other disease. At times, government workers will go door-to-door, inspecting yards for standing water and depositing pellets of bacillus thuringiensis (BTi) to kill mosquito larvae. Other times, trucks will roll through the streets of Merida, misting the air with malathion or pyrethrum to kill adult mosquitos.
Part of our personal arsenal against mosquito bites is shown here. It includes both lotion and spray versions of a DEET-based repellent, as well as coils that you burn like incense and laminas (cartridges) that you plug into a wall outlet. Other products produced from citronella oil (lemon grass), such as candles and sprays, are also effective against several mosquito species. Some Merida residents maintain an ornamental pool in their yard that is planted with pond flora and populated with small fish. The mosquitos end up delivering their eggs to the fish. Another popular prevention is a mosquito net draped seductively over your bed. This is a rather romantic, if clichéd, approach to avoiding bites in the tropics, and in our experience, a net is as likely to keep mosquitos in bed with you as to keep them out. Plus, it doesn’t seem to last long around cats.
The most high-tech mosquito abatement gadget to come along recently is the electrical or propane-powered mosquito trap. Mosquitos are attracted to what we exhale, namely CO2, and other scents our bodies produce. These traps emit CO2 and other “attractants” and vacuum up any hapless bugs that happen by. We’ve been told that this invention is more effective in Yucatan than in Florida and other locations in the U.S. because most yards here are surrounded by very tall, stone walls, compared to the low fences used in the States. Our yard enclosures help ensure that the attractants are not blown away and reduce the total number of mosquitos that enter the yard on any given day. Prices for these traps run between $300 and $1,500 USD. A $500 trap can protect an area of up to one acre. We plan to get one of these in our new house (if we can still afford it when it’s finished).
As you can probably see from our list, when it comes to insects, living in Yucatan is not much different than living in the more tropical regions of the U.S. and especially the Gulf States of Florida and Louisiana. If you’re traveling or moving here from the southwestern United States, Canada or Alaska, we hope this article helps prepare you for a few surprises from our corner of the insect world.
Concerned about repelling those nasty little bugs? Click here for an article that gives a straightforward description of what works and what doesn’t.
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Ahh, bugs. You gotta love ‘em. The pictured cockroach appears to be a giant water bug. The spider may not be one…appears to have 6 legs and 2 antennae rather than 8 legs. Ugly dude, whatever it is.
Yes, water bugs… Growing up in the south where we have cockroaches of all sizes, it always strikes me as funny to hear New Yorkers refer to the large variety of cockroach as a “water bug.” I guess anything you gotta say to be ok with it, right? Personally, I call water bugs “Cucarachas” because that seems a better description than “big roach.” I know, I know, they come in from the toilets- dude, that’s just a big, flyin’ roach!
Oops- meant to add that- yes- that one in the photo looks like a real NYC water bug…
bacillus thuringiensis (BTi) really works and is not harmful to beneficial insects, birds or animals. You can buy it in cakes to toss in your fish ponds. You can sprinkle granules around the yard, especially in low spots.
The hard thing about mosquitos is that not everyone works at getting rid of them.
Dengue is only transmitted in densely populated areas. In the country, it doesn’t spread much, because the mosquito needs to bite you, then someone else soon after.
Great article!
The Scorpion. I hate those things! While dating my soon to be wife, Ariadna, 100% Yucateca (I love mentioning that). I was here in Texas, talking to her on the phone 1 night. I heard her scream! I asked what happened? It was a scorpion in her bed. I laughed. It wasn’t funny to her at the time. When I moved to Merida, I always bought bug spray. I always checked my shoes and shower. I kept the air conditioner going, to cool the home. I also hate Mosqitoes. Here in Texas we can close off the outside and turn on the A/C. In Merida, every windows are opened, too costly for AC. And those little buggers go right for you. The rainy season in Merida may cool things off, but, those mosqitos are bad. That’s my experience.
Several years ago while staying in a hotel room with a palapa roof, a scorpion apparently dropped onto my bed during the night. I rolled over onto it and was promptly stung 14 times in the upper right chest. Amazingly, I felt no pain like a sting. Within hours, my chest felt like somebody had hit me with a sledge hammer, my underarm became very sore and my right arm started to go completely numb. The sting wounds scabbed over like little bites. I was treated with an antihistimine injection and a course of pills. I had to put hydrocortison cream on the actual stings. I still have 14 tiny white scars as a remembrance. I am still around to testify that one sting will not kill you….and neither will 14!
Ay Carray, Wayne! That’s an amazing story! Glad you recovered to tell it. We wonder what story the scorpion has been telling? Maybe something like, “That’s right, kiddies, I stung that monster 14 times and it still wouldn’t die…”
What a timely article..having just arrived in Merida this week i decided to do a little ´clean´up´and rearranging of items i had stored at the house that I am going to be renovating; moving boxes around i had my very first introduction to the local cockroach…i do believe i learned a new dance step today avoiding and eliminating them!
Keep up the informative articles for those of us just joining the neighborhood!!
Your comments are interesting, but better change the title. Insects have 3 body parts and 6 legs. Therefore, spiders and scorpions don’t make the grade. They belong in a group called arachnids. All the creatures mentioned are arthropods, which means jointed legs. Of course, if something is biting, who cares how many legs it has,right?
Allie, I also grew up in the southern US and I’ve heard people call roaches a lot of strange names (e.g. palmetto bug!). But the true giant water bug is an aquatic insect very different from a roach. Its front legs are sculpted into powerful grasping tools, as appears to be true for the fellow pictured above. It dives underwater, grabs things as big and meaty as small fish, plunges its mouth into them, and sucks out their insides.
hmmmm, how appealing!
Have you heard of a bug called “cargabasura”? We just came back to the US from Yucatan and my husband got a terrible rash… when I e-mailed our host he said it might be an allergic reaction to the bite of this bug. But what is it? Thanks for any help you are able to provide.
Hola Deborah,
Cargabasura is Spanish for “trash carrier”, which is a slang term sometimes used for an insect called the Lacewing (Ceraeochrysa). These are actually helpful little bugs that are used in bio-organic pest control against things like aphids. In our experience, rashes are difficult to pin down, but “noseeums” (sand flies), heat rash and reactions to unfamiliar food are probable causes in Yucatan.
This was a great article.I am headed for Merida for a month and wondered about the bugs.I like to observe them but don’t like them eating me.
“provoking naked panic” is amazing.
Wayne, you survived because the Scorpion did not give you the dreaded fifteenth bite.. the “Antares” ha ha ha ha ha. Anyone who has seen the series “Saint Seiya” (or Knights of the Zodiac as it is known in the USA) will know what I am talking about.
For the genuinely curious google “Saint Seiya Milo Scorpio”, that should point you in the right direction…
Leaf cutter ants hate liquid laundry soap. Use it as a spray it mixed with water for plants. Pour a bucket of it into a nest once a day for about 4-5 days to kill it. “Las Dos Caras” talcum powder works very well too. Environmentally ok & won’t harm your pets.
Leaf Cutters won’t eat anything in the Banana family ie; Gingers, Haleconians, and Platanios. They won’t eat Bougainvillea either.
Get a pet tortoise for slugs, grubs, & worms.
Keep Avapena, a great antihistamine, in the house for you or your pet, best treatment for Scorpion or Centipede stings. Saved one of our cats once.
Thank you!! we’re running out right now to invest in liquid laundry detergent!
Loved your article, but I want to reassure you that the scorpion you saw isn’t of the stinging variety–nothing to be afraid of! It’s really a vinegaroon. Check out this link:
http://whatsthatbug.com/scorps.html
Please keep posting when you’re not trabajando…
[...] We have written about many of the challenges of living in Yucatan, including the heat and humidity, Moctezuma’s Revenge, insects, the language barrier and city traffic, but we try to approach these subjects in a way that is useful to potential expatriates, not as reporters trying to sell papers. [...]
This is all fascinating to me. I will be coming to Yucatan for the first time, this coming December, for, among other things, the express purpose of observing THE INSECTS….(any advice?)
Here in Los Angeles CA everything is so sanitized and built-over that a butterfly-sighting is cause for excitement. (Unfortunately, the ants and cockroaches, as the article states, just keep adapting, and adapting, and adapting …)
Re: Get a pet tortoise for slugs, grubs, & worms.
Don’t write things like that! I’m already trying to think of where to get one! – or two! My dogs will have a nervous breakdown! Poor old things.
The “Scorpions” Las Alacránes, actually can scare the beejeebees out of you, however they are not poisonous, but that doesn’t make them any less creepy. Standing in my kitchen last year cooking, wearing sandales, I felt something on my foot. I looked down and there was a 6 inch Alacran crawling across my foot. Least to say I jumped like a little girl, screaming. It fell off and I landed right on it. No loss on my part.
As far as cockroaches, what bothers me is they fly. My Mexican wife insists on closing the windows between 6:00pm and 8:00pm and then while we sleep. We don’t have A/C so it kind of makes it miserable (I guess I need to invest in some screens).
I am glad that I live where it snows! But I still get ants, cockroaches and spiders,
especially the black widow.
Ellen C,
You probably know that the first place Working Gringo ever encountered a scorpion was in Los Osos, California on Nipomo Avenue.
I don’t know if this would work on all ants, but when we have an ant infestation in the States, we mix boric acid with sugar water and set it out in jar lids on the floor. The ant colony is dead within 2-3 days. The boric acid eats through the ant’s stomach wall, and infects the whole colony the same way. They love the sugar and do not notice the acid. At the time. They usually come in during dry times looking for water.
How do you deal with mosquitos, particularly when sleeping, if you are just a tourist going for a week. Also flies. From pictures, it looks like there are no screens on the windows or doors. Where would be the best place(s) to stay to avoid them, or should I just bring a net and frame? All I need is to hear their high pitched wing sound, and I will be swatting instead of sleeping … all night. If it’s only two or three I can usually lure and kill them in an hour and then sleep undisturbed without a net and without getting bitten.
All it takes is one mosquito to spoil a good night’s sleep, and in our experience, it usually is only one mosquito, not a cloud of them. For some reason, the mosquitos that make it into our house tend to work alone. As you point out, most houses don’t have screens on all the windos or doors, and neither does ours, but we have learned a couple simple, effective and non-toxic tricks that even tourists can do:
If your hotel has more than one floor, request a room on the highest floor. Mosquitos are lazy and go for the low-hanging fruit. Also, be sure your room has a ceiling or floor fan and turn it up when you go to bed. Mosquitos don’t seem to navigate the stiff wind currents very well, and the sound of the fan can drown out their annoying buzz as they attempt their futile attacks. Lastly, mosquitos tend not to hang out at the beach, so if you really don’t want to encounter any, plan your trip accordingly.
When I bought my house, it had perforated blocks instead of windows in the patio. I thought, isn’t this a great place? The weather never gets so cold you have to shut the window. The first night I stayed there, I discovered that mosquitos really like the taste of gringo. Getting bed nets only postponed the carnage, as they would patiently wait until I emerged. In the remodel, I had the perforated blocks replaced with real windows and real window screens. We don’t usually need the nets now.
For some reason, mosquitos that generally leave the locals alone swarm after gringos. Perhaps it is diet, but I’ve talked to people who have lived in the Yucatan for a long time and still get attacked. Socks and long pants help. Don’t spare the bug spray.
In a late answer to Deborah:
Besides ‘noseeums’ at the beach (which are so small they can fly through most ordinary window screens, plus their bite really itches!), there are ‘sea lice’ in warm waters sometimes. And their many bites can look like a rash. I may be using the wrong term ‘sea lice’ but there are tiny things in the ocean that will bite you too. Not all the time, but under certain conditions, certain times of the year.
If the rash doesn’t go away after using some calamine lotion or hydrocortisone creme, it may be time to see a doctor.
I’m not sure what to say about Brian’s comment that the scorpions are not poisonous. They sure do have poison. Maybe he meant “it’s not deadly poison.” I’ve been stung by scorpions and it felt like an electric shock with each sting. Nasty swelling too. Like a monster mosquito bite.
Good grief! For about a month now, I’ve been moving back and forth (in my head) between Merida, Ajijic on Lake Champala, and Costa Rica. I’ve gotten books to learn as much as I can about each area, and cruised through websites like this one, changing my mind about where to live as I discover something new. (By the way, “Working Gringos” writes beautifully and with a great sense of humor!) Each time I settle on a place, I read something that drives me to one of the other two places. Yesterday I read an article about the volcanic eruptions, floods, and earthquakes in Costa Rica–and they have bugs too! So tonight I’m back in Merida.
I long for the colors, the “quality of light,” the people, the festivals, the inspiration for paintings and drawings, the experiences to be written about, the climate, and on and on, BUT I don’t like snakes, scorpions, roaches (even by any other name), or spiders! Is there no hope for this dream of mine?
Did you all start out as chickens who got stronger with time? Is Merida so wonderful that oppressive heat and humidity and bugs can be put into perspective? Did you feel drawn so powerfully to where you are that nothing could dissuade you? Well, God bless you all. Take good care of Paradise until I get there to help you.
Sound advice from a Mérida resident dealing with the daily battle against the dreaded mosquitos…..
As soon as you know you have been bitten, spray windex on the bite four or five times over the course of a few minutes. Resist the desire to scratch it and you’ll be amazed how fast that you’ll forget you’ve been bitten.
My friends laugh at me but I don’t care because it works! I believe it’s the ammonia in the liquid that does the trick.
Marlise: I am in the same boat (is it leaky, like mine, lol?) I do go back and forth with each expat website and posted comment and oddly, morbidly return to the Poisonous Reptiles of the Yucatan and the like (funny I didn’t bother with any such “informational” recreation when I moved lock stock and barrel from N England to the desert So West as a single mother) Wow! I DID that?
Anywhoo…do you, as I, repeatedly read and re-read with dread and a certain masochistic fascination that stuff on the prevalence and reputation of the various scorpions in an area (i.e., they are plentiful and deadly in Baja, so I hear. You won’t be buying there, either?)
One thing IS for certain it is a hearty and final No! to living (now) in a charming grass thatched palapa after this site posted the experience of a very lucky survivor of what? 14 vicious bites upon his sleeping self (paradise, How CAN you allow such atrocity?). No more potentially scorpion infested habitats for me…that dream is dead.
No to wandering ANYWHERE near a grouping of mangroves or into any lush tropical jungle setting for orchid hunting/photography or the like as the Fer de Lance lurks, and is one of the world’s most deadly snakes. (Snakes can slither and climb, how to keep them off yr 2nd story balcony, hmm? Ok, maybe it’s best not to buy any beach house within eyeshot of more than a cluster of vegetation…just to be safe. And do YOU have memorized (as I do) the strikingly similar patterns of the deadly Variable Coral Snake and it’s lookalike “cousin” the harmless Milk Snake. If not, get busy’ repeating Red on Yellow, you’re a dead fellow, Red touches black, you’re ok Jack. That’s if you intend to live somewhere in the Yucatan, somewhere ruralish, junglish. Or somwhere unlucky like this, front steps of yr lodging. At dusk. It happens..
If it’s less bugs and snakes we want: Paradise may be afterall, ta da! found in Alaska…there my Boston born son won’t leave even though the mosquitoes are the size of your open hand and polar bears, well, let’s just say they keep the Native population “in check” (didn’t know they needed it) in some farflung, lonely village where some “mountain men” types are SURE to go. In search of Paradise themselves..killing wolves and talking fishing, some of them.
Pack the Raid. Wear your tennies IN and OUT of the water. Stop reading. It is killing you. JUST DO IT. Inside you is a strong survivor and an intrepid explorer. DO IT. As a woman, I know I will. I am much like you…
And don’t ask me what I read about the barracuda. Just don’t….
I go to Yucatan to visit my grandparents and another bug that I’ve come across is the Red Ant! They swarm you and hurt when they bite!
I sat here itching and jumping,swating at nothing while I read this article..And now i have to deal with the fact that we just bought a house to renovate and move to in Merida..Yikes… nothing freaks me out more than bugs,spiders or any other creepy little thing…Anyone want to buy a renovation project? Are there companies that will come in and spray for mosquitoes, roaches, ants, and scorpions?? how often would we need to have this done to ensure our “safety”? Can scorpions kill cats? tony and eddy are moving with us and they might like to play with one if the find it? What medication should i have on hand for us as it would be my luck to have the first experience with one of these creatures?
Yes, there are exterminators here. And they will come spray your house, inside and outside, if you’d like. And it does help…. for everything except mosquitoes. Once a month ought to do it. But that doesn’t mean you won’t ever see a bug.
No, scorpions won’t kill cats. Or you either. Just know where the closest pharmacy and emergency room is and you should be fine.
Marlise and Suzanne: “Is Merida so wonderful that oppressive heat and humidity and bugs can be put into perspective?” I don’t think so. I would advise anybody to rent for at least a year or two before buying and moving down here for good. The longer the summer the harder it gets. May is hot but not too humid, so there are little mosquitoes. But by August you are worn out by the heat and humidity and by the constant biting. Spraying your house once a month or using repellent constantly can´t be good for your health either (good screening helps)… and then (even though not an insect) don’t forget the rats! Leaving their excrement behind your fridge and stove…thank you very much. Mérida is not bad (especially in winter), but I do not think I will grow old here…
Have you heard of a kind of moth/butterfly that makes a kind of electrical crackling noise when their wings touch?
I lived in the Yucatan for six months, and during that time I would hear just such a strange sound but couldn’t pin down where it was coming from until a native pointed out these fluttering moth-like creatures to me.
I haven’t been able to find anything about them online, though…
Sky,
I don’t agree with you.
1) yes there are mosquitos, but they are where the find open water in some form (old tires with rain water, buckets with water in the backyard,….) where they can breed. No open water…no mosquito. I live a little bit ouside of Merida in the middle of the woods and have neither cockroaches nor mosquitos in my home. You even can sit outside at night w/o getting any mosquito bite.
2) I don´t have any rats either. If you keep your home and backyard clean you shouldn’t have rats in your home. At least not more than anywhere else in the world.
I believe the only real difficult part of living in Merida (at least for some people) can be the high humidity and heat in summer. But then again, almost everywhere you go you have air conditioning or at least fans.
Hi, I have recently purchased some property in the jungle south of Valladolid, and I would like to ask for some help identifying two annoyances- the “underwear bugs” and the “three week bugs”.
As their name suggests, the underwear bugs tend to bite under the elastic band of underwear, or elsewhere in that region. I wind up with bites clustered where my underwear covers.
The three week bugs leave bites that itch on and off for a loooong time. Its a little odd, as you think you are done with that spot, and then a few hours or a day later, it is acting up and itching like crazy again! Is there something that bites and leaves eggs behind or something that would account for this?
I am hoping that by getting more information, I can figure out how to defend against them (short of not wearing underwear, of course!).
Thanks,
Nate
Even blades of grass or leaves of plants can harbor enough water for some types of mosquitos. In our experience, mosquitos are pretty much ubiquitous in Yucatan. In some places, they are much heavier than others due to more water standing, but I’ve never been a place – including inside most houses – that was totally and entirely free of them.
Well, we can dream, can’t we…?
As far as ‘eastbay,’ I have no idea, but your bugs sound like chiggers. In the old days, powdered sulfur was used on the legs and ankles to prevent those, but now there are all sorts of repellents.
Great article. However mosquitos do not “sting,” but rather “bite.”
I was stung in my elbow while sleeping in bed in the Yucutan. The next morning my arm was locked and painfull. A shortly after the arm was swollen and has now developed a bad blue and red rash. Any ideas.
John,
We just saw this comment… we hope by now you have gone to a doctor or this has gotten better. It doesn’t cost much to see a doctor or to go to an emergency room here… so do it! We don’t know what it is, but we’d go to a doctor if it happened to us.
Check here for phone numbers of hospitals:
http://www.yucatanliving.com/yucatan-survivor/merida-emergency-numbers.htm
or here for a complete listing of local resources:
http://www.yucatanliving.com/yl-service-listing.pdf
Let us know how it turns out!
So…. any feedback on the CO2 emitting gadgets? I think I remember that when they first came out there were some problems with maintenance but I was curious if anyone had experience with the latest generation.
I lived to tell abaout it but a balck scorpion sting is not like a wasp sting of which I have had many, it is 1,000 times worse!!!!…other than the numb lips and thick tounge and numb fingers (on both hands), which 48 hours later is still disapating, the pain was incredible and gets worse for hours….dont try this at home!!!
And don’t forget the army ants! We ran into a trail of them (with half a dozen birds following along behind and eating up their leavings) during a recent visit to Coba. A bird-watcher’s paradise!
I moved to the yucatan a year ago, first thing that I did was caulk up every door and hole anywhere inside and out that I could possibly find. Under sinks, around light sockets, focets anywhere that i thought a bug could get in. Well somehow they find their way in regardless. For the first time I had a scorpion inside, I opened the front door and the thing ran in, they are very fast. I used a whole can of spray and after moving all my furniture and tying up my curtains the creature came out struggling to walk, killed it off and into the garbage! Still gives me the creeps when I open my door! Expensive to run the AC but I sleep much better knowing that all the widows and doors are shut tight! It’s an experience that I could live without for any kind of bugs bug me! LOL
This website is very helpful.
I got stung by a large-ish black “ant” at the Coba archeological site last week. Since it still hurts a week later I thought I would see what I could find on the web about the critter and found your blog.
The guide told me it was an ant, so I hope it was.
Thanks!
“eastbay” said on December 21st, 2008:
“[...] I would like to ask for some help identifying [...] the “underwear bugs”. As their name suggests, the underwear bugs tend to bite under the elastic band of underwear, or elsewhere in that region. I wind up with bites clustered where my underwear covers.”
No answers to this one, alas, but I too would be VERY interested in what this bug is. As would a fellow victim. Diligent Googling hasn’t identified any suspects.
Also – several people told me, and our own N=2 case study seems to confirm, that currently the best repellent is Autan cream (not the lotion). Still nowhere near perfect, but better than Off.
Twenty five years ago when on honeymoon in the Canaries we saw these curious bright orange insects near the restaurants. Often the waiters would make a slight detour while carrying a tray and crush them (CRunch) underfoot on their way to your table.