zancudos! (mosquitos)

[jjroth2]

Just how bad is the mosquito problem in Mexico? Does it vary from community to community, house to house? How about screens as a line of defense, rather than netting over one's bed?

[TundraGreen]

Originally Posted by jjroth2

Just how bad is the mosquito problem in Mexico? Does it vary from community to community, house to house? How about screens as a line of defense, rather than netting over one's bed?

It varies from community to community and with the season. In the dry season in central Mexico, October to May, there are few or no mosquitoes. During the summer rains they can be a nuisance. Screens can also be a solution but, at least in my house, I have not sealed the windows and door very well, and a net over the bed seems to work better. It also produces a smaller area that has to be kept free of mosquitoes. I have never been very adept at getting all of them out of the bedroom before going to bed. They don't seem to bother me during the day, just at night. But some people are more susceptible to being bitten than I am.

The only bugs that I have found to be a real nuisance in Mexico are the no-see-ums on the beach in the evening in San Blas, Nayarit.

[jjroth2]

Thanks, TG. This helps.

[sparks]

The Centro de Salud girls just came by today looking for standing water. Sprinkled a few grains in a storm drain and a little bag of the stuff in my clothes wash basin. My Canadian neighbors have a local house sitting and I just turned over 3 5 gallon buckets that were almost full of rain water in their yard. The guy got it after the fact ... but sitting water is not good in this climate. I rinse the water dishes for the animals with cloro every 3-4 days.

I live on the beach which is warmer and rain more but Centro de Salud visited my place near Lake Chapala every few months. It is a serious concern.

My place is well screened and I get mostly flies .... but my cat can open the front screen door and refuses to close it

[La Osita]

Darned cat!

I worry a bit about the mosquitoes here as unlike the mosquito bites I've gotten in the US, the ones here seem to leave red spots that linger for days and days. The don't itch all that much, but I'm concerned a bit about dengue fever. Sounds horrid and dangerous.

I ordered the mosquito netting from the company I mentioned out of Guadalajara and I should have it in a few days time. I also spend a considerable amount of time every evening hunting out mosquitoes in the house. They get me while I'm sleeping and I don't hear them coming. Like Tundra Green mentioned, we have them here In Tequis. only from May through October. Last summer was extremely dry so not so many. This year, it's awful

Our house is traditional Mexican brick and block (my husband built it) and so it's not sealed tigh eithert. Doors, etc. have gaps and it's nearly impossible to fix that one. I'm positioning the homemade mosquito traps outside near the doors and windows to decrease the number coming in.

[TundraGreen]

Originally Posted by itnavell

...I worry a bit about the mosquitoes here as unlike the mosquito bites I've gotten in the US, the ones here seem to leave red spots that linger for days and days. The don't itch all that much, but I'm concerned a bit about dengue fever. Sounds horrid and dangerous.
...

There are about 300 cases of dengue per year in Guadalajara, out of a population of about 4 and a half million. Somewhere I read that there are a few, 2 or 3, cases that turn into the more dangerous hemorrhagic flavor. Wikipedia says that occurs in less than 5% of the cases. Curiously, most of the cases of dengue fever occur in Zapopan, the most affluent of the cities that make up the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. One of my coworkers contracted dengue fever a few years ago. His case was very mild and I don't think he even missed any work.

So it is not as frightening as I once thought, although it would not be fun to be in the minority who contract the more serious forms.

[La Osita]

That's encouraging to hear. I had bumped into a couple sites on Mexico/Mosquitoes when looking for the mosquito netting that were rather scary in their slant.

[mickisue1]

Originally Posted by TundraGreen

There are about 300 cases of dengue per year in Guadalajara, out of a population of about 4 and a half million. Somewhere I read that there are a few, 2 or 3, cases that turn into the more dangerous hemorrhagic flavor. Wikipedia says that occurs in less than 5% of the cases. Curiously, most of the cases of dengue fever occur in Zapopan, the most affluent of the cities that make up the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. One of my coworkers contracted dengue fever a few years ago. His case was very mild and I don't think he even missed any work.

So it is not as frightening as I once thought, although it would not be fun to be in the minority who contract the more serious forms.

The most important thing to do, in rainy season where dengue fever is a concern, is NOT to take aspirin or NSAIDs--ibuprofen and naproxin are two of the most common, because they make the hemorrhagic fever much worse.

One of the reasons that mosquitoes in MX bother you more is that there are over 3000 species of mosquitoes (I just looked it up), and you haven't built up the resistance to mosquitoes in the area where you live. If you lived in pretty much the same area for most of your life, your immune system is used to the mosquitoes there, and doesn't react as much.

[Isla Verde]

What I dislike the most about the mosquitoes that occasionally visit me in my bedroom in Mexico City is that the little ******s are silent, so there's no buzzing to alert me to their presence. Just the itching after they've has their fill of my blood!