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perros24

May 17, 2005, 3:42 PM

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Insects

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A question for those who have already moved to Mexico: we are currently looking at investment/rental/retirement properties and can't seem to get a strait answer from real estate agents about what areas (coastal) have problems with flies, mosquitos, sand fleas etc. and at what times of year. Can anyone help?

Bubba

May 17, 2005, 3:57 PM

Post #2 of 22 (2390 views)

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Re: [perros24] Insects

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I can help you Perros24. Insects are not a problem in Mexico that is more severe than anything you have experienced anywhere in the U.S. Pest control is quite advanced here. In fact, in some parts of the U.S.. the problem is much worse than here. Do not worry about this at all.

Miguel Palomares

May 17, 2005, 4:44 PM

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Re: [perros24] Insects

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Well, I have heard and read exactly the opposite of the posting above. Indeed, a friend of mine spent a summer in La Manzanilla in the state of Jalisco, and he said the insect problem was beyond belief. I don´t know about Mexican beach areas in general, never having lived in one, but I have heard and read that insects on Mexican coasts can be a severe problem. And I wouldn´t have much faith in the Mexican version of Orkin. I imagine others on this forum who have more direct experience with beach areas will chime in.
From Tzurumutaro, Michoacan, "The Village of the Darned."
_______________________________________

The nuts and bolts of moving to Mexico:
http://michaeldickson.blogspot.com/
The dark side of living in Mexico:
http://mexicopeeks.blogspot.com/
Scintillating life in a Mexican pueblo:
http://tzurumutaro.blogspot.com/
http://tzurumutaro2.blogspot.com/

Chumley

May 17, 2005, 4:50 PM

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Re: [palomares] Insects

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I've spend every winter in La Manzanilla for the last three years and have never, never, seen any insect, not a one. So I have no idea where your friend was, but it certainly wasn't La Manzanilla. However, I have seen other creatures too terrible to mention--lions and tigers and , oh, my, God knows what. There are snakes and there are rats and there are street dogs. But no insects, thank God for that.

(This post was edited by Chumley on May 17, 2005, 5:17 PM)

Miguel Palomares

May 17, 2005, 5:26 PM

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Re: [Chumley] Insects

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Hi, Bill! Read what I wrote again. Summertime! Of course, there is no problem during the winter. That is why all the gringos go there during the winter, not the summer. Winter: Gringos. Summer: Bugs. That´s the cycle as I understand it.
From Tzurumutaro, Michoacan, "The Village of the Darned."
_______________________________________

The nuts and bolts of moving to Mexico:
http://michaeldickson.blogspot.com/
The dark side of living in Mexico:
http://mexicopeeks.blogspot.com/
Scintillating life in a Mexican pueblo:
http://tzurumutaro.blogspot.com/
http://tzurumutaro2.blogspot.com/

(This post was edited by palomares on May 17, 2005, 6:22 PM)

manda405

May 17, 2005, 6:31 PM

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Re: [perros24] Insects

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I haved spent time in various regions of Mexico and haven't really noticed that much of a "problem" with insects. I guess it would depend on your perspective.
Even the cleanest houses have the occasional cucaracha and house fly. Mosquitoes are only really bad in the humid areas where it never gets cold enough to kill them. In the hot desert areas the main culprits are house flies.
Of course, you have to consider the overall cleanliness of the area to which you are moving. If the streets are dirty with trash and the sewage runs into the gutters, you will have more insects, not to mention rats, dogs, and numerous other health hazards.

What happens down in Mexico...Stays in Mexico.

MG Rabon

May 17, 2005, 7:05 PM

Post #7 of 22 (2321 views)

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Re: [perros24] Insects

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On the water in Acapulco insects are a problem even in the winter. Zancudos and mosquitos will eat you alive if the wind turns the wrong way. We don't have any cockroaches, I imagine that the 4" spyders, or the 6" scorpions eat them. We also have iguannas that will come right into the house, they don't seem to care that you are there.

Compórtate bien, y si no puedes, invítame!
MG Rabon

Ed and Fran

May 17, 2005, 7:16 PM

Post #8 of 22 (2311 views)

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Re: [MG Rabon] Insects

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Just to report in from the Gulf Coast side (northern Veracruz), my non-quantitative s.w.a.g. of the insect situation here is that it's about equivalent to Houston (except that we have scorpions, non-lethal ones of course). Of couse we're actually about 9 miles from the coast. Tuxpan itself is about 7 miles up-river from the coast and we're a bit farther inland.

Now when you get farther south, like around the Tabasco/Campeche border, it's a different kettle of fish (or insects) altogether. They will flat carry you off down there. Of course, that's neither prime investment land nor popular retirement territory (imho).

E&F

sfmacaws

May 17, 2005, 7:40 PM

Post #9 of 22 (2300 views)

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Re: [perros24] Insects

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Some areas are justifiably famous for the numbers of mosquitoes and noseeums, San Blas stands out in my mind as does the coast east of Villahermosa. They are a year round problem there. In other areas, the problem is only when you are off the beach and away from the onshore breeze. There are mosquitoes along all the coastlines of Mexico, they are worse in areas with lagoons and mangroves,they are worse in the rainy season and they are worse even a half block off the beach. Of the 3 coastlines in Mexico, the gulf coast has the most problem, the caribbean the next and the pacific the last. I hate the no-see-ums more than the mosquitoes although the mosquitoes are more dangerous.

Resort areas have mosquito abatement programs that are usually pretty effective. Away from the resort areas, you are on your own. There are ads and govt programs to make people aware of standing water and the diseases carried by mosquitoes throughout Mexico as in the US. Dengue and Malaria are still a health problem in some areas.

On the caribbean coast we find those large, flying cockroaches that are called palmetto bugs in Florida. I usually find them dead in the corners because whatever the gardner sprays is incredibly effective. I don't want to know what it is.

It really depends on whether you are going to an arid desert coast like in Baja or to a jungle like the southern coastlines. Obviously there are more bugs where it is humid and there are lots of lagoons, swamps and rivers.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

Papirex

May 17, 2005, 8:02 PM

Post #10 of 22 (2295 views)

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Re: [manda405] Insects

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I wouldn’t count on cold weather to kill mosquitoes. I lived for several decades in Alaska, there are 28 different types of mosquitoes there. We have mosquitoes from break up in the spring, until freeze up in the fall. The first mosquitoes seen in the spring are full grown adults, they seem to be bigger than adult mosquitoes seen later in the year, like mosquitoes on steroids. That is because they spent the winter frozen in a state of suspended animation. The cold doesn’t kill them, when they thaw they are healthy and active.

As several of the other posters have said, the amount of insect pests you have depends on where you live. Generally speaking, the closer you are to the country or undeveloped land, the more insects you will have. Garbage and raw sewage on the streets will contribute to the insect population too. Most, if not all Mexican cities and towns will have raw sewage on the streets during the rainy season.

This is because generally they do not have separate storm sewers in the towns here. Unlike the laws in The US, yard and roof drains are connected to the sanitary sewers. When it rains, the sewers in the streets overflow, and the streets flood carrying raw sewage on to the streets. Unlike in The US, manholes covers here are not solid, but have a circular row of holes that are about 2 inches in diameter in them which allows for the overflow. The sewage is highly diluted, but it is sewage none the less. A US Public health department would have a cat down here.

Most of us control the insect problem by having a “fumigator” come to our house and treating the house and yard. These guys don’t truly fumigate, they spray the place. You may need to try more than one fumigator until you find one that uses an effective insecticide with effects that last more than a couple of weeks.

Cats kill scorpions.

Rex
"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

Jerry@Ajijic

May 17, 2005, 8:15 PM

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Re: [RexC] Insects

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We have lived lakeside (Lake Chapala) in 4 different houses. 1 of them had scorpion problems, 3 did not. 1 had mosquitos in large numbers. Presently we have no scorpions and very few mosquitos. All of this difference in a 25 mile area.

Cynthia7

May 17, 2005, 8:17 PM

Post #12 of 22 (2279 views)

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Re: [Jerry@Ajijic] Insects

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I thought all tropical coastal areas had insects. Where in the tropics do they not have insects at some time of the year?

donwilliston

May 18, 2005, 5:49 AM

Post #13 of 22 (2229 views)

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Re: [perros24] Insects

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The answer to this question has to be “Relative to what?” I can tell you that compared to Georgia, New Hampshire, and Colorado there are virtually no insects in city of Mazatlán. I’ve even sat on the beach at night without a problem. On the other hand there is a type of mosquito here that carries dengue fever, which is very bad indeed. In other words, it’s much less likely to get bitten but it could be more serious. I believe this is the case in all of the humid areas of Mexico.

Leaf cutter ants can certainly cause a problem for a garden but they are not in the same catagory as the fire ants in Georgia. There are some spiders but I'm pretty sure I've not been bitten (and I would know because I'm allergic). There are very few bees and I can't recal seeing a wasp. House flies are not serious but I do have a can of Raid handy. If I clean shrimp and don't immediately bag the shells then a hoard of very small insects appear (Easy problem to solve - keep the kitchen clean).

As Bubba mentioned, “Pest control is quite advanced here”. In addition to the pest control effort of the city I use a floor cleaner that contains an insect repellant to limit the number cockroaches and fleas. It seems to work.

Certainly, since you are concerned about insects, you should avoid any property overlooking an estuary or swamp.

---
"It's good enough to be true" Gracie Maurahan 1970
---

perros24

May 18, 2005, 7:01 AM

Post #14 of 22 (2209 views)

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Re: [Bubba] Insects

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To all of you who replied to my inquiry about insects, THANK YOU. From getting no answers from real estate agents to getting so many from those in the know was a miracle. Gracias a todo.

alex .

May 18, 2005, 7:18 AM

Post #15 of 22 (2199 views)

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Re: [perros24] Raidolitos

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Stock up on them: they smell bad, they don't last all night, but they do work.
Alex

gpk

May 18, 2005, 11:21 AM

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Re: [perros24] Insects

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Just to cover Puerto Vallarta--I never had a real problem in my (not on the beach) condo. The building was sprayed regularly--maybe that is why. Flies and mosquitos were not a problem on the beach in PV, but at home we did have the tiniest ants I have ever seen and they would appear the second a bit of sugar or sweet liquid touched the kitchen counter. San Blas is famous for the biting flies.

Marlene

May 18, 2005, 11:50 AM

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Re: [gpk] Insects

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Quote

San Blas is famous for the biting flies

Oh boy, that's an understatement! Many an unsuspecting tourist who wants to get away from it all is in for a big surprise there. You can get eaten alive.

Here in Mazatlan I find these speedy little mosquitos a very minor problem after living in Canada's northlands where real mosquitos are the size of VW's. They spray here for mosquitos, plus the health department goes door to door handing out little bags of granuals to put in any tanks or laundry tubs (pila) that hold standing water. Cockroaches are in any tropical locale including Hawaii so they don't count as a problem unique to Mexican coastal areas, and are easily controlled.

Bubba

May 18, 2005, 12:45 PM

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Re: [donwilliston] Insects

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Don:

Lissen here Georgia Boy, I lived on Mobile Bay for a few years and the first yankee place I ever visited was Northern Minnesota. I was thinking of making a reprise of one of those Godzilla vs. The Wolf man movies starring Minnesota mosquitos vs. Mobile Bay cockroaches in which the two mutant forms of repulsive life fight it out to the death, destroying Tokyo in the process. When I used to drive home out in the swamps along Mobile Bay to my shack on the Ile Aux Oiseaux River as it entered the bay, my headlights against my shack would shine upon hideous creatures never before seen by mankind. These creatures would feast on Mexican insects and have no more trouble than a slight case of indigestion from the effort. These Alabama cockroaches could fly, by God, and loved to fly in your hair at night. I understand they love toe jam so that is why your feet are so clean after sleeping there.

And you are worried about Mexico???!!!

Uncle Jack

May 18, 2005, 12:47 PM

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Re: [Bubba] Insects

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It's not often that we get to read the words of a real poet.

uj

Bubba

May 18, 2005, 1:45 PM

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Re: [Uncle Jack] Insects

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(This post was edited by Bubba on May 18, 2005, 1:47 PM)

MARIA CUERVA

May 18, 2005, 3:53 PM

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Re: [perros24] Insects

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My kids and their father got Dengue fever in Barra de Navidad, Jalisco. In the mountains south of Puerto Vallarta they were bitten by very lethal scorpions. Yes, all of them. We also had Vinagrillas-you don't want to see them, they look like Alien. And there were the Coral snakes but luckily no one was ever bitten. In the village south of Zihuatenejo , Guerrero where we lived, once you left the beach you had to be completely covered because the Sancudos would eat you alive on the 10 minute walk to the village proper that went thru the coco palms. In the Huasteca expect Tarantulas-benign, Vinagrillas-they squirt pee in the eyes which can blind you, much like Alien blood.Let's see what else, Giant flying Cockroaches, Scabies mites(endemic),snakes come in the house in the rainy season. Table lands are the best to be the least bug free. To simplify- hot and wet spell lots of bugs. Temperate climate that is dry will be most bug free.

Bubba

May 19, 2005, 8:18 AM

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Re: [cuerva] Insects

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Godawlmighty, Cuerva, I'm sure glad I didn't read your post before moving down here, I might've bought that beach land in Alabama that got hit so hard by last year's hurricane.

You have reminded me that I once read a supposedly serious article about something called the "kissing bug" in Mexico that decends on you as you sleep and plants babies under your skin the ultimate result of which is your heart failure.

I can never stay in a thatched roof hotel room after reading of an incident in Guatamala where a colony of ants invaded the ceiling to dine on the scorpions who tend to live in thatched ceilings thereby causing the scorpions to rain down upon the hotel guests by the hundreds as they tried to escape the ants who periodically feast upon them.

The insects in the highlands aren't so bad but the coast and tropical lowlands sound pretty scary.