When not fighting off swarms of chayules, we keep our hands busy by slapping the mosquitoes buzzing around our ankles. And since the houses generally have no screens and tons of gaps and cracks and holes in the walls, there’s no keeping them out. Indoors is still outdoors. They’re around all the time but at dusk and dawn they’re absolutely unrelenting. The thought of wearing insect repellent every single day for two years seemed less than appealing so I generally protect myself with clothing. I’m still not comfortable with the idea of using pants, socks, and shoes from the moment I step out of the shower until I go to bed at night, regardless of the heat, but I do it anyway.
From the hours of about 8am to 4pm the mosquitoes’ favorite pastime seems to be clinging to the side of my mosquito net. They’ll leave for a few hours to feast (not on me if I can help it) then return engorged with blood just before I go to bed. It’s an ominous scene to walk into my bedroom and see them all waiting there so still and patient. Sometimes as I try to get into bed they sneak in the net with me, but I’ve perfected this sort of magician swoop where I grasp the net and quickly spin myself underneath it. I disappear behind the mesh cloth and the mosquitoes are left dazzled. But before I do this I usually smack a few for good measure.
To combat the mosquitoes the town uses a combination of methods, the most common of which being chemical warfare. The first chemical is known as abate; I guess the name pretty much sums up its general purpose. It’s a supposedly harmless powder of undetermined ingredients that MINSA (The Ministry of Health) throws into the tanks and buckets of stored water that people keep at their homes. The eggs won’t hatch and the potentially malaria or dengue-ridden mosquito is left without an heir. I assume it works but I’ve never tried it myself. I go with the less traditional method of using a lid to keep mosquitoes and other unwanted creatures out of my water.
The second phase of the chemical warfare comes in the form of a disturbingly unprotected man wielding some sort of beefed up leaf blower through every room of every house in town. He wears plastic chaps and a construction helmet, but since things aren’t usually falling on his head I believe it’s just for style. You would assume lungs and eyes would be the most susceptible to damage and therefore a top priority when it comes to protection, but a mask and goggles aren’t included in the gear. He’s probably ingested so much of the chemical that just having him nearby would be sufficient for keeping any number of mosquitoes safely away, like a human citronella candle.
The way you’re warned that your house is about to be fumigated is by the guy blasting a huge puff of smoke through an open window into your house. This gives you maybe four seconds to drop what you’re doing and get the hell out. It’s extremely inconvenient when you’re in the middle of cooking a meal or showering or dozing in a hammock. But whatever I’m doing I try to get out quick. And not that I don’t trust the guy whose profession it is to follow a trail of poisonous gas around town, but I still instinctively cover my face and search frantically among the piles of papers on my table for my wallet before fleeing. I see my neighbors already hurrying across the street. One of them is gently carrying a rusted casing from an old fan that has been converted into a home for a pet parakeet. I meet the rest of my neighbors out on the street and we talk about all the struggling face-up cockroaches inevitably awaiting us inside. The smoke rising up and pouring out through the spaces between the walls and the roofs of every house gives the impression that the entire neighborhood is burning to the ground.
We sit and watch for ten minutes or so, waiting for it to clear, then head back to our respective houses to see what’s alive, what’s dead, and what’s somewhere between the two. The poison is an equal opportunity killer so in addition to the cockroaches and mosquitoes, it also kills the things that eat the mosquitoes, like geckos and spiders. I take the broom and sweep everything out the backdoor, leaving it for the birds when they return.
They come and spray pretty frequently, maybe every other week or so. There are fewer mosquitoes after they spray, but the change is temporary. Within a day everything has pretty much returned to normal. And with no predators the mosquitoes seem to come back stronger than before. So there are still mosquitoes, there are still cockroaches, there is still malaria, and there is still dengue. But for one glorious evening I can wear shorts and sandals.
