Maybe some of you saw my post on Facebook a few weeks ago, about my house under attack by small, flying creatures that could fell their wings and crawl under my door.
I stood at attention a few feet from my closed door with insect-killing spray and a flip flop to keep my hut free from infestation.
I woke up to today’s attack at 4:15 a.m. I could hear strange noises but did not know what was happening. Instead, I tuned in to World Series game 6 about 45 minutes earlier than planned, which meant that I had 45 more minutes of agony to listen to.
After the game ended at 5:40 a.m., I went back to sleep, still unaware of what was happening outside (and inside).
I finally got out of bed around 7:15 a.m. and saw the first bug crawling across my floor. A flip flop was handy and I deftly ended its life. Then I saw a few more and reluctantly opened my door to so, so many bugs.
Close up of the assailants struggling to live.
Fortunately I have not yet encountered a bug here that has scared me yet, as there have been plenty that have wanted to move in with me. Like this fellow.
Hey there, big spider. I almost screamed when it almost crawled on me.
I let him live, albeit outside.
travelin' the globe 
Oh my! We had similar swarming, flying things during the first week in country and orientation! They loved the lights and in the night came in the 100’s to swarm the one left on in the hallway outside the dorms of our training camp. They made such a mess, dying like that on the floor and then attracting ants by the bucket load! But the whole ordeal lasted a few days and then it was done! Hopefully your swarm was short-lived :)
The bugs have been back again, but each event is decreasing in quantity of bugs, with fewer and fewer trying to get in my hut. It started after the rains started, so I’m wondering if it will be a rainy season regular occurrence. I’m glad yours was done quickly!
Yes, I think there are definitely seasonal bouts. In Costa Rica we had something similar with these chunky black beetles. They were rather annoying because they made a lot of noise pinging off the walls and ceilings! Hope the end of the swarm is nigh! (Awesome blog by the way!)
When there are enough of these, they bounce of the windows. I think bugs must think there is a pot of gold or at least a tasty snack at the light. And thank you! I look forward to reading your blog now that I have more data.
Haha, yeah it’s definitely hard to understand their suicidal motives! I have trouble getting my head around how/why cockroaches always die on the back. Is it getting on their back that kills them or because they are dying that they flip over? A sort of chicken vs. egg conundrum for me. Hope site is treating you well!
You know, I often find myself being upset about circumstances at my site, but then I see, like, everyone else’s situations…. I mean peace corps is tough no matter where you are; the situations are all different, but all I can say right now is, thank god I chose Kosovo. We have awesome bugs and little creatures but nothing that would literally make me squeel like that spider. And the only swarms we have in the city are the hundreds of thousands of birds a that fly down from the hills at dusk… not so bad. Haha
I can hear the next round of these nasty things flapping away on my roof and flying into my windows. And a cockroach crawled into bed with me a few days ago too. Some days I wonder why I only wanted to serve in Africa. I feel like the job offer for Swaziland should come with a warning of all the insects and other small creatures we deal with daily.
Hey, just remember, when you walk away after service, you know what’s up…. no one can take that away from you.