Evil Mosquitoes

I have to devote a post to Daegu's mosquitoes. Daegu is not a tropical city. The houses are not made of thatch or bamboo. There are no malarial swamps, and the temperature never reaches 100 degrees. In spite of these odds, Daegu is home to the most pesky mosquito population I have ever encountered.

North Carolina is no stranger to humidity. Quite often, in summer, you can almost drink the air. Summers in Charlotte helped me understand why "muggy" is a word. With humidity comes mosquitoes, of course, and there are plenty. Our old house had a wonderful front porch that we couldn't use from Memorial Day to Labor Day because even 5 minutes outside would leave me heartily bitten. Those mosquitoes scoffed at citronella candles, and nothing but a rich smattering of “Off” would keep (most of) them away.

Daegu during the rainy season is somewhat similar, but I was prepared and had a generous supply of “Off.” I never walked the dog without it. Daegu does not have the clouds of mosquitoes that North Carolina had. I deluded myself that I could handle Daegu mosquitoes because damnit, I'm a southerner. I wondered why there are mosquito nets at the Home Plus.

Well, now I know. What Daegu mosquitoes lack in numbers, they make up for in guile. I was dismayed to discover that when temperatures dropped to the 50's at night, the mosquitoes hung around. They survived by moving inside. We have screens over our windows, so I'm still not sure how they get in, but they do. Then they hide, biding their time until we fell asleep. I don't detect mosquitoes during the day, but I wake up with bites all over.

Our temporary solution is to have Bobby conduct regular mosquito patrols, newspaper in hand. He usually kills about 10 a day. I think we're going to check out the mosquito nets the next time we go to Home Plus.

I've always associated mosquito nets with 3rd world countries.  I guess the stupid, lethargic mosquitoes of my old home deluded me.