![]() ![]() Your lips and tongue may feel a little numb, but the venom is nothing compared to their smaller, translucent cousins in Mexico. ![]() Nicaraguan scorpions look nasty-black and big-but their sting is no more harmful than that of a bee and is described by some as what a cigarette burn feels like. ![]() Scorpions ( alacránes) are common in Nicaragua, especially in dark corners, beaches, and piles of wood. If you’d rather the spiders didn’t share your personal space, shake out your bedclothes before going to sleep and check your shoes before putting your feet in them. Of note is the pica-caballo, a kind of tarantula whose name (meaning horse-biter) refers to the alleged power of its flesh-rotting venom to destroy a horse’s hoof.ĭon’t worry, though spiders do not aggressively seek out people, and do way more good than harm by eating things like Chagas bugs. SpidersĪrachnophobes, beware! The spiders of Nicaragua are dark, hairy, and occasionally capable of devouring small birds. Also, many pulperías sell espirales (mosquito coils), which burn slowly, releasing a mosquito-repelling smoke they’re cheap and convenient, but full of chemicals, so don’t breathe in too much smoke. Hanging-type mosquito nets are available in Nicaragua, or you can purchase tela de mosquitero anywhere they sell fabric and have a mosquito net made by a seamstress. Avoid being outside or unprotected in the hour before sunset, when mosquito activity is heaviest, and use a mosquitero (mosquito net) tucked underneath your mattress when you sleep. Choose lodging accommodations with good screens and if this is not possible, use a fan to blow airborne insects away from your body as you sleep. They are both relatively simple to combat, and ensuring you don’t get bitten is the best prophylaxis for preventing disease.įirst and foremost, limit the amount of skin you expose: long sleeves, pants, and socks will do more to prevent bites than the strongest chemical repellent. The mosquito that carries malaria bites during the night and evening hours, and the dengue fever carrier is active during the day, from dawn to dusk. They are much more common in the lower, flatter regions of Nicaragua than they are in mountains, though even in the highlands and major urban areas, old tires, cans, and roadside puddles can provide the habitat necessary to produce swarms of them. Mosquitoes (Nicas refer to them as zancudos) are most active during the rainy season (June–November) and in areas near stagnant water, like marshes, puddles, or rice fields. When mosquito activity is heaviest, use a mosquito net when you sleep.
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