Bonnie Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 (edited) I am interested in hearing from residents if they have flea and tick problems on their property and/or with their pets. I'm also interested in hearing reports of other pests, including scorpions, spiders, roaches, etc. If and when you report, please let us know the altitude and general area of your property. I am absolutely fascinated by how much these things differ from area to area, even within a short distance. For example, I have lived in my house for ten years and have never seen a scorpion while folks in the general area report them to be a problem. My pets have ticks and have fleas so sporadically and so minimally that I seldom have to treat them--maybe once every two years the 10 years I've been here. On the other hand, I have tons of spiders. I live in Palo Alto at 4050 feet altitude. I have never had an exterminator and have never sprayed the house. (My gardener occasionally sprays the plants, but not the entire property.) I would love to see reports from around the community. And I would love to hear from anyone who has a theory, preferably supported by facts, of why this is. Edited November 9, 2017 by Bonnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 Having lived in a few different places here, and in CR, my experience has been that there are definitely less insects at higher elevations. It seems to be too cold for them to flourish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoSailors Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 1 hour ago, Keith Woolford said: Having lived in a few different places here, and in CR, my experience has been that there are definitely less insects at higher elevations. It seems to be too cold for them to flourish. The insects don't like wearing the coats to keep them warm. Hard to find the right size I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoSailors Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Well, Bonnie here is our experience: We are in Brisas Boquetenas, at around 2600 feet. Depending on traffic. Our pest report after 2 years: Snakes, 4 total, 1 coral, 1 green, 1 black/blue, one ??? ( was moving too fast ) Scorpians, 2 in the house virtually on their last leg. ( no pun intended) Easy kill Spiders, too many to count. Hello Christian Pitti Ants, Dry season, hundreds, CHD Services Pest Control. Gotta love Cristian Pitti Mosquitoes, a lot less than the first year...go figure! Cane Toads, 6 or 7 lost count. Nasty critters. Pet killer for sure! Wasps and bees, Were the hell are they? Need that pollination thing going on! Beetle bugs, or whatever the hell you call them. Seasonal. come inside to die. Life everlast I guess. Termites, a few in our new kitchen cabinets....hello Cristian Pitti! Whew..saved the day and cabinets. This guy knows his stuff! Sales/ religious solicitation, too many to mention. No Ticks, no Fleas, no Errors. Dogs are on Seresto tick and flea collars. http://www.seresto.com/ If I missed any bug, in particular, please do not take offense. So what is bugging your area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted November 9, 2017 Author Share Posted November 9, 2017 Forgot to say that I have no mosquitoes, cane toads, or ants in the house either. Lots of snakes, but no poisonous ones except maybe a coral now and then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnF13 Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Here on the Potrerillos side at 2400 feet we have snakes, about 10 in the last three years, fer de lance, corals and boas. Ants by the million, likely because I have a 3/4 acre bush just behind the house. Cane toads, one in my pond right now. Many scorpions but no problem, my cats dispose of them quickly. Few mosquitos but some “noseeums” , little biting buggers. On the good side, lots of mot mots, raptors and other assorted birds. I think they all, good and bad, live in my little jungle. Wouldn’t change it for anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted November 9, 2017 Author Share Posted November 9, 2017 12 hours ago, Keith Woolford said: Having lived in a few different places here, and in CR, my experience has been that there are definitely less insects at higher elevations. It seems to be too cold for them to flourish. I assume that's a big part of the answer, Keith, but I have friends living closely by--one at an even higher elevation--who are plagued by scorpions, cane toads, and mosquitoes. My property abuts the Palo Alto River (although there's a steep drop off), and I have a water feature (fish pond/waterfall) that I think should be attractive to both toads and mosquitoes. I have a large garden with tons of vegetation which I would think should attract a lot more insects. Moreover, this is the "green" side of town, i.e., more moisture. It seems that this microclimate business encompasses a lot more than temperature, wind, and rain. But the whys and wherefores are perplexing. (Two Sailors, I've found that some dogs help with pests arriving on foot, particularly if the dog is of a known threatening species. When my pitbull was alive, unwanted visitors were few and far between even though she was a sweetheart. With my current golden retriever, not so much; he invites folks to open the gate and come on in.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brundageba Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Brisas Boquetenas: On canyon ( been here 10 years) Fer de Lance: 1 five footer off the canyon side, 1 seven footer in the field across the street, 4 small ones around the house/garage Coral snake: 1 on the back porch Cane toads: here and there on the street when it's wet and around the house...... dozen or so Scorpions: Too numerous to count in the house and around the yard which has two native stacked rock walls we call the scorpion condominium Cutter Ants: never ending problems out of the field across from us and the canyon below us. Fire ants: Perpetual but manageable Kitchen ants: maybe once every other year we get a colony that we put to death with Boric Acid powder on their trail Wood ants: From the canyon side. Killed slowly a 30 ft tall tree which eventually fell over in the wind Hornets: Once a year on average on the eaves of the house ( mud dobbers) Mosquitos and coffee bugs: Rare. We have gravel rather than grass. That seems to reduce the amount of mosquitos and coffee bugs markedly. If we stand on the edge of the canyon we do get occasional coffee bug bites. Termites: No sign of them Furry caterpillars: Seasonal on yard plants. Burrowing fruit worms: We have a beautiful mango tree that produces large Costa Rican mangoes that get totally destroyed by worms. Maybe we will get two fruit a year on the entire tree. We do not spray the tree. Biggest issues: Cutter ants and Fer de Lance We have an exterminator spray inside and around the house once a month. Every scorpion we see in the house is dead. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyS Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 11 hours ago, TwoSailors said: Well, Bonnie here is our experience: We are in Brisas Boquetenas, at around 2600 feet. Depending on traffic. Our pest report after 2 years: Snakes, 4 total, 1 coral, 1 green, 1 black/blue, one ??? ( was moving too fast ) Scorpians, 2 in the house virtually on their last leg. ( no pun intended) Easy kill Spiders, too many to count. Hello Christian Pitti Ants, Dry season, hundreds, CHD Services Pest Control. Gotta love Cristian Pitti Mosquitoes, a lot less than the first year...go figure! Cane Toads, 6 or 7 lost count. Nasty critters. Pet killer for sure! Wasps and bees, Were the hell are they? Need that pollination thing going on! Beetle bugs, or whatever the hell you call them. Seasonal. come inside to die. Life everlast I guess. Termites, a few in our new kitchen cabinets....hello Cristian Pitti! Whew..saved the day and cabinets. This guy knows his stuff! Sales/ religious solicitation, too many to mention. No Ticks, no Fleas, no Errors. Dogs are on Seresto tick and flea collars. http://www.seresto.com/ If I missed any bug, in particular, please do not take offense. So what is bugging your area? After Christian Pitti's treatment did nothing to kill a heavy ant infestation in my house, a friend gave me a 75 cent packet of an ant killing powder. I put it on all the ant trails. It probably took a teaspoon in all (and there was half a packet left). The ants dutifully carried the powder back to their nests. In 3 days all the ants were gone. I haven't seen one ant in over a year and a half. So I figure getting rid of those ants cost about 30 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brundageba Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Boric Acid. Sure cure. Cheap and safe...weak solutions are used in medicine for such things as eye wash and irrigations of sensitive skin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bondoux Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 We are in Lucero, roughly 2900 feet altitude. New construction has been going on continuously since we moved in two years ago, so the local ecosystem is constantly stirred up. We have the house and its perimeter fumigated three times per year, and are happy with Castulo Ledezma of Magic Clean. We spray the garden with insecticide three or four times a year. So far, only two scorpions, both shortly after moving in We see an occasional fly in the house. No other insects indoors. We have screens on the windows, but leave a door open for the cats to come and go to the terrace. Terrace/Deck (under cover, elevated) - we enjoy dinner at dusk/dark out of doors, but only seem to attract the odd moth. However, in season, the house lights seem to attract hordes of May Beetles and June Bugs, all of which come to die in front of the lighted windows. Funeral detail every morning for something around 100-150 insects. The moths and bugs in turn attracted cane toads for a while, but no longer following my program of clubbing/relocating the small tribe. We used to have a bunch of Hawthorne flies (those slow-flying, dangling legs kind) but the gardener removed their nest while trimming a tree. This past year we have seen/heard reports of about five fer-de-lance snakes killed within 100 yards of our house. I suspect it was a single brood now exterminated by the Panamanian construction crews, as it has been several months since the last sighting. A couple of tarantulas have snuck into the garage to die, during or right after heavy downpours - I suspect their nest was flooded. Neither gave sign of life when discovered. About once every six months I have to discourage a colony of leafcutter ants who seem to like to burrow near walls or the concrete driveway. I pour club soda down the nest opening (the CO2 release supposedly blankets and kills their fungus farm and they decamp after a couple of days). The gardener likes to dump some Hormitox on the entrance as well. The property is bordered by a deep and heavily wooded ravine, with a stream at the bottom. We can't go near it without being stung by noseeums and mosquitoes. Since they were here first, we just ignore them, and count on bug repellent and long sleeves to minimize the personal unpleasantness. Plus, I assume they attract some of the birds we enjoy. Our neighbor had to call out the bomberos last year to remove a large wasp nest from the eaves of his house. They came at night and drove them away with a flaming and smoking torch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyS Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 5 hours ago, Brundageba said: Boric Acid. Sure cure. Cheap and safe...weak solutions are used in medicine for such things as eye wash and irrigations of sensitive skin. It wasn't boric acid. It was something from China, a yellow powder. I have tried boric acid and had no success with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 23 minutes ago, JudyS said: It was something from China, a yellow powder MSG ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merry Korzep Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Hi Bonnie---we are at the 5053 foot level---occasional coral snake---saw one X snake but that is rare for here and it was about a year ago after heavy rains------scorpions ---once in a while----spiders are no more than the occasional like we would see in the States----what i have heard for repelling snakes and other pests are moth balls in areas----as well as lavender oil and dryer sheets (bounce) in areas like your closet and shoes----you may not want moth ball smell but the dryer sheets are nice and the pests seem stay away from that fragrance----we all have some pests---you just have to use the right one for you-------make sure you know that the moth balls are a danger to pets, pond koi or any small children---it is a poison if ingested---so be careful of that---but i have heard that this is the best deterrent for snakes we also use the pre-mix home defence around the base of the house to kill some of the bugs who like the inside of our house---hope that helps others Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted November 9, 2017 Author Share Posted November 9, 2017 My garden was overrun with leaf cutter ants at first. I tried a lot of stuff, but only Mirex worked. You have to trace the ants back to the hole from which they emerged (not always an easy task) and sprinkle the Mirex in and around the hole. That was the ONLY thing that worked for me after trying a gazillion other things, organic and otherwise. Mirex is available at Melos and probably other garden stores. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarieElaine Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 (edited) I tried everything for sugar ants and found that food grade (not harmful to animals) diatamaceous (sp?) earth gets rid of them in about an hour after application. Putting it in a shaker and making a line where they have to cross is a good methodology. It can be bought for $5 per bag at the organic vegetable stand right in the front when you come down the stairs. Edited November 10, 2017 by MarieElaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brundageba Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 sugar ants. Boric acid powder works great. Apply the same way . I bought mine on Amazon. cheap and harmless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyS Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 On 11/9/2017 at 3:24 PM, Keith Woolford said: MSG ? No, msg is white. I don't know what it was. The label was Chinese. But it did have English instructions. They have it at Super Ivan. There is another kind for cucarachas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcelyn Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 17 hours ago, Brundageba said: sugar ants. Boric acid powder works great. Apply the same way . I bought mine on Amazon. cheap and harmless Can you be more specific about which boric acid powder to order on Amazon? Thanks. I’m going to try your method to rid ants from our house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyS Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 18 minutes ago, Marcelyn said: Can you be more specific about which boric acid powder to order on Amazon? Thanks. I’m going to try your method to rid ants from our house. You can buy boric acid powder at most of the pharmacies in Boquete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcelyn Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 1 hour ago, JudyS said: You can buy boric acid powder at most of the pharmacies in Boquete. Thanks. Off to the pharmacy now.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panawanna Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 Can anyone identify this snake? We found it resting on a towel bar in our bathroom. We released is safely (for us and the snake) back in the wild. I have the snake guide that was recently published but could not find this one to ID it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panawanna Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 We have the small black ants that BITE. They create nests about 1.5 down in the soil. Vibrations bring them boiling to the surface. Our neighbor uses a very toxic poison to kill the nests. Any other things that might work so as not to poison other creatures or our dogs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarieElaine Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 I swear by boric acid as well. You can buy the food grade by the bag full at the Finca Marta table at the Tuesday Market. Just sprinkle a line around your house/garden/patio and the ants are gone in an hour or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 1 hour ago, MarieElaine said: I swear by boric acid as well. You can buy the food grade by the bag full at the Finca Marta table at the Tuesday Market. Just sprinkle a line around your house/garden/patio and the ants are gone in an hour or so. Given that we have 42 quintrillion 14 billion 237,017 ants (I counted every blasted one of them! ) surrounding our home in barricade fashion, we plan on trying your approach to keeping them critters under control. Thanks for sharing this secret, and we really hope it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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