The Battle Against Thailand’s Bugs

Chris hates spiders. I hate cockroaches. So before we moved to Thailand, we never believed that one day we would actually live in harmony with these creatures. Not go into a kung fu frenzy at the sight of one, you say? Since having our fair share of surprise encounters with them over the past two years, we’ve learned how to handle Thailand’s bugs and other creepy crawlies without getting too freaked out!

We love that Thailand has a warm and tropical climate. We love that Thai businesses are, more often than not, open aired. We love outside dining and enjoying a good meal or a cup of coffee under the shade of a few trees. We love the simplicity and quaintness of Thai styled teak houses.

But with all that comes a very inviting environment for Thailand’s bugs. This includes things that fly, creep, and jump. We’ll even throw in four-legged creatures that skitter around in the night.

Ants

After living in Thailand for just shy of two years, ants are by far the thing that gives us the biggest heartache.

In our first studio apartment, we couldn’t get them rid of them. We’d empty the trash daily. We’d wiped down counters and do dishes immediately. We even started putting our dry goods, like oatmeal, sugar, and noodles in zip-lock bags, but the ants would chew through the plastic and get in anyways.

The ants even went so far as to eat our toothpaste. They’d march from these little cracks in our bathroom walls and ceiling, up the sinks, and weasel their way under the toothpaste cap. It was disgusting.

Also, ants give nasty bites! I found welts the size of silver dollars on my body that stayed blotchy and itchy for about a week, and it wasn’t from some mutant mosquito. Who knew a tiny thing could do so much damage?!

Cockroaches

Big ones and small ones. Daytime and nighttime. These things are afraid of nobody!

Luckily, almost every roach we’ve seen has been (thankfully) outside and either digging in the roadside trash or cruising along the sidewalk. It’s usually just one lone rider, but more often than not, it measures over two inches long!

Spiders

We see small spiders from time to time, and admittedly, we think our cat properly disposes of them at night or while we are away.

But let’s just say that we were never ready for the type of spiders we had in our old townhouse. They were sporting a wingspan of nearly three inches and were lightning fast.

We killed (dog eat dog world, we know) several of these gigantic grey spiders in just one month during what we assumed to be spider season back in our old townhouse.

We’ve used roach spray to stun one into submission before whacking it with a broom.

Another time, I was putting in my contacts and saw a spider splayed on the wall less than a foot away from my cheek. I flung my contact across the bathroom out of surprise, but managed to grab something to squish it before it skittered off.

The worst experience was finding one of these spiders on top of our bed. Now we’re in a predicament; we didn’t want to squish it on the pillows or blankets, but we didn’t want to risk losing it in the bed frame, either. The bed frame was a big box on the floor with enough wooden slats supporting the mattress that you could barely fit your fingers between them.

Unfortunately, the latter happened, and it was right before bedtime.

We know what you’re thinking. Did you go to bed knowing the spider was in the bed frame somewhere?  Yes, why yes we did. We had the heebie jeebies but we just couldn’t do anything about it. That’s ok. Two days later, that spider got what it deserved.

Millipedes

We’ve seen some mighty millipedes in Thailand. These guys get several inches long and are as thick as a pinky finger, but we’re happy to report that they seem to mind their own business. We’ve only ever seen them outside and hope to keep it that way. Sealing our doors has prevented any millipedes from wandering into our house and being eaten by the cat.

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are present year round but in varying degrees. There are more in the wet season (July to October) and fewer in the dry hot season (March to June). They love cool dark places, like your typical jungle and shady outdoorsy areas. But this also includes underneath restaurant tables and in bathrooms, which give the perfect opportunity for biting fleshy areas.

A word of caution, Thailand’s mosquitoes can carry Malaria and Dengue Fever. Although there are preventative pills that can be taken for Malaria and often used by tourists, these are not a long-term solution for people living here. There are no vaccines against these diseases. However, symptom for Malaria and Dengue Fever are treatable (lots of fluids and pain killers) at the local hospitals.

Frogs

We haven’t seen too many frogs in Thailand, but at our old house during the rainy season, we had a week or two of frog plagues, which we captured in a time-lapse video. Hundreds of these miniature buggars hopped out of the temporary pond in our side yard and made our patio area their home!

We’ve also rescued our neighbor and her sister from a frog in their house. They were terrified of a palm-sized frog that was sticking to their living room wall, so we knocked it off with a broom and put it back outside where it belonged.

Lizards

We have two types of lizards that frequent our house and surrounding yard. The locals call them jing joke and dtook gae, but we call them geckos and f%@k you lizards. The latter has been given this nickname by foreigners who believe the lizards’ call sounds much like said expletive.

The geckos frequent our home and hang out on the ceilings. They seem harmless, make cute little chirps, and supposedly eat mosquitoes. They’re good guys, so we don’t bother them. On the other hand, our cat goes full hunt mode when they’re around.

The other lizards look like small iguanas and can be aggressive. We’ve known someone whose large dog tried to mess with one and got a nasty bite on the nose that required a visit to the vet and antibiotics. Don’t mess with these guys!

So How Do You Get Rid of Thailand’s Bugs?

There are several preventive measures you can take against Thailand’s bugs, as well as ways to get rid of them once they’re inside the house.

Something as simple as sealing the gaps between the doors and the floor prevents larger bugs and other critters from getting inside. Thai houses aren’t typically built to Western standards and are rather, um, breezy. We found door seal strips (weathering strips) at our local HomePro, a home improvement store. You may also have luck at the big department stores, like Big C or Tesco Lotus.

Using caulk to patch up small cracks will also help prevent smaller bugs, like ants, from coming inside.

Ant chalk also works fairy well, although it needs to be applied often. Draw lines around door and window frames, electrical sockets, and pipes using this special chalk. It has a neurotoxin that interferes with the ants’ ability to track food sources and follow scent trails. It also kills those that are exposed.

Other tips including cleaning up immediately after cooking. Rinse dishes before putting them in the sink and wipe the counters to get rid of small spills and crumbs. Also, put dry goods into tupperware or glass containers.

As far as spiders and roaches are concerned, they either get a blast from insect spray or they’re electrocuted the electric bug zapper racket.  The latter is also fantastic for killing mosquitoes. And can we all admit how fun it is to hear the rapid pop-pop-pops when you’ve successfully killed them? These items are available at 7-Elevens, Mini Tesco Lotuses, and those little dollar store equivalents around town.

Wear long sleeve pants and shirts, weather permitting, in the evenings and mornings. Even wearing full coverage shoes, and not flip-flops, can make a big difference.

Use mosquito repellent. 7-Elevens and Mini Tescos, which are scattered across every block in Thailand, sell sprays and lotions. They smell a lot better than the stuff that contains Deet, too.

Lastly, sit in front of a fan. Many cafés and restaurants have fans on, and the moving air physically prevents mosquitoes from getting to you.

Thailand’s Bugs Don’t Stop There

We’ve also had a brief encounter with a dead scorpion in our bathroom drain, had an infestation of these weird grey worm pods on our walls, witnessed several plagues of flying termites, dealt with ticks, and have seen plenty rats. Snakes? Nope, we haven’t seen a snake yet.

We’ve since gotten used to Thailand’s bugs. Well, as much as one can get used to things that swarm, bite, jump, and fly. Would you be able to do the same?