Here in Cambodia, the mosquito we watch out for is the Asian Tiger mosquito. It’s identifiable due to black and white stripes on the body. The tiger mosquito is usually a little larger than other mosquitos and can potentially carry dengue and chikungunya, which we are all too well acquainted with, as well as zika and yellow fever, which we likely will not encounter here. We take precautions with mosquito repellent, mosquito lotion, mosquito coils and mosquito nets.

This cool season has brought another mosquito to our attention. The southern house mosquito is a fairly boring variation of it’s more deadly disease carrying cousins here in Cambodia, since the diseases that it carries are not present in the country. What the southern house mosquito lacks in deadly diseases, it’s making up for in quantity this year. Unlike the last two cool seasons, when mosquitos were around, annoying and mostly harmless, this year has seen a massive surge in the southern house mosquitos at our home and the homes of many of our staff.

In the morning when I open our wooden front door, a swarm of about a hundred awaits, trying to infiltrate our fairly porous house. Sitting outside under the mango trees has gotten less and less pleasant as these mosquitos taunt us by sitting next to the mosquito coils, completely ignoring all non-DEET repellent, and diving relentlessly into our nose, mouth and ears. I have eaten an average of a mosquito a day just by having my mouth open to talk or breath while in their presence at dusk. Our bathroom is another favorite place and we have a new routine where the bathroom door gets closed around bedtime and I go in with the electric racket and making zapping, sparking music to the sizzling of hundreds of tiny bodies. I’ve hunted mosquitos before bed for most of our time here, but the sheer volume of the past month is truly impressive.

We aren’t the only ones who are leaving our electric rackets on the chargers, or the only ones wearing long sleeves and long pants and socks for protection during this season. I don’t know why this year is so much worse than others, but I do hope it isn’t a trend for the future!