Lately, numerous unwanted house guests have made me question whether or not I wanted to even consider staying in Bhutan for two years. Thankfully, things have been clearing and my disposition has changed a bit. Here's my story...
Part One:
Last week I started to feel itchy and I wasn't sure of the cause. I entertained all sorts of theories about this – even discovering that anemia can cause itchy skin and, not eating much meat in Bhutan, I pondered this scenario. But, the answer to my problem made itself known when – lo and behold – I glimpsed a small black dot on my arm and when I went in for a closer look ... it jumped. Yup, you got it, it was a flea.
Gross.
I immediately learned way too much on the internet about fleas and tried to figure out how to get rid of them in Bhutan. The sources of fleas are numerous here: there are dozens of stray dogs roaming campus, innumerable other animals in the surrounding woods, and lots of undergraduates (enough said). Unfortunately, most of the solutions to my apartment flea problem that I could find were based on widely-available items in the United States: borax, diatomaceous earth, vacuum cleaners, flea bombs, specialized shampoos and cleaning solutions, etc.. I started taking two showers a day because, fortunately, fleas are not waterproof. I washed every single item of clothing I had during the week, and used up almost all of my permethrin and DEET that I had brought for travel to malarial zones. On Saturday, I went into Thimphu looking for something to help rid me of this turbulent pest!
The concept of insecticides isn't really a thing in Bhutan. First of all, the pervasive Buddhist culture of Bhutan does not really accept such products. In America, we're pretty gung-ho to kill things. In Bhutan, killing that thing can either bring bad karma or cause damage to reincarnation cycles. I had heard that there might be some sort of insecticide imported from India or Thailand, but that it would probably be quite toxic. That was no good. After some searching, I actually managed to find a shop that sold vacuum cleaners. Of course, vacuums are quite rare here as carpet doesn't exist anywhere I've seen. But, there were vacuums in this shop – which imported mostly products from Thailand. It was a nice vacuum – an LG brand – but it was Nu.5500 ($100) which is a very expensive item for Bhutanese standards. But, after much debate, I decided that the vacuum was the only sure-fire way to get rid of fleas that I had at my disposal here so I broke down and purchased it.
As soon as I got home, I assembled the vacuum and got to work vacuuming the hell out of my apartment. Floors, mattresses, pillows, chairs, couches ... nothing was spared. I had read that fleas will mostly live on their hosts, but they can lay eggs anywhere and the eggs can remain dormant for up to a year. A vacuum can pick up fleas, eggs, and larvae alike and cut through the flea life cycle.
Sure enough, that was five days ago and I haven't seen or felt a flea presence in the apartment since. Bottom line: Nu.5500 is a small price to pay for a flea-free apartment.
Part Two:
Around the same time I solved The Great 2012 Flea Crisis, a smaller bug invaded into home. This one happened to be a virus ... a flu virus. Apparently, illness spreads like wildfire on this campus. Most of my class has been sick recently; some have been very sick. The campus flu caught me and by Sunday I was all but incapacitated. Monday I tried to teach classes, but only got through my 9am class before I knew that I needed to go home and cancelled the rest of my classes for the day. After sleeping or at least resting for the remainder of Monday, I started to feel better. I didn't go to Draktsho Monday or Tuesday, nor did I attend play practice Monday night. Tuesday was better still, and today I'm feeling even better. I'm still not 100%, but I'm at least fully-functional. The cough has moved to my upper respiratory system and is pretty persistent.
Part Three:
Having rid myself of fleas, and a virus, what could possible replace them but ... hornets. Yes, those nasty stinging SOBs decided to start building a hive on my dining room window.
I informed the maintenance crew and tonight, at around 8:30, I got a knock on my door just as I was finishing dinner. I opened the door to find a funny looking little Indian man, dressed all in black, Hindi-pop music blaring from the phone in his pocket, and carrying a fully-lit torch. Not a "torch" in the British sense, but a stick with a ball of fire at the end.
He had come for the bees.
Somewhat curious and somewhat amused, I let him in and showed him to the window. In broken English, he asked for two things: a broom and a knife. While I fetched those things, he smoldered his torch ... on my floor. I assumed he knew what he was doing. So with broom in one hand, smoking torch in the other, and large kitchen knife at the ready, this bee hunter flung open the window and shoved the torch right into the hive. Many confused bees entered the apartment, which I still can't tell if that's what he meant to do or not. The next twenty minutes were spent swatting the broom at hornets and shuffling them out the open window. The hornets, sedated and stunned by the smoke, were at least not aggressive – which I was very glad about. I had been stung by yellow jackets at my grandparents' cabin in Iowa as a kid, and I can remember nothing pleasant about it.
The curious little Indian man was now hitting hornets with the broom, picking them up with his fingers, and throwing them out the open window. I don't think he was hitting them hard enough to kill them. After most of the bees were dispatched, he took the kitchen knife and cut out the hive from the window. After swatting a few more stray hornets, the apartment seemed clear and he nodded that his job was done. By the way, the Hindi-pop music was playing the whole time ... just for added effect.
Conclusion
I can only imagine what other creature might decide to take up residence here ... a yak? a snow leopard? a yeti? Ideally, it will just be Emily when she flies into Bhutan on Friday.
It has been a trying week living without the comforts and sterile, hygienic, luxury of the United States. I still feel good about being here in Bhutan, of course – a few bugs big and small can't take that away from me.
In conclusion, I'll let Band of Bees take it away ...
Part One:
Last week I started to feel itchy and I wasn't sure of the cause. I entertained all sorts of theories about this – even discovering that anemia can cause itchy skin and, not eating much meat in Bhutan, I pondered this scenario. But, the answer to my problem made itself known when – lo and behold – I glimpsed a small black dot on my arm and when I went in for a closer look ... it jumped. Yup, you got it, it was a flea.
Gross.
I immediately learned way too much on the internet about fleas and tried to figure out how to get rid of them in Bhutan. The sources of fleas are numerous here: there are dozens of stray dogs roaming campus, innumerable other animals in the surrounding woods, and lots of undergraduates (enough said). Unfortunately, most of the solutions to my apartment flea problem that I could find were based on widely-available items in the United States: borax, diatomaceous earth, vacuum cleaners, flea bombs, specialized shampoos and cleaning solutions, etc.. I started taking two showers a day because, fortunately, fleas are not waterproof. I washed every single item of clothing I had during the week, and used up almost all of my permethrin and DEET that I had brought for travel to malarial zones. On Saturday, I went into Thimphu looking for something to help rid me of this turbulent pest!
The concept of insecticides isn't really a thing in Bhutan. First of all, the pervasive Buddhist culture of Bhutan does not really accept such products. In America, we're pretty gung-ho to kill things. In Bhutan, killing that thing can either bring bad karma or cause damage to reincarnation cycles. I had heard that there might be some sort of insecticide imported from India or Thailand, but that it would probably be quite toxic. That was no good. After some searching, I actually managed to find a shop that sold vacuum cleaners. Of course, vacuums are quite rare here as carpet doesn't exist anywhere I've seen. But, there were vacuums in this shop – which imported mostly products from Thailand. It was a nice vacuum – an LG brand – but it was Nu.5500 ($100) which is a very expensive item for Bhutanese standards. But, after much debate, I decided that the vacuum was the only sure-fire way to get rid of fleas that I had at my disposal here so I broke down and purchased it.
As soon as I got home, I assembled the vacuum and got to work vacuuming the hell out of my apartment. Floors, mattresses, pillows, chairs, couches ... nothing was spared. I had read that fleas will mostly live on their hosts, but they can lay eggs anywhere and the eggs can remain dormant for up to a year. A vacuum can pick up fleas, eggs, and larvae alike and cut through the flea life cycle.
Sure enough, that was five days ago and I haven't seen or felt a flea presence in the apartment since. Bottom line: Nu.5500 is a small price to pay for a flea-free apartment.
Part Two:
Around the same time I solved The Great 2012 Flea Crisis, a smaller bug invaded into home. This one happened to be a virus ... a flu virus. Apparently, illness spreads like wildfire on this campus. Most of my class has been sick recently; some have been very sick. The campus flu caught me and by Sunday I was all but incapacitated. Monday I tried to teach classes, but only got through my 9am class before I knew that I needed to go home and cancelled the rest of my classes for the day. After sleeping or at least resting for the remainder of Monday, I started to feel better. I didn't go to Draktsho Monday or Tuesday, nor did I attend play practice Monday night. Tuesday was better still, and today I'm feeling even better. I'm still not 100%, but I'm at least fully-functional. The cough has moved to my upper respiratory system and is pretty persistent.
Part Three:
Having rid myself of fleas, and a virus, what could possible replace them but ... hornets. Yes, those nasty stinging SOBs decided to start building a hive on my dining room window.
I informed the maintenance crew and tonight, at around 8:30, I got a knock on my door just as I was finishing dinner. I opened the door to find a funny looking little Indian man, dressed all in black, Hindi-pop music blaring from the phone in his pocket, and carrying a fully-lit torch. Not a "torch" in the British sense, but a stick with a ball of fire at the end.
He had come for the bees.
Somewhat curious and somewhat amused, I let him in and showed him to the window. In broken English, he asked for two things: a broom and a knife. While I fetched those things, he smoldered his torch ... on my floor. I assumed he knew what he was doing. So with broom in one hand, smoking torch in the other, and large kitchen knife at the ready, this bee hunter flung open the window and shoved the torch right into the hive. Many confused bees entered the apartment, which I still can't tell if that's what he meant to do or not. The next twenty minutes were spent swatting the broom at hornets and shuffling them out the open window. The hornets, sedated and stunned by the smoke, were at least not aggressive – which I was very glad about. I had been stung by yellow jackets at my grandparents' cabin in Iowa as a kid, and I can remember nothing pleasant about it.
The curious little Indian man was now hitting hornets with the broom, picking them up with his fingers, and throwing them out the open window. I don't think he was hitting them hard enough to kill them. After most of the bees were dispatched, he took the kitchen knife and cut out the hive from the window. After swatting a few more stray hornets, the apartment seemed clear and he nodded that his job was done. By the way, the Hindi-pop music was playing the whole time ... just for added effect.
Conclusion
I can only imagine what other creature might decide to take up residence here ... a yak? a snow leopard? a yeti? Ideally, it will just be Emily when she flies into Bhutan on Friday.
It has been a trying week living without the comforts and sterile, hygienic, luxury of the United States. I still feel good about being here in Bhutan, of course – a few bugs big and small can't take that away from me.
In conclusion, I'll let Band of Bees take it away ...
Wow! The fleas and hornets were not a cultural adjustment I would have anticipated.
ReplyDeleteInteresting guests... Butahnese fleas must be hungry if they eat people. Maybe you need to get a pig or a dog so they relocate. I am glad you didn't get stung by hornets! I got stung by a wasp this week and it is not pleasant. That's interesting about the vacuum. Don't forget to clear your vacuum so the fleas don't crawl back out.
ReplyDeleteWhen I come to visit I'll bring a flea collar for you - that should do the trick.
ReplyDeleteI didn't mention that we had a minor earthquake last week. Also, after all the whole ordeal, the bees are back to rebuild their hive.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Bhutan is trying to tell me something?