Port Louis - Post Report Question and Answers
Are there any unusual problems with insects or other infestations in housing?
As for housing, there are a few typical tropical challenges. Mosquitoes can be quite present during certain seasons, so it’s important to have repellent on hand. You may also occasionally encounter small shrews, but these are generally manageable and not a major issue if basic precautions are taken. - May 2026
My wife has had a lot of issues with the bugs but I have had few. Some people just seem to attract more of them. - Ants: black and red ones. The red ones bite and are quite aggressive. Black ones will invade the house but they only want food, so if you keep a clean house and place some ant traps at major points of entry, you'll be fine. - Wasps: nasty bright yellow things. Mostly they hover around large bushes and clusters of trees but leave people alone. Everyone I know who has been stung, including me, has disrupted a nest or has sppoked a wasp that was hovering on a branch. The sting hurts and swells up pretty quick. If you find a nest, kill it with the local favorite: DOOM spray. No joke, that's the name. - Spiders: small, medium, and large (palm of your hand) and a couple of them bite. We put bumpers under all the doors to keep the big ones from wandering in and when we find one, we kill it immediately. My wife got a bite or two on her leg that turned into cellulitis and had to go on antibiotics, but that's only happened once. - Mosquitos: they're here, but not awful. Thankfully, there are no major diseases, so a bite is just a bite. No need for mosquito nets, just some bug repellant for those more prone to bites when you go outside for a while. - Jun 2014
None. - Feb 2009