How bad are the mosquitoes and other bugs and insects in Chapala and Ajijic, Mexico?
Santiago Hernandez - Chapala Med
I haven’t heard anybody complain about bugs and insects here in Chapala and Ajijic but that doesn’t mean that they are not that bad. During winter, bugs and insects are not that bad. The time that I assume they would be bad would be the tail end of the rainy season and when it gets pretty hot in summer. It could as hot as 100 to 105 Fahrenheit here during summer. But for me, it’s not a big deal. When it gets too hot here, you just get under a shade and you’re fine....I haven’t heard anybody complain about bugs and insects here in Chapala and Ajijic but that doesn’t mean that they are not that bad. During winter, bugs and insects are not that bad. The time that I assume they would be bad would be the tail end of the rainy season and when it gets pretty hot in summer. It could as hot as 100 to 105 Fahrenheit here during summer. But for me, it’s not a big deal. When it gets too hot here, you just get under a shade and you’re fine. Compared to Chicago, Houston, Louisiana, it is not as humid here. At night, you could sleep comfortably with a fan, while in Chicago, if I didn’t have the air-conditioning cranked up then that would be bothersome. During December, in the morning, when we wake up, the temperature here in Chapala and Ajijic is about 50 to 60 degrees at its coldest and at mid-day it would go up to about 85 degrees. The sun is really bothersome; not the heat. As a doctor, I tend to focus on telling people not to leave any sitting water. For example, when people are recycling tires and have tires around their house, after it rains, mosquitoes come around. Right now we have to worry about dengue virus and chikungunya, which causes breakbone fever, which is pretty painful.
Here in Chapala and Ajijic, it’s not about the quantity of mosquitoes but the quality of the illness that you get from mosquitoes. You can get very sick. In comparison with Chicago where I am from, I think the bugs and insects are worse up there than here.
(Houses along Lake Chapala, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted January 28, 2016
Anne Dyer - Casita Montana
I haven’t seen any mosquitoes this year here in Chapala, which is kind of strange because Lake Chapala is only four blocks away from my place. Mosquitoes and other bugs are not a problem for us. There are flies around but it is not bad. However, we fumigate consistently because our business is a health facility and a B & B. There are little roaches here and they could multiply if one does not fumigate and keep a place clean.
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I haven’t seen any mosquitoes this year here in Chapala, which is kind of strange because Lake Chapala is only four blocks away from my place. Mosquitoes and other bugs are not a problem for us. There are flies around but it is not bad. However, we fumigate consistently because our business is a health facility and a B & B. There are little roaches here and they could multiply if one does not fumigate and keep a place clean.
(Casa Montana B & B Suites, Ajijic, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted August 21, 2016
Richard Tingen - Coldwell Banker Chapala Realty
Right now we have a good amount of mosquitoes, although not a tremendous amount. Everybody is very cautious because of the Zika virus. In the dry season, the mosquitos will go away. We have some swampy areas that diminish a bit in the dry season. These areas have bull rushes and reeds that the indigenous people sometimes remove to build baskets and mats. As a result, they are harvested and just sort of disappear.
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Right now we have a good amount of mosquitoes, although not a tremendous amount. Everybody is very cautious because of the Zika virus. In the dry season, the mosquitos will go away. We have some swampy areas that diminish a bit in the dry season. These areas have bull rushes and reeds that the indigenous people sometimes remove to build baskets and mats. As a result, they are harvested and just sort of disappear.
In contrast, in northern Ontario in Canada, in you can’t live with mosquitoes and the black flies. It’s really bad. And in Southern Florida, it’s terrible. No, here we’re not intense with bugs, even at the worst times of the year.
We do have scorpions but that is something that you don’t see very often. If you maintain a good fumigation program in your residence you will have few scorpions.
(Man with a straw hat on the cover of El Ojo del Lago magazine, owned by Richard Tingen, pictured.)
Posted September 2, 2016
Chris Gruenwald - Biencom Real Estate
Bugs and insects do not bother me in Chapala and Ajijic. They are worse than California but completely insignificant if you have ever been to Florida or Alaska or in Manzanillo, or anywhere by the coast. In comparison, San Diego, where I come from, has less bugs and insects because it rains less there. Here in Chapala and Ajijic, we don’t have any bugs during the dry season because it is rather dry. The mosquitoes appear normally at the beginning or...
Bugs and insects do not bother me in Chapala and Ajijic. They are worse than California but completely insignificant if you have ever been to Florida or Alaska or in Manzanillo, or anywhere by the coast. In comparison, San Diego, where I come from, has less bugs and insects because it rains less there. Here in Chapala and Ajijic, we don’t have any bugs during the dry season because it is rather dry. The mosquitoes appear normally at the beginning or at the end of the rainy season when there are puddles in which they breed. However, it is not a complaint that I hear.
There are no mosquitoes in Lake Chapala itself because the lake has moving water and it is full of fish that will eat the mosquitoes. The mosquitoes that we get are from people’s fountains, pools, or just puddles.
(Outdoor sink and kitchen overlooking Lake Chapala, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted September 18, 2016
Francisco Araiza - interlago realestate
Here in Chapala and Ajijic, we have a mosquito that is called “bobo”, which means, “dummy” because they do not bite. There is a certain time of the year where we have a lot of bobos on the lake. As long as you have screen doors and windows installed on your house, you won’t have a problem. The insects only come out during sunset and stay for about half an hour and then they won’t bother you.
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Here in Chapala and Ajijic, we have a mosquito that is called “bobo”, which means, “dummy” because they do not bite. There is a certain time of the year where we have a lot of bobos on the lake. As long as you have screen doors and windows installed on your house, you won’t have a problem. The insects only come out during sunset and stay for about half an hour and then they won’t bother you.
(Lake Chapala at dusk, Lake Chapala, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted November 3, 2016
Joan Silver
In Chapala and Ajijic, we certainly have no-see-ums. We have mosquitoes and other bugs and insects but we have wonderful bug sprays. There would be a number of mosquitoes for a couple of months during the rainy season, which is the worst time of the year. During the rainy season in Chapala and Ajijic, mosquitoes are around all day. However, they are not as many and certainly not as hungry as the mosquitoes in Canada. We hardly notice mosquitoes during the...
In Chapala and Ajijic, we certainly have no-see-ums. We have mosquitoes and other bugs and insects but we have wonderful bug sprays. There would be a number of mosquitoes for a couple of months during the rainy season, which is the worst time of the year. During the rainy season in Chapala and Ajijic, mosquitoes are around all day. However, they are not as many and certainly not as hungry as the mosquitoes in Canada. We hardly notice mosquitoes during the dry season in Chapala and Ajijic. When it gets dark and you're sitting on your terrace, you get a bite or two on your ankles.
(Garden view from the terrace, Ajijic, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted December 24, 2016
Tom Leonard - Hotel Perico
In the Lake Chapala area, there are certain areas and certain times of the year when there are quite a bit of mosquitoes. There are more mosquitoes mainly in areas by the lake. Where we are right now is up on the hill and we constantly have a breeze, so we don't really have a problem and hardly get mosquitoes here. Right next to us is Las Brisas, which means "breeze" in English, they won't have much of a problem with mosquitoes either. ...
In the Lake Chapala area, there are certain areas and certain times of the year when there are quite a bit of mosquitoes. There are more mosquitoes mainly in areas by the lake. Where we are right now is up on the hill and we constantly have a breeze, so we don't really have a problem and hardly get mosquitoes here. Right next to us is Las Brisas, which means "breeze" in English, they won't have much of a problem with mosquitoes either.
I have friends who live near the lake and at certain times of the year, mosquitoes are a bit of a problem.
There are also bugs in Mexico called a "Bobo" that come in "clouds". If you're by the lake and have an outside light, at certain times of the year, there are tons of bobos. They don't go around LED lights as much.
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(The views around Hotel Perico in the hills above Lake Chapala, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted August 2, 2017