Episode 3: Where are all these Mosquitoes Coming from?!!

Where are all these Mosquitoes Coming from?!!

subtitle: Mogie-Proofing your Billa

A Cheap, Simple, Non-toxic, and very Effective Solution to no longer being Eaten Alive at Night.

after just one week of their covert, subversive attacks, a grown man experiences what it means to lose his mind, to crack, to snap, to break, to suffer.

there was a time when i too suffered the nightly attacks, the buzzing in the ear that leads to paranoia, the furious jumping from bed like a raging madman hunting an invisible enemy.


having to deal with mogies (mosquitoes) from june to november, the going theory here on the peninsula is that mogies get into our homes by coming up through the drains. i've heard it said that mosquitoes are very clever and always find a way in.

unable to keep mogies out, locals fill the air with spray repellents, or burn little wafers at bedtime which produce an (apparently) non-toxic repellent scent. it seems to work for some people, but i have my doubts about the non-toxic part.

but as for bugs coming up my drains... you know from episode 1 that my smelly drains are blocked and sealed like no man's business, and no bugs are getting in through there. 


so where could all of those blood-sucking little dragons have been coming from? i needed to know.

searching through my billa, i was completely alarmed to find the following:

monsoon windows!

during the rainy season, korea can experience magnificent rain storms and even flooding. all the water that leaks into the windows needs a way to escape. so there are these holes cut into the tracks of the window-well which allow water to flow back out.


here's my theory. mogies aren't clever at all, but they are simply drawn (by instinct) to your window when the light is on. once they arrive at the window, they bounce around until they get lucky.


in this case, the kitchen light pours out through the holes in the window track and lures them in.

it only takes one mogie getting in to ruin your week, but i'm guessing that several mogies can enter in just one evening.

so anyway.


being a fan of the proactive approach to mogie prevention, i plugged the holes with some little scraps of cloth torn off an old rag. 

before

after

warning: i'm in the relatively-northern province of gyeongi where the monsoon rains aren't as monsoon as in the southern regions. while i've never had a problem, you may find that blocking these holes causes water to fill up in the window well and flood your apartment. so be careful, and use this method only if you won't be putting yourself at risk of flooding, electrical damage, etc. refer to * below.

this slowed the mogies down a little. but they were still getting in.

i then noticed something else.  track with me here...

looking closer, i found that there is an open gap between the window frame and the track.


just look at how much sunlight is pouring in:

and on the top too...

a pretty sizable gap. enough for ten mogies to enter shoulder to shoulder and crash your slumber party.

anyway, a little more cloth fixed that...

but be careful to seal it completely. notice the little bit of sunlight getting in, above...

be sure to get the top of the window frame, too. 

p.s. this will keep your other window from sliding, and may even keep your screen from sliding open. but you seriously won't care (you'll be able to sleep without fear). 

check around the rest of the window and screen, and find a safe and sensible way to block the mosquitoes out (and while you're at it, check the edges of your door frame. if you see sunlight leaking in by day, mogies will see house lights leaking out by night, and find a way in).

~

conclusion

i'm happy to report that i have just survived another 95% mosquito-free summer and autumn using a very cheap, simple, non-toxic method.

walking to my window while this post was still in draft, i noticed this little guy had gotten his head stuck in my screen sometime in the night.

trying to get in i guess.

it wasn't a mogie, but just goes to show that it's the light in the windows that draws them.

thanks for paying the visit. but you ain't getting into this billa, buster!

when talking about how many mosquito bites they wake up with each morning, my friends sometimes like to ridicule me, "wuuuhhh, i'm johhhnny. i don't gettt mosquitoes in myyy house."




let them ridicule...




...and itch.   

(love you guys ;)

Smelly Billa 
~  
why be eaten alive?





Johnny Random, 경기도  평택시, 2010
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* of course, use at your own risk and don't flood your house as no one's insurance will cover you. more mogie solutions and mogie bite remedies to come in future posting. borrowed images click through to their sources. good luck!