Yes, we have mosquitoes in Costa Rica, lots of them! And also plenty of rodents, like cockroaches, ants and even fleas!
Brooke Bishop, our Grecia expert real estate agent, went the extra mile as usual. She took care of the pest control or fumigation as we call it in Costa Rica, for an absentee buyer. To her surprise, she found out it was Mickey Mouse, or maybe his cousin, who did the fumigation of the home.
Is fumigation necessary in your Costa Rica home? Yes, it is. Costa Rica is in the tropics and the warmer the area gets, the more bugs you will find. Even in Grecia, where you are at a higher altitude, it is necessary to take care of mosquitoes and rodents if you want to enjoy living in Costa Rica.
This reminds me of a case we had a while ago. Melissa Hayes, our agent in charge of rentals in the Grecia area, had a client who rented a home for him and his family. After having had some initial problems with furniture and the gas tank for the stove that the landlord had taken away, the “you know what” hit the fan seriously.
A rental home disaster
The tenant describes the disaster as follows: On the 3rd day in the home, we discover a massive flea infestation in three out of the five bedrooms in the home. The home is in the mountains, so 
it had carpets. And the previous owner had a dog. Once the dog was gone, the fleas went searching for other animals to bite…they found us! By morning, my 2-year old, my wife and I had about 50 flea bites on our legs. Those little pulgas were jumping all over everything.
Again, Melissa was awesome. She called the owner right away and demanding that for health hazard reasons, the carpets be pulled out of the home. The poison fumigation was not an option due to the long-lasting effect of the poison. This presented a danger to the pregnant woman and small child that resided there–my wife and daughter! We stayed in a house full of health hazards for an excruciating 10-days. We have no money to put down on another property.
Where did the money go
To make a long story short, the tenant didn’t want the pest control done. Because this, to his opinion, would poison him and his family. The landlord was willing to do the pest control but was not willing to return the rent and the deposit.
He had already paid Melissa her commission and she spent many extra hours on the issue, trying to keep both tenant and landlord happy. Which resulted impossible. The landlord had moved out of his house to rent it to our clients. He had spent the first-month deposit to rent elsewhere himself.
God, I hate rentals, now you know why.
How to control the bugs
What can you do about bugs? Have your pest control done to get rid of the bugs by Mickey Mouse or his cousin, at least every 6 months! Do you think fumigation is dangerous for your health? Then live with the mosquitoes and bugs.
Or move to a place that doesn’t have them, don’t move to the tropics.
More info that might help a bit to control the bugs
Proper waste management and drainage of still water eliminate the breeding ground of many pests. Garbage provides food and shelter for many unwanted organisms. Communities that have proper garbage collection and disposal have far less of a problem with rats, cockroaches, 
mosquitoes, flies and other pests than those that don’t. Open air sewers are breeding ground for various pests as well. By building and maintaining a proper sewer system, this problem is eliminated.
We don’t have malaria in Costa Rica but dengue is the up and coming mosquito disease. Since many mosquitoes breed in standing water, source reduction can be as simple as emptying water from containers around the home. Homeowners can eliminate mosquito breeding grounds by removing unused plastic pools, old tires, or buckets; by clearing clogged gutters and repairing leaks around faucets; by regularly changing the water in bird baths; and by filling or draining puddles, swampy areas, and tree stumps.
Be smart, do your pest control in time.
If you don’t know who to contact for such a job, ask your GoDutch realtor, he/she knows best who to recommend in your area.
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I DO want to remind our readers that we appreciate any referrals you can send us. Please remember the GoDutch Realty agents when you talk about your home in Costa Rica, we appreciate it.
