A rusty iron barrel, medium sized, stands in one corner of
our terrace. It contains water which is regularly distributed among the many
plants and flowers that inhabit our jungle-terrace. As we all know, standing
water is a perfect breeding place for mosquitoes. I’ve never seen mosquito eggs, but the larvae
that hatch from the eggs are aplenty in the aforementioned barrel. And if left
undisturbed they will grow up and become mosquitoes. Which is a disaster in
waiting. Malaria on the rampage. Noisy buzzing and pesky insects up ahead.
So I went larvae hunting.
First, we must study the life cycle of the mosquito.
On a closer inspection of the infected barrel, I found that
if the water is still the larvae float up to the water surface and just hang
there. Being cool, I guess. Or simply receiving sunlight.
Larvae are a finicky lot. If you so much as wave your hand
above the water, they panic and head for deeper waters, which is not a good
thing for the excited hunter. One should cultivate patience, standing still
with hands above the water until the larvae have calmed down and returned to
the surface. But remember, the exercise will be futile if you just stand there
with your bare hands. One must be well equipped.
The weapon of choice is the
what-shall-I-call-it, a racquet-like kind of instrument, where instead of the
wires you have a very fine net.
 | |
| is that a squashed racquet, dear? |
Grab the handle firmly, and with a quick movement of the
hand you swoop down, dip the net into the water and scoop out as many larvae as
you can. Shake them off on the ground, where they will writhe in agony and then
die.
Too bad I can't mount their heads on the wall.
