Ant Issues in Acapulco, Mexico

Mexican Ants

Ant Issues in Acapulco

It is said that in one square kilometer of the Amazon rain forest there are more ants than there are people in the world. I have been there and I would swear that it is true.

Acapulco comes a close second… I am not a naturalist and I only know the name of one type of ant…

But, I think it is important that any potential visitor to the city of Acapulco be aware that they are everywhere, from the smartest hotel to the poorest hovel, in the middle of the road, in the middle of a swamp, and certainly in the middle to the sugar bowl if you leave it out for more than a few minutes. EVERYWHERE.

In the kitchen there are little tiny ones that are little bigger than a grain of sugar and that is what they are after… if it is sweet they'll go for it. They also seem particularly partial to fish. My kitchen is immaculate, I give it the once over regularly with various environmentally unfriendly chemicals and if there is nothing spilt there are no ants. However a few misplaced drops of milk or a bit of Coca Cola that didn't make it into the glass and they are there, in minutes. The good thing is that they don't really bother that much, they are so small that if I have on occasion eaten a couple (and I am sure I have) I certainly didn't notice.

On the floor at night there is another variety… much bigger and rather slow, I believe they eat and nest in wood (I think there is a small tribe living in my office door. They don't sting either. I leave them alone. They leave me alone.

The other domestic variety is the Arriera or leaf cutter. OK they are not actually in the house but just outside, they are really destructive and can strip a good sized Bougainvillea of its leaves in a night. They are the gardener's number one enemy, but they are fun to watch.

Once outside there are any number of varieties that sting and bite. Stand too long in one place on a lawn and they'll get you. You just have to keep moving. Not much but moving or they'll be up you trouser leg in a flash.

In all fairness the good hotels fumigate regularly (the Princess does it daily) so you will find they are not much of a problem but just try sunbathing on someone's lawn.