USVI-On-Line

If you are about to eat dinner maybe skip this question for now.

Before we went to STJ last year I had read all the warnings about getting rid of the garbage daily etc. in order to keep critters at bay. Our villa rep. told us the same thing. I don't dig critters of any sort so I was a little anal about it.
BUT
One day we stopped in at Starfish for some dinner fixin's and we picked up something pre made. I want to say it was a roast chicken but who can remember! Brought it back to the villa, plated it up with a salad and wine and enjoyed our supper at our outdoor dining area.
When we returned to the kitchen to clean up there were A LOT of little critters all over the counter and the left over chicken. We both kinda freaked and my husband thought we had just eaten said critters - meaning they were already in the chicken we purchased! I was pretty sure that was NOT the case but I'm wondering if this is normal reaction to food left out on a counter. It's not like we left it sitting there for hours, if it was 30 minutes I'd be surprised.
We cleaned everything well and got rid of the garbage and that was pretty much the end of the critters. Just wondering if others have encountered anything like this and/or how you avoided it.

Just to note, by critters I would describe these as these tiny little black gnat type critters.

It can be if the house doesn't have a good exterminator policy I will buy a can of raid and spray around the cabinets as soon as I can also the door openings

That used to happen to us all the time in the Cayman Islands. it was incredible. We would leave something out on the counters for just seconds and the counters would be covered by these streams of little tiny bugs. I learned realy quick to put everything into the fridge. St. John hasn't been that bad so far, but i have seen them on the counters, just not nearly as much. I'm sure they were not in your food when you bought it.

Hope you feel less grossed out.

Okay, I wasn't that grossed out. I am probably more used to bugs than someone who lives in the states, though. I don't like anything bigger than an ant but I am REALLY used to them.

So, it's hard for me to picture these from your description. Were they tiny and fast and going in trails? If so those are our ants. Some people call the "sugar-ants."

When you said "critters", I expected something bigger than that. And scarier. Ants are what I would expect if I left something out for half an hour. It doesn't seem like very long by stateside standards but I'm here to tell you, these guys are FAST. I doubt they were in the food when you bought it, they just find their way to food left available very quickly. You can exterminate all you want, down here I think they have meetings and say to themselves "If those people from the northeast leave that food there on that counter two miles away for more than five minutes, we're going in." Kind of like an Ant Swat Team.

You have to wrap everything, seal everything well, wash off sticky jars. We put stuff in the fridge or the freezer for safekeeping that we never would in the states. The ants LOVE my honey jar, but I refuse to put it in the fridge.

If they weren't ants, then I am grossed out, and we might need to call a specialist. Tell me more.
-Ruth

they sure were tiny, not sure about trails. I just recall that they seemed to be every where, fast! So I'm going to go with ants. We ended up putting everything in the garbage can while we got our act together and by the time we went to take the garbage to the dumpster they were all over the inside of the can. We washed it out and such and really that was the end of that but I was just wondering if our actions caused them to swarm - which I see the answer to that is YES!

We also had some bigger critters visit under the dining room table - some guys in the Lizard family but not quit Iguana's. I respectfully referred to them as "those little F'er's!" Some times my Jersey comes out

We did not have problems with the small ones (ants, gnats, etc.) when we stayed at Drake's Lookout last year, but we were also kind of anal about not leaving things out to attract them.

One morning while moving some items around on the kitchen counter we did uncover a scorpion! After my heart rate came back down I scooped it up in a bowl and emptied it outside. That was the scariest critter we encountered on our trip.

Scorpion....YIKES

Regarding the "trails", that's how they come onto the scene. It's quite organized, like a forced march. Then after that, it's every ant for himself.
We use something called "Terro Oil" that we get at the hardware store for around $5.00. We leave little drops in the ant trails, they go beserk around the egdes of the drops,(sort of fun to watch, kids of all ages love it). Then they go away by the next morning. It's not a harmful chemical....Boric acid, I think, which isn't bad, in a sticky liquid. Just wipe up whatever sticky stuff is left with a paper towel in the AM. Done.
I know for some people this is hard to deal with. Life in the states is much more pristine than this. But really, it's not that bad if you know what you're dealing with. This is not Manhattan, it's The Caribbean, and these creatures have been here a lot longer than we have. You have to be realistic.
Just put all your food in the fridge or freezer and don't tempt them, and you'll be fine.
And the good news is, if you're doing all this to keep the itty bitty ants away, none of the bigger "critters" (which I do NOT like to consider)will bother you either.
This does not include geckos. Geckos eat mosquitoes and will not go after your blueberry muffins or your chicken. They are actually Allies in the Critter War.
-Ruth

I'm down with ya Ruth.... thanks for the info!

I'm happy to oblige, Mary Beth. I'm glad you had a question about something which I know a little bit about. I hope I was able to state my limited knowledge clearly enough so that you and Charlie will be fearless on future visits.

-Ruth

just want to make sure we play by the rules! I don't like the idea of stirring up trouble in someone else's home.

Sugar Ant Rules.

Sounds like a good title for a new novel.

Hubby found a scorpion in his swim suit one morning. Now he shakes out everything before he gets dressed there!

cat wrote:Hubby found a scorpion in his swim suit one morning. Now he shakes out everything before he gets dressed there!

Mary Beth, here is another tip...keep your toothbrush in a ziploc bag! The sugar ants like the taste of toothpaste too, apparently. I know, I found out the ooky way!

I love the little lizards that get into the house, as long as they stay off the bed! If I find them on the bed I throw them outside. Otherwise, I figure they are eating all the little bugs. One house we rented had a lizard that lived in a conch shell in the living room.