Ants, Mosquitoes and Everything Else

Ants are not the problem people think

They are everywhere in the tropics and almost all of them are harmless. Check any surface before children sit on it, especially one that was clear yesterday, because trails relocate overnight.

Fire ants and anything red and black are worth learning to recognise on your own site. Everything else, leave alone.

An ant trail is a teaching resource

It will hold a class longer than a butterfly will, because something is always happening. Following one to both ends is a genuine investigation and it costs nothing.

Mosquitoes, honestly

Standing water removal beats everything else, by a wide margin. Every plant, every spray, every candle is a distant second.

Once a week, walk the site and empty everything holding water. Plant saucers, buckets, tyres, blocked gutters, bottle caps, tarpaulin folds, the tray under the fridge. That single walk does more than any planting scheme.

Where the plants do help

Crushed lemongrass, citronella and basil near where people sit have a real but modest effect. Undisturbed plants have almost none.

So plant them where children will brush past and crush them, and teach children to crush a leaf on the way in. That is the honest version, and it is worth saying to a class rather than overselling the plant.

Caterpillars

Some tropical caterpillars have hairs that sting badly. The rule for children is simple and absolute: we look at caterpillars, we do not pick them up, unless an adult has said this one.

Bees and wasps

Know your allergies before you go outside.

The general principle

Children who understand insects are less frightened of them and less likely to kill them reflexively. A term of looking properly changes the whole tone of a playground.