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Home » Destinations » Central America » Belize

Close Encounters of the Creepy-Crawly Kind

Modified: Mar 4, 2020 · Published: Oct 5, 2009 by Dave Lee |

Spider with egg sack - McLeod Ganj, India
Spider with egg sack - McLeod Ganj, India

Have you ever jumped atop a piece of furniture in your home or workplace after seeing a mouse run by? 

Grab your significant other to squash a spider?

Or douse a trail of ants with a full can of Raid?

The above reactions are all normal in the cities and suburban dwellings of developed nations, though if you're going to be a world traveler, it's time to desensitize yourself to close encounters of the creepy-crawly kind. 

And not just the little buggers you're accustomed to at home - we're talking large, exotic, potentially poisonous, monster-movie inspiring creatures!

Worse than the actual close encounter is the state you'll likely be in - buck naked, or close to it.

The Big Hairy Spider

I encountered a big, hairy spider protecting its egg sack when I walked into my hotel bathroom one morning in McLeod Ganj, India. 

I nearly jumped out of my boxers at the sight of it chilling out near the window above my shower/bathtub. Conveniently, I was overdue for a day without a shower. 

The next morning, it was still there, and I wasn't about to move it, so I mentioned it to the hotel staff who said they'd take care of it.

Whether it was the hotel staff, or the spider exiting on its own accord, it eventually left the bathroom and I was able to make use of the shower again.

Dustball-encased scorpion - McLeod Ganj, India

The Big Black Scorpion

The biggest, blackest, badass scorpion I'd ever seen up close walked out of my bathroom in a hostel in McLeod Ganj. 

My room was tiny, and I was abandoning it that morning for a 4-day trek. 

I couldn't let the beast stick around. 

The only thing worse than seeing a critter in your room is seeing it and then losing track of it. 

You end up living in fear that it will crawl over your face while you're lying in bed. Or hitchhiking in your backpack!

After snapping the requisite photo for proof of the encounter, I scooted the aggressive little bugger out the door. 

A hostel worker looked at it with the same level of surprise that I had and suggested the rain may have brought it out. 

How it arrived in my bathroom, I could not figure out.

The Dreaded Cockroach

I use to think the itsy, bitsy roaches that invaded my Arlington, VA apartment were bad. 

Then I traveled overseas to places like Belize, where a prehistoric, palm-sized cockroach landed at my dinner table while I was staying at Ian Anderson's Caves Branch Adventure Lodge. It was horrifying.

Luckily, on my trip around the world, I didn't see any more such monsters, but I did run into lots of roaches a good 3-4 times bigger than the ones I'd seen in my old apartment. 

Actually, I ran into the first few the 5th night of my trip, as they were scuttling around the floor of my Couchsurfing hosts' house on Tahiti.

Cockroach - Bali, Indonesia
Cockroach - Bali, Indonesia

One time when I walked into the bathroom of my bungalow on Bali late at night, I had the pleasure of seeing a rather big roach with twirling antennae on my sink. 

Not the kind of thing you want to see when you turn on the lights, bleary-eyed at 2 AM.

A few months later, during my attempt to go off the beaten track by visiting Koh Phayam near the Thai-Burmese border, I ended up in a rustic bungalow on a deserted island. 

Unlike the well-known islands, nobody goes to Koh Phayam during the offseason. But I digress. The night was spent with my headlamp and roaches galore. 

I was so glad the morning arrived without a giant boa constrictor slithering through the open windows and slipping into bed with me.

Ambitious dung beetle - Elephant Sands, Botswana
Ambitious dung beetle - Elephant Sands, Botswana

The Fascinating Flightless Dung Beetle

The flightless dung beetle lives and breathes crap. 

When an elephant drops a bomb, these unique dung beetles no doubt follow their noses and jump head first into the massive piles of dung. 

As I found out in South Africa's Kruger Park and later Botswana, it is immensely fascinating to watch these beetles at work. 

They try very, very hard to form the biggest balls of dung possible. 

After observing the beetles at length, I can assure you it is no easy task.

If the dung beetles want to get the balls back to their homes (where I think they use them to lay eggs), they have to ensure the balls are well-rounded. 

Otherwise, they can't roll them efficiently. It seemed especially hard for the ones we saw at Elephant Sands (campground) in Botswana because they had to try and roll the balls on soft sand.

Flightless dung beetle - Kruger Park, South Africa
Flightless dung beetle - Kruger Park, South Africa

Of course, all this observation requires that you stare at a giant mass of elephant dung - the fresher the better, but it's worth it.

I highly recommend you see them up close if you can.

Now it's your turn. What's the scariest bug, spider or critter you've encountered abroad?

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About Dave Lee

Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 68 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.

Comments

  1. AdventureRob says

    October 05, 2009 at 1:07 pm

    Wow that's certainly a lot of encounters you've had! I ended up getting used to cockroaches in places like Thailand but never seen one that big. My most memorable encounter was waking up to find a scorpion in my friggin toilet! I didn't realise scorpions were so happy underwater until that day.

  2. Blake @ Props Blog says

    October 05, 2009 at 2:44 pm

    Those bugs are some pretty serious business. That scorpion looks crazy and I can't believe how big that roach was. What did you use to get the scorpion out of your room?

  3. Stepanie says

    October 05, 2009 at 7:38 pm

    Good God! I think you just cured my wanderlust for one evening at least...

  4. TamahomeJenkins says

    October 05, 2009 at 8:59 pm

    I cringed the entire time I read this article.

  5. Blake @ Props Blog Reviews says

    October 05, 2009 at 10:33 pm

    You are brave... Seriously. I think scorpions freak me out more than any other wild bug/insect. Not sure why...

  6. Dave says

    October 05, 2009 at 9:55 pm

    Wow, I didn't know scorpions could swim! I can't image it could get out of the toilet on its own - did you flush it?

  7. Dave says

    October 05, 2009 at 9:56 pm

    Surprisingly, I just used a 8x11 piece of paper to sweep it across the tile floor. With a little flick at the end, I bumped it over the door jamb. Yuck!

  8. Dave says

    October 05, 2009 at 10:27 pm

    The funny thing is you get desensitized to the bugs rather quick. At least I did. Just not the spiders...and scorpions. :)

  9. Dave says

    October 05, 2009 at 10:29 pm

    Then I did a good job! Thanks for reading :)

  10. Robert Fitzsimmons says

    October 06, 2009 at 5:06 am

    In all honesty, I didn't know how to handle a scorpion in my toilet, so I went to breakfast and casually mentioned it to my hosts.

    'Er guys, there is a scorpion in my toilet'
    'OK no worries, we'll get it in a bit'
    'No seriously, there is a scorpion in my toilet!'

    I wrote about it on my blog back in April. I was informed afterwards it wasn't poisonous, that didn't make it better!

  11. James says

    October 06, 2009 at 5:28 am

    I think the worst one I've come across is the silkworm larvae in South Korea, mainly because you're expected to eat them, and they smell awful. You can buy tins of them to bring home, though, which is just a brilliant gift for the family :P.

    I do remember McLeod Ganj being full or horrible creepy things, though, half of which seemed to be congregating in the cold water spring swimming pool up the road in Bhagsu. Not that I realised before I got in...

  12. Nomadic Matt says

    October 06, 2009 at 9:16 am

    i hate insects

  13. Dave says

    October 06, 2009 at 1:12 pm

    Everyone should check out the funny photo Rob posted of the scorpion in his toilet!

  14. Dave says

    October 06, 2009 at 1:14 pm

    Yuck - I've seen Bear Grylls eat some massive larvae and watching the innards drip out of his mouth as he tries to chuck it down is disgusting!

    Your Bhagsu experience reminds me of some long freshwater eels I encountered canyoning in New Zealand. We fed them some bread from our lunch and they seemed happy. But I didn't get in the pool with them!

  15. Dave says

    October 06, 2009 at 1:14 pm

    Well said!

  16. Young says

    October 07, 2009 at 12:46 am

    How Amazing the Creep-Crawly Kind is! But I will be afraid of them.

  17. Dave says

    October 07, 2009 at 11:19 am

    The kinds of bugs and critters you find outside your own country can be fascinating....and yes, a little scary!

  18. brookevstheworld says

    October 08, 2009 at 8:18 pm

    Ok, trying this comment box again, it seriously hates me... The black scorpion incident reminds me of my adventure in Copan, Honduras SO CREEPY I hate bugs and I'm pretty sure they hate me too!

  19. Dave says

    October 10, 2009 at 9:49 am

    Hi Brooke - great to hear from you.

  20. Brock says

    December 09, 2009 at 7:43 pm

    Many people these days are unaware of bed bugs symptoms. It is understandable since bed bugs together with some pests have been exterminated during the widespread use of DDT in the United States after World War I.

Dave at Ahu Ko Te Riku on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile.

Hi, I'm Dave

Editor in Chief

I've been writing about adventure travel on Go Backpacking since 2007. I've visited 68 countries.

Read more about Dave.

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