Roach Motels and Rat Traps

I am going to stop reading the blogs of current PC volunteers serving in Zambia. In my excitement to learn more about the country, I thought that reading first-hand accounts would give me the best idea of what to expect. While there are many touching stories of connections made with host families and village residents, the stories that seem more common are more of the “holy mother, you will never believe what happened today!” type events. There are stories of ants and termites that can bore through concrete floors, roaches and spiders who are so numerous that they become housemates or are named as pets, a rat the size of a large cat falling onto a sleeping volunteer’s face, and a cobra curled up underneath a volunteer’s bed. With all these online cries for help, you’d think Terminix would have swooped in by now to corner the market on pest control. The need is obviously there. I am now wondering whether I should devote the majority of my packing space to rat traps and roach motels, as it appears that a large majority of the volunteer’s day is spent either trying to catch or squash the little vermin, and if those efforts prove ineffective, they devote a great deal of time to writing about them instead! Either way, I know that am going to have to get to know nature a little bit better : /