Tsetse flies suck

look at that proboscis!

Shortly after we returned from our Christmas trip to Rwanda last year, I became ill. Fever, headache, extreme lethargy. I did not even have the energy to get out of bed.

I knew that Rwanda has sleeping sickness and malaria, both of which can be fatal if untreated but imminently curable if found quickly. I had been faithfully taking my anti-malaria medication but alas, it is not always 100% effective. (There is no preventive medication for sleeping sickness.) So I forced myself out of bed and went to my doctor who promptly admitted me to the hospital for antibiotic treatment and further testing.

a tsetse fly trap

One of the first things my doctor asked me is whether or not I had been bitten by any tsetse flies while in Rwanda. I didn't think so, but I told her I wasn't sure.

But now that I have been bitten by tsetse flies in Tanzania, I needn't have worried after Rwanda. You know it if you get bit by tsetse flies. It really hurts!

Like Rwanda, Tanzania has severely decreased its population of tsetse flies by using these blue and black traps which can be found all over the national parks. And as I found out later, the tsetse flies that carry sleeping sickness are not found in the parks in Northern Tanzania. In Tanzania, those stinkers live closer to Lake Victoria in the southwest. But even without the threat of sleeping sickness, the bites still really hurt and they leave a huge welt that itches like the Dickens.

a tsetse landing on Vince

We tried everything to avoid being bitten. We stayed clear of wearing the tsetse fly attracting colors of black and royal blue and we covered ourselves with intensive insect repellent, but nothing seemed to work. They even bit through our light-colored clothes!

Then I picked up one of these wildebeest tail fly swatters in Ngorongoro Crater. It helped a little on game drives in our open vehicle.

they especially loved my ankles!

Most of the bites have faded now but the mental scars remain. Tsetse flies suck!

There are no tsetse flies in South Africa but I hung my fly swatter up on the wall in my bathroom just in case. You never know.