Mosquito racquet — “raqueta para matar mosquitos”
This blog entry is an update to one in which I awarded a Nobel Prize in Consumer Electronics to an amazing device (Of course there’s no such category — but what fun !) Well, the earlier design has been cheapened in a pricing race-to-the-bottom — the result being shoddy quality-control, and premature failure: I can’t find the brand depicted in the earlier entry, but junky competitors abound. So I was delighted when I found a new version at a new store : MINISO, a Japanese retailer with seven outlets in Merida, including City Center, Centro, and Harbor. (We’ve visited two, and the mere experience of reviewing their wares is engaging, as the variety of unusual items is intriguing.)
The purchase confirms my suspicion that this is a superior design, including a lithium ion battery. One feature I really appreciate — the handle displays the charge as a sliding indicator, zero to full, so you are not swinging with a depleted battery. Take back your home space! $199 pesos.
We have been experimenting with keeping lemon grass on the deck since I had to give up cigars. For some reason, skeeters didn’t bother me as much when I was drinking gin & tonics. I gave them up, too, since I couldn’t find tonic water any more that wasn’t made with high fructose corn syrup. I hear you can still get Mexican sodas with cane sugar.
Gee Ron, Sweppes tonic water sold (made?) here in Mexico simply says it contains “azucares” – sugars. ¿Ignorance is bliss? And, yes, much of the Coke sold here (and probably many other soft drinks made locally) are often made with cane sugar.
We planted some latana camara near the back door, which seems to help. Here’s a link to deterrent plants : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pest-repelling_plants