billruth

I had posted a question regarding a family vacation in Dec./January and have gotten some very helpful responses. I have used FODORS for my European trips and have found the Latin American forum to be very helpful also. One of the postings I read here was from someone who said everynight they had to clear the bugs out of their room. My daughter will go crazy if that is the case. Can someone tell me if this is normal in all the hotels in Costa Rica?

Iza

Yes, you will be in the tropics and you will get some insects in your room. Ants, spiders etc. are fairly common, as are geckos. There are some things you can do: do not leave any food items outside as they attract ants. Put all foods in airtight containers (ziplock bags) or in the fridge. Make sure you keep the windows/doors shut and that the screens are tight. Do not leave your lights on when you are not in the room. A typical mistake people make is to leave their lights on when they go out to dinner. You should also shake out your shoes before putting them on to avoid scorpions. I have never seen one but I have met people who were stung by scorpions. With those precautions, you should be relatively bug free. Have a great trip!

faithie

We usually have a few ants , they simply crawl under the doors etc. It is not a matter of cleanliness .... (tropics ) We also had a few little geckos . It was the same in the most expensive room we ever had and the least expensive ! At least if she knows to expect it it might be a little easier to handle .Faith

Latitude9Lisa

Don't worry about those geckos or shoo them away. Geckos like to eat mosquitos. Just remember, that gecko is eating the mosquito that's NOT eating you!!

Lisa in Manuel Antonio

faithie

Very true Lisa , my kids LOVED those little Geckos ..... come to think of it I think hubby loved them even more !

TripleSecDelay

Surely, billruth, you don't mean to ask people to answer for "all the hotels in Costa Rica" as you have phrased your question.

Experiences vary.

At two hotels, we simply closed the hotel room door on the bath mat towel to seal the gap between the tile and the bottom of the door. This kept out the small insects.

We found no large insects inside any of our rooms for the seven nights we were there. There were large insects outdoors.

The perimeter walls of some of our neighbors' entry doors were populated by moths and other crawlies each night. We learned to simply unscrew the light bulb adjacent to our door so that upon our return each night, there were no bugs near our door. This prevened them from following us into our room when we opened the door. Try it.

Iza

I really meant the geckos in a positive way! My daughter and I loved watching them scampering on the walls and they are totally harmless.

As to specific insect sightings - we had some types of insects in every one of the hotels we stayed at: a big spider in the shower, ants getting into sugar packets near the coffee maker, occassional moths getting into the room etc. I did not consider it a problem and it was not any worse than the insects we get in our house in CT (we live near the woods so things do get into the house from time to time).

faithie

I knew u did ! lol.....

melshells

I have a question regarding spiders and scorpions in costa Rica. I can handle just about everything else- including snakes- and even to a certain extent scorps, but have alot of issues w/ large athletic spiders. Does anyone know- are the scorpions in Cosa Rica the big honking ugly ones, or the smaller ones that tend to be more venomous (at least in Mexico.) And what about spiders: poisonous or just big and creepy- or both?
Thanks for any info. I'd appreciate...

faithie

They are not the same as the ones in Mexico , they could give a nasty sting , but not highly venoumous ...... Never noticed any spiders actually " in " our room , did indeed see some of course !!!! You will see and encounter critters ... Faith .

shillmac

We've stayed in many hotels, have seen a few ants, a few small spiders, one large spider, and a few geckos (all on the walls outside). Absolutely nothing that really made us think "Ooh, Costa Rica--buggy!!" Long story short, I wouldn't consider the number or size of the bugs anything all that unusual.

shillmac

I didn't mean to imply that EVERY insect were all on the walls outside--only the geckos! Ants were in. Just our experience. . .

Ally

This thread makes me laugh! My sister sold her house in the suburbs and moved in with me at my Lake house. She is freaking out daily about the spiders and other creepy crawlers out in my neighborhood.
We are moving to Costa Rica later this year to open our hotel, and I have told her if she thinks my 'hood' is bad, she's going to have a real hard time in Costa Rica. So now, she's trying to take the bug situation as a preview of whats to come.

shillmac

Hi Ally, why don't you give us all an update of your hotel progress? When are you thinking of opening? It's on my list for next summer! It will be our inaugural visit to Nosara.