$100 larvae

Was in the loo when my son calls me from home. The NEA officers are at the door asking to check our pots for dengue larvae. Because the outbreak this year has been so severe and widespread, the good folks at NEA are now checking vigilantly and fining even first-time offenders for harbouring the nasty mozzies.

I can't complain - especially since I had a nasty case of dengue just two years ago that resulted in a hospital stay with my 8-week-old baby bunking in with me.

So this morning, the NEA came and checked our pots. We have three pots of water plants. One small water lily and a bigger plant in a deeper earthen pot in the back garden with a water spout. Both these water spots were ok - they had fish in them and the guppies - hardy little buggers - gobble up any stray larvae that are in their territory. So no worries there.

Unfortunately, we also have a smaller pot, which for some unfathomable reason, was hostile to fishes. Any and every fish that went in there died. So we bought some granular insecticides guaranteed to be anti-mozzie and put some in.

Today, despite the insecticides, the NEA dug around the pot and found one, yes ONE, wriggly miserable little larvae. And so we were fined. I think it was a hundred bucks. I don't have the details yet. But this has got to be THE most expensive mozzie ever!

Damn those bugs. We could have had a sushi meal.