So last night Sophie and I were lying in our beds chatting before falling asleep. The lights were already out and we were just about to go to sleep. Keep in mind that we both sleep tucked under mosquito nets - not so much because of the mosquitoes but because of all of the other possible animals in our rooms (bats, gecko poo, rhino beetles, toads, snakes, various bugs, etc)
Suddenly, we heard a whirling noise very close to our heads. I thought it might be a rhino beetle but it was suddenly silent and we didn’t hear it again. After a few minutes, Sophie said to me, “Does it make you nervous that we cannot hear it anymore?” I said yes and then noticed a large shadow directly to my left. I called out, “Sophie, I think it might be on my net but I don’t know if it is inside or outside.” Keep in mind that I was trying very hard not to scream at this point. Sophie asked if she should shine a light on it. I mentally prepared myself (for a one inch rhino beetle) and said yes. From under her net, she picked up her torch and directed it at me.
All at once we both began screaming, there was a 4-5 inch long beetle type thing right next to me and clinging to my mosquito net. Sophie realized it had been living in our room as she saw it once before in the rafters. Then very seriously, with her polite German accent, Sophie said, “We must destroy it.” I started laughing and hyperventilating all at once. Because of the flying ability of the bug, we had to be plan carefully. What happened next was a detailed military-level operation that involved our water scooper, my net, a lot of mosquito spray, and a shoe. In the end we took care of it – sorry to any of you that may be offended by our “taking care of it” but I would have left today if I thought there was a chance it would be in our room again.
A picture of the intruder. Please bear in mind the pictures do not do justice to the trauma.
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