Insects In Iraq

Insects in Iraq are abundant. Sand flies are very small creatures that jump and transmit an irritating disease that can be deadly. These teeny bugs are commonly found in Iraq by our troops and civilians alike.

These delightful miniature bugs carry a disease caused by parasites that is transmitted through their saliva while they bite their victims. The disease is known to our troops as "Baghdad boil" but it is actually called leishmaniasis. It usually causes an irritating skin rash.

This disease can be fatal if a person's organs are affected. There are three levels of leishmaniasis. The first level is called cutaneous. This is just on the skin.

The second level is called mucosal. This affects the mouth, nose, and throat.

The third level is the most dangerous and is called visceral. This is what attacks the internal organs.

Hundreds of our troops have gotten leishmaniasis or Baghdad boil over the past four years. Most of them have contracted the cutaneous level only.

To prevent getting Baghdad boil, the military says that everyone should sleep with nets on their beds. They should wear uniforms only after the uniforms are treated with insect repellent. Always wear long pants, long sleeves, and socks. Never go barefoot. Treat any exposed skin immediately with DEET (diethyl-m toluamide per DEET.com).

It is important for everyone in Iraq to take every precaution to protect themselves from insects in Iraq by following the recommendations of the military to avoid Baghdad boil.

Personally, I spent four years in various parts of Iraq and one year in Afghanistan and I have not been bothered by sand flies as of yet. Just do what you are told by the military and by your company. By following these guidelines, along with a little common sense, you should be just fine.

I never had any problems with any insects in Iraq or Afghanistan. But while in Kuwait and going through an old building we wanted to ship to Iraq, I got bit or stung by something.

At the time I thought nothing about it. There was exposed, rough wood in the building so I thought it was a splinter, even though I did not see anything.

The next morning when I woke up my head was pounding like there was a drum set inside my brain. My heart was pounding like i was trying to ran the one mile in three minutes. I was sick to my stomach.

I looked down at my leg and it was huge and red and swollen. It stayed swollen for several days but then started going down. The headache and all went away after a couple of day.

Upon looking closer at the leg, I could see two little fang marks where something got me. Even today, my leg will all of a sudden swell up and when I look, I can see the fang marks.

I have been stung by scorpions, wasp and bees and none of these even phased me. But this, apparently, spider bite almost took me out.

Below is a recent video of my bite symptoms:

But no country would be complete with out the "fly." Iraq had tons of them as part of their insects in Iraq. In Kabul, we did not have as many, I think it had something to do with the altitude we were at.

We used insect spray and fly traps for these insects in Iraq. And not to mention the fly swatter.

For a time I worked in a office with a couple of guys at Baqubah. Our main task of the day was swatting the flies.

The thing about the Iraq flies is you could hit them and they would still still be alive. They would crash to the floor and then take off a few seconds later.

We kept track of our body count so a kill did not count unless you hit the fly and splattered its blood. Only blood meant a kill. I always try to take a good repellent with me. As a logistics tech I always made sure we had some on stock. Of course, today this is not possible now with the new airline security.

One time at my store in Iraq, one company supply officer came in and bought about 50 cans of OFF from us.

We also carried insect candles and insect spray as well. During the spring and summer, these were hot items. Go to Home Page from Insects In Iraq.