Net/Bugs = x

One of those questions that must be answered time and again: is it worth it to shoo that bug out of your mosquito net? (Another question that must be asked but will never be answered is: how did it get in there in the first place?)

There seems to be a matrix for solving this equation, with the following factors: whether you yourself are inside or outside the net at the time, exactly how scary the bug is, ranging from fruit fly to mysterious prehistoric jetliner with ominous stinger, and how much sleep time, if any, you are likely to lose if the bug is removed (or if it's not).

Usually it's mosquitoes that somehow drift into my net, and I rarely discover them until they've sucked my blood in the wee hours of the morning. I think they sneak in through a flap that is supposed to be "convenient" for my entry and egress. With mosquitoes, one can fairly confidently wait them out. The insecticide with which the net is impregnated will eventually work its magic, and the mosquito will fall into a permanent slumber, though it will certainly have sated itself before doing so. The other option is to wait patiently for the mosquito to float into view and then try to kill it. The only problem with this is, it tends to get your adrenaline up, as you must usually try several times before the target is defeated. This may render later slumber impossible.

Grasshoppers can be allowed to stay. Ants must be squished as you find them, as they tend not to spend enough time on the net to get a lethal dose of permethrin.

Larger bugs, like bees, stick bugs, and mysterious titans from a forgotten geological age, are another issue entirely. The net may eventually knock them out but will probably never kill them. And the longer they stay trapped in the net, the more agitated they are likely to be. However scary it is to get close enough to shoo them away from the net, it is much scarier to sleep in it with them. For this kind of operation, I highly recommend enlisting a Cambodian host sister, who will laugh good-naturedly at your silly fear of bugs but will also take pity on you and bravely remove the offender.