Hi,

I am doing some research on leeches, and particularly interested in the large, e.g. 10cm aquatic 'pling' or 'pling kwai' type, as opposed to the smaller land based 'Taak' ones.

I have been out to some rice fields before the harvest in Nakhon Nayok Province and the locals were telling me there were not may around, as most people used 'chemicals' for their crops.

Wondering what people's experiences are with the 'plings',

do you use chemicals to get rid of them?

Are they a big problem in your area?

and where do you find them!

Cheers

My wife hasn't seen ant around here for years, Buriram.

I haven't had a lot of experience in Thailand with Pling (apart from the human variety) but i have spent a fair bit of time in Rainforest in Oz and they do disappear in dry times and then re-emerge in wet times . When it is dry they are very small and barely noticeable but as their environment gets wetter they grow and then when they fill with blood they are at their largest size. I do not like them as i am allergic to the anti histamine type chemical they inject to avoid blood clotting. We also used to get them in suburban Sydney but my garden was landscapes as "rainforest " and backed onto a bush gully. . My ex wife was petrified of them as she says they can enter a women's body thru the vagina especially at times of menstruation - apparently most Thai women believe this. I am not sure if chemicals will get rid of them but as natural habitat changes or disappears then they will also disappear or migrate to a more favourable environment.

I hope this is relevant to your post and is helpful.

I read that US soldiers in Vietnam wore condoms to keep them out of a certain orifice.