Long-term, Venezuela's economic crisis is already almost ten years in a row now. Inflation is harder and harder to control, and the value of the currency is dropping almost every day despite the efforts of the responsible power groups, making necessities like food and medicine inaccessible to the average person. Amidst all the disorder and the threat of the recent pandemic that terrorized the country and claimed many lives, threatening to kill many more, we have settled down and are looking for a way to make a decent living within our limited resources and means. Little things that might not mean much can be devastating in our situation. Even things such as ants in the garden.

But, what can we do? How can one take control of the situation and survive? Well, one of the possible solutions I have been working on lies in Hydroponics and Aquaponics. These seem to be a good future in my "survival" retreat. However, not everything is a smooth ride. We identified some issues, most of them referred to natural elements that could generate losses in the short-medium term.

Controlling insects without increasing the cost of production is hard. This is the story.

Ants attack

I am growing carefully a crop of sweet pepper plants, a highly sought-after spice in this region. However, only one plant survived, now only 30 centimeters tall…the victim of an ant infestation.

Sweet peppers are not so easy to grow.