La Vinchuca

My grandmother, Maria Soto, brought me to the Vinchuca’s world. When I was eight years old, she told me stories about La Vinchuca and how people feared them. At that age, Vinchucas seemed like a monster or an alien from another planet.

This is a nocturnal insect, they like to bite during night time but sometimes they can bite during the day. They like to hide in cracks or wooden roofs, waiting for the quietest moment to attack.

La Vinchuca likes to hide in cracks or wooden roofs, so the best way to control them is sealing cracks and keeping the interior of the house clean. Some insecticides can be applied.

Rumors say that when Darwin was traveling around the world collecting specimens, during his visit to the South of Chile, he was bitten by a Vinchuca. Later in his life, he suffered some health complications that could be related to the Chagas disease.