Roy Wilkins usually burnt pieces of wood in a small pot inside his home to keep away mosquities as the house, overgrown with vines, harboured many insects.
Around noon yesterday, burning cinders caught on the hanging vines and within a matter of minutes, the wood and concrete house went up in flames.
The building, situated at Alta Garcia Trace, Siparia, was completely destroyed.
Wilkins, 38, told police that the house was not outfitted with electricity so he used kerosene lamps. He said mosquitoes were a great problem for him so he usually smoked them out using pieces of wood.
Investigators said the house measured 12 metres by eight metres and was valued at $50,000 while household articles were valued at $5,000.
Officers of the Siparia Fire Station responded to the fire and have deemed it accidental.