Invasion

So now that summer is here (or summer/rainy season) the bugs have returned to Japan.  For the most part, we are doing ok.  Before buying the house we were warned that we were going to see a lot of bugs in our house due to it being so close to the river and wood, but so far we are getting by fairly easy.  We got mukade (centipede) powder that seems to really work (because I have seen dead ones in our shed or just outside of the house) and Motoaki was able to kill the wasp nest and the bee hive before they became massive (he is such a brave guy).  We have been managing to keep things clean enough to escape any cockroaches, ants, beetles, etc and that snake I saw one time last year (the first week moved in) hasn't returned.

BUT within the past week we seem to have been invaded by small centipedes or millipedes (I don't really take the time to count the legs).  When I first started seeing them I freaked out as I thought they were baby mukade (my biggest fear in Japan) but once I realized they were harmless, they became more of a nuisance than a menace.  For the most part they don't harm anything.  And they are super easy to catch.  If they are on the ceiling I just stick a plastic jar under them and they eventually fall into to it, after which I throw them outside.  Although maybe I should be killing them...  And if they are on the floor I stick an empty toilet around them and when they start to climb it I take it to the toilet and shake them out to a watery death.  About a week ago I would maybe see one a day.

Sorry for the bad pics but here are two in the house.


BUT ON SUNDAY I caught 12.  TWELVE!  Six on the living room ceiling, two on our bedroom floor, two in the hallway, and two in the shower.  Now, this could be because a) we had a huge rainstorm all weekend long and they may have been seeking safety and/or b) Motoaki wasn't around so I was kind of lazy and spent a lot of time lying about, looking at the ceiling while Finn brought random toys to me to throw.  Anyway, it makes me wonder if maybe we need to do something about them.  Motoaki (who'd been in Nagoya) got home at 1 am last night so I didn't have time to ask, but I will tonight.  They really aren't that bad as for the most part they don't seem to bite us, they are very calm when caught, and they haven't been found anywhere near our food.  But I am worried that maybe they eat wood or something.  And I also worry that they will bother Finn or that he will start eating them (he eats enough random bugs and frogs outside as it is...).

On a side note, I will say that in going through this I am reminded of all of the random Asian beetles that everyone had a problem with in Iowa a few years back.  I remember thinking that my mom was overreacting when she would go around killing what seemed to me to be harmless little bugs.  But now I can definitely relate...

UPDATE= We looked into it and they are harmless for the most part and should go away after the rainy season.  You can spray for them, but the spray would probably do Finn and me (due to being pregnant) than the bugs actually do.