Japanese Mukade

[Ron-of-Japan]

Hi, I'm Ron and have been living in Japan for the past 25 years (nearly half my life). Please forgive me if I do not share your interests but I am scared to death of things that crawl. I mean you no disrespect. I have come to this board with the hope that you can help me to determine how Japanese centipedes are getting into my home and what I can do to prevent it.

In Japanese these cetipedes are called "mukade" but I think they are Scolopendra subspinipes. Don't quote me but I think so. For the past nine years that I have been a home owner, my only discomfort has been the surprize when suddenly coming across one of these in my home. The other day one crawled into bed with me. I have yet to be bitten but my wife has three times.

They mostly come in the rainy season (usually May through July). For the past nine years I have tried to keep them out but still get about 7 or 8 in the house during this period. Again, forgive me if I do not share your interets in these "pets." Would the board be kind enough to answer a few questions:

1) Do they climb up water pipes? Can they get in through the washing machine?

2) Can they burrow through earth deep enough that they can go under your foundation and then up into your crawl space?

3) How do they usually get into someone's home? It almost seems as theough they are professionals at getting in. Like a thief that cases a joint before a robbery. They seem to know how to get in.

Many thanks and good luck in your hobbies and interests.

Ron

 

[Wade]

Coming in through the drains is extremely unlikley. Coming up through the soil in the crawlspace is plausible, but I think most likley what happens is the rain either drives them from the ground or else stimulates breeding acticity resulting in more of them moving around on the surface. I'd guess that they end up in your home by accident, there's not much in most homes to attract these animals. Squeezing under doors would be my guess. Is there an outdoor stairwell somwhere that might be inadvertantly hearding them into your home?

Wade

 

[danread]

Ron,

I completely understand you not wanting these centipedes in your home, i love my pedes, and there is no way i'd want them loose in the house! Unfortunately i dont think there is much you can do to stop them. As wade said, it is likely they are just squeezing under doors or other gaps in the house, so the best bet would be to try and make sure the house is well sealed. They are probably coming in for shelter from bad weather. I dont thnk there is any repellants that would work that i know of. What sort of size are these centipedes?

Dan.

 

[Ron-of-Japan]

Since I bought the home, I have been trying to seal it. My home is concrete and has aluminum sliding patio doors and windows. The screens used to have a few milimeters of gap that I thought they were getting in through but stuffed it with material which is made for that purpose.

My home is out in the country and uses a septic tank. It has a weird system whereby the drain pipes and the gutter downspouts all run through the same system. Homes are kind of built funny in Japan. Especially years ago. The concrete is really in good shape and I don't think they are getting in through there.

I put mesh material covering all the drains. But I realized yesterday after seeing one near the bathroom sink that there is also that overflow hole at the top of the sink. I put some masking tape over it for now.

If they are getting in from under the crawl space, then they would have to burrow a long way to get there. They would have to make their way under the foundation. Do you know how deep they can burrow? Unless, they were living under the home since it was build 25 years ago and keep laying eggs generation after generation.

I will check under the doors again but about a year ago I put some weather seal stripping to prevent that.

 

[Elizabeth]

Your last reply made me think of us having pedes in one of our bathtubs. Somehow, the pipes have come apart or cracked under the tub. Pipes that should drain now also provide a path in for little ground dwellers.

Obviously, a cracked or disconnected drainage pipe somewhere, but who knows where!, under the house is not a small job! If this is it and all your pipes are connected, hmmmmm :?

Maybe traps placed at different suspected entry spots will help you figure out how and where they are getting in.

Also, have you put any thought into luring the occasional visiting centipede into a trap placed close to where you think they are entering, baited with a less frightening bug? If they found what they liked quickly and then got stuck within, perhaps you wouldn't find them in your bed?

 

[Ron-of-Japan]

Elizabeth,

Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I have been suspecting pipes for some time now. About a year ago I put mesh material over the drain holes in the sink. They still got in. Then I realized there is also that overflow hole towards the upper back edge of the sink. I put masking tape over it a few days ago and haven't seen any so far. But it is still too early to tell.

I am also concerned about the washing machine. That too has a drain. I have a Toshiba washing machine and decided to call them just yesterday. They say that when the washing machine is not in use, the valve is shut. However, they told me that their machines also have an overflow drain and that it is possible for peds and roaches to crawl up that hose as it bypasses the valve. They completely understood my situation as the engineer I spoke with has been bitten by a ped. He is going to send me a lint box free of charge. He said to change the mesh inside to a fine size. The lint box goes between the valve and the drain pipe and can be easily opened for cleaning.

He said most plumbing has a trap to keep the smell from getting into the house. He said that lint from the washing machine sometimes gets into the trap and prevents it from closing properly, allowing the neighboorhood to crawl right in

Ron.