The following video has a lot of interesting information about the mukade: I heard that many people pour boiling water on them and then cut them into half. They are very territorial, so just kicking them out, won’t help. You are most likely to see them if you live in the countryside close to mountains. In summer, especially after rainy season you might find them in your house or in your bed. Mukade (ムカデ、百足) is another giant creature in Japan, yet correctly spoken it’s not an insect. You’ll find a huge variety of centipedes in Japan, but one of them is especially dangerous: not gonna stay around to test if that’s true or not! “If you stay calm, they are not scary insects at all!!” – Yeah, right. They suggest that you don’t make any hectic moves and slowly get some distance between you and the hornet. If there are a lot of them around, you’ll find signs like this. While it’s not very common that they invade your house (unless you live next to trees or they decided to have their nest under your roof), they’re still very present especially in rural areas of Japan. That’s also the only strategy that kept me from being stung. My strategy is to just run away instead of confirming what it is. There are many similar bee-like insects and all of them are huge! Even horseflies look similar if they’re just passing by. It’s always better to assume you’re facing something dangerous than the other way round, right?

This is probably a so-called “black suzumebachi” (クロスズメバチ), but I’m not sure. If you have a dark hair color, then wear a bright-colored cap. After these frist-aid steps, go to a hospital or – if in the mountains – to a nearby mountain hut and get an antidote! You should use a cream that contains “histamine”. If you get stung, wash the wound with clear water, then try to get the poison out by squeezing.

But generally they can be around from May to November. That’s also when I found one sitting on my bedsheets. ( Note: It’s already dead, otherwise it would be too dangerous and stupid to do what that guy did!)Īs most insects it’s active in summer, but you’re most likely to run into it in September and October. Here’s a video where you can see a suzumebachi from close up. I’m not sure if that’s really true, but Japanese people keep telling me that. My Japanese co-workers keep telling me that one sting doesn’t kill you, but the second time will, because by that time your body will show an allergic reaction. A significant number of people die every year in Japan because of this little monster. Suzumebachi’s venom is just so much stronger which is why it also can kill people who aren’t allergic to them, even adults, if the dose is sufficient. Obviously somebody who is allergic to the venom of bees will die from it.

Now, this one is HUGE! And not only that, it can kill you! I’m not kidding! THIS is my personal nightmare! Of course I’m afraid of a few insects and animals, but only bees, wasps and hornets cause me to panic!Īnd I’m talking about the relatively tiny European ones. Suzumebachi (スズメバチ、雀蜂、胡蜂) which consists of the words “suzume” (sparrow) and “hachi” (bee, hornet) is better known in Western countries as Japanese giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia japonica). The main reason why I wrote this blog post is to warn you! Some of them are dangerous and many tourists don’t even know about it! Some can hurt you badly, others can kill you!Īlthough chances are low that it will happen to you, I think it’s important you have at least a rough idea of what to expect.

However, the majority of them is disgusting. It’s the perfect environment for all sorts of creepy critters and other pests to grow and spread!įirst, let’s have a look at the insects: There are many insects that I personally don’t mind or find rather cute, especially those that are similar to the ones I’m used to from back home.Īctually there are even some really beautiful insects as well, such as butterflies or the red dragonfly. The crazy heat and humidity coupled with bad insulation of houses is one thing, but that climate causes another problem! If you’re planning to come to Japan in summer, there’s something you should know about first.

There were lots of snakes in japanese