Mukade Strikes!

I can deal with most bugs. Sure they're not pleasant, but I can deal with roaches, crickets, and beetles. I've even grown fairly tolerant of spiders recently (due to the frequency of their visiting my home). I still stand firm in the fact that my number one most feared creatures are scorpions, but I think I just found a close second. In Japan their name is "Mukade", and they are centipedes. As I write this, I have just now finished dealing with one of these horrifying creatures. You may ask where I found her? Well, only in the place where one is most vulnerable, the shower.

Now, since I've moved in, the light in my shower hasn't really worked. You can turn it on, but its a fluorescent bulb on the fritz and flickers. So, unless I feel like having "dance party Japan" when I take a shower, I usually leave it off. Now, there is a little light that comes through my shower door from the next room and usually this is enough for me to find soap, shampoo, etc. It is not, however sufficient for the systematic hunting and killing of centipedes. I got in the shower, just like normal, and out of the corner of my eye saw what looked to be a very fast slithering shadow. I thought perhaps my eyes were playing tricks on me, or I was merely casting a shadow on myself inadvertently. But, sure enough, I saw it move again. I immediately hopped out of the shower and went and got my headlamp flashlight. There, on the floor of my shower was about a 5" long centipede. I think it was very confused why it was all wet in there all of a sudden. I probably went through 4 or 5 objects in my house before I settled on the end of a mop handle to try to kill it. For a brief minute, I actually considered taking it captive and pitting it against the hunter spider I've captured (more on this at another time). But, I then came to my senses knowing that I could never fall asleep if I knew it was alive somewhere albeit under some kind of Tupperware container.

So I killed the sucker. Well, I'm assuming its dead. Its head was still wiggling back and forth when I flushed her. The reason I know it was a her is because when I started stabbing at it with the mop handle, eggs come oozing out of it. I know there's really no way to determine it, but it was probably the grossest thing ever. As far as dangerosity goes, they are poisonous. You won't die, but they have a nasty bite. Plus there's the Japanese rumor that they can kill babies.

But it's dead now, and first thing tomorrow I'm going to get a light for the shower. I've included a picture for everyone's vicarious viewing pleasures. I didn't have the presence of mind, nor the patience to take a picture myself, so what I've included is a stock photo approximating its appearance. Hope you enjoy it. I'm off to bed now!