Things that Bite - Giant Centipedes

[Andrew Reeve]

 

Giant centipedes to my horror can be found all over Thailand, and can grow to the size of a man's forearm. If you encounter one, either indoors or outdoors stay away from it as it will most likely bite you. Giant centipedes have specially adapted front legs that act like pincers to inject venom. A centipede’s venom is not fatal, but will result in serious pain and it can take 3 days to get over the bite as you will need to have anti-tetanus, painkillers and plenty of rest.

I have never seen one and I certainly want to avoid them, I have seen some snakes from a distance and not a fan of snakes.

 

[Alice]

Why did you have to mention that and now will be checking indoors all of time as well as under the bed.

I hate Snakes, Spiders and basically anything creepy crawly

[Andrew Reeve]

Sorry Alice and was shocked to learn about Giant centipedes and had to mention it.

[Romi]

Giant centipedes, spiders, snakes, scorpions ... the lot are everywhere. Sorry. I have encountered (but never been bitten) all of these. In fact when trying to deal with a new mouse nest outside my back door this week I noticed a snake right at my feet. That was fun!

[Alice]

Ah Romi, feeling sick reading this "snake right at my feet"

[David1991]

The guys when unloading the hold from an aircraft have to be mindful of snakes in the cargo holds

[Andrew Reeve]

Very true and when aircraft from foreign shores go in for maintenance they are normally debugged first with bug bombs after all the aircraft is fully sealed up.

[Alice]

Gutted, David and Andrew you both are putting me off flying and never considered what could be in the cargo hold and in a million years would have never given, whats under the floor a second thought, until now.

[David1991]

Sorry Alice and I will focus on the positives regarding aviation from now on.

[Simon43]

Yonks ago when I was building a small hotel in Phuket, a centipede crawled up the shorts of a sleeping worker and bit him in the groin!!  Jeez, I think that was the worst pain ever!

I rarely kill living creatures, but I will kill mozzies, cockroaches and especially centipedes (not the harmless millipedes).  I found one in my garden in north Laos a few days ago, and beat it to death with a bamboo stick.

Be careful, because centipedes can move surprisingly fast on a tiled floor...

 

[KaptainRob]

On 7/18/2021 at 8:21 PM, Simon43 said:

Yonks ago when I was building a small hotel in Phuket, a centipede crawled up the shorts of a sleeping worker and bit him in the groin!!  Jeez, I think that was the worst pain ever!

I rarely kill living creatures, but I will kill mozzies, cockroaches and especially centipedes (not the harmless millipedes).  I found one in my garden in north Laos a few days ago, and beat it to death with a bamboo stick.

Be careful, because centipedes can move surprisingly fast on a tiled floor...

The wife found one of the above in our ensuite last night, big one too!  How it got in was a puzzle as shower and floor drains have traps fitted and at least 2 hair and scum barriers.  It was only after some deliberation I recalled an open drain below the built-in spa bath which is vented into the room.  I assume the centipede came up this secondary (and otherwise dry) waste and then via the air vent.

Could have been a nasty surprise during middle of night visit to the loo with no light on.  Night light batteries reinstated!

[Smithydog]

They are painful! My daughter was bitten by one just last week in the middle of the night. Not fun at all. An Ice pack seemed to help settle the bite down along with various Thai Herbs the women in the family picked and made into a paste.

Nasty!

[Pongo]

Horrid things. Give me bloody nightmares, in the Philippines (and also Thailand) they are eaten by a species of lizard (possibly Tokay Gecko but I am probably wrong on that).

I've seen a couple in our house up country, and they do scare the crap out of me, so I leave them to the Mrs or one of the kids to deal with, usually dispatched via a hefty stick, they are also very fast, but with all those feet I guess they should be lol.

Snakes don't worry me too much as they tend to be timid and are gone before I see them, again up country they are prevalent but not so much in Quezon.

Spiders, the dogs and cats will eat them so no issues there.

Centipedes though, everything about them is wrong. I've only ever seen one giant centipede in Pattaya, or was on a drain cover on one of the sois, all curled up, again not an ideal thing to get a bite from on your foot, that'll ruin any holiday.

Edited August 1, 2021 by Pongo
spelling mistakes

[LoongFred]

If you suspect a tropical disease the best place by far for treatment is : the faculty of tropical medicine Mahidol  University. They’re located at 420/6 Rajivithi Rd. Close to Victory Monument. They also have a travel clinic. Most off staff speak excellent English. 

[BainaiThai]

I got bit on the foot a couple of years ago, stepping up and out of the bahn and onto the front patio.  Sharp pain and discomfort for three days.  Wife and I searched for a culprit (we have seen black widow, giant centipedes and scorpions) but found none.  Wife says it probably died....I don't know what that says about my blood alcohol level.

[Convert54]

Disturbing centipedes when moving pot plants or anything that is on the ground is an almost daily event at this time of year. They like damp but not wet conditions so many have taken refuge in such places during the wet season. I have become quite used to always lifting items with expectation of one being there and prepared to manically stomp it !

 

[palooka]

Centipedes are usually in gardens near or under any rubble, old sheeting etc.  I get the privilege of getting rid of a snake at least once a month also, small rat snakes 30cm up to 2 metre cobra. Black scorpion got me once moving concrete blocks, extremely painful for days, anti histamine tablets help.

[Vince]

On 7/18/2021 at 6:21 AM, Simon43 said:

Yonks ago when I was building a small hotel in Phuket, a centipede crawled up the shorts of a sleeping worker and bit him in the groin!!  Jeez, I think that was the worst pain ever!

I rarely kill living creatures, but I will kill mozzies, cockroaches and especially centipedes (not the harmless millipedes).  I found one in my garden in north Laos a few days ago, and beat it to death with a bamboo stick.

Be careful, because centipedes can move surprisingly fast on a tiled floor...

I believe they are considered one of the spirit animals of a god of war in one country. 

[palooka]

16 minutes ago, Vince said:

I believe they are considered one of the spirit animals of a god of war in one country. 

I'm happy to declare war on them.

[thaifarmer]

There's a reason these things exist. Centipedes clean up/eat a lot of organic residue. When cleaning out my compost heap on a yearly basis, I see at least 10 of them every time. from small to the extremely big ones. Let them go. They speed up the process of breaking down compost. 

The occasional "near the house" visitor usually do not survive our cats play grounds...