Bugs of Japan

In this article I'll talk about the many kinds of bugs and insects that I've come across since coming to Japan.

In the United States

I lived in Kansas practically for my whole life. In my house there where spiders of course. There was also the silverfish bug, moths, and ants. And unfortunately for one summer, there were wasps. To be more specific, my dad found a wasp’s nest near our house. I don't know how it got there LOL.
When I was younger, I saw roly-polies, lighting bugs, and lady bugs. When I went to college there were a TON of lady bugs. I also remember hearing cicadas at night when I was younger. However, besides lady bugs, I didn't see much of the same insects that I saw before. I didn't see lighting bugs, bees, and I didn't notice the cicada sound anymore either. Maybe if I lived more in the country, I would have seen them. I lived in the suburbs.

In Japan

When I moved into my first apartment, I saw the occasional spider here and there. But when I went outside, I did notice a bug that I had never really seen before. This bug is extremely disgusting and big. It was a COCKROACH. I would see cockroaches crawling their disgusting legs around outside.
In Kansas I never saw such a thing. Of course, in the United States, cockroaches are equated to dirtiness, someone who doesn't clean well. But in Japan, that's not the case at all. They are quite normal here.
I noticed that Japanese people, especially little boys, like to collect stag beetles. It is a beetle about the size of a cockroach, but it's a little bigger. It has pinchers, and apparently, they like to keep them as pets. I also hear cicadas in the summer in Japan. And, since it's quite windy, after a typhoon, I even see some big ol' dead cicadas.

In My Second Apartment

My second apartment in Japan is where I had the most trouble. It was okay for the first few months, but during the end of the summer is when everything changed. I came home one day and saw something big on my wall. It was a cockroach. A COCKROACH! I screamed!!! I didn't know what to do, and the thing flew itself down off the wall! I was horrified, so I sprayed a bleach spray they have in Japan that’s intended for mold.

It wasn't the last time unfortunately. I would wake up and see one on my cabinet. I saw one near my washer. And one day I tried to kill one, but it escaped by going under my front door. That's when I realized where they were coming from.

Towards the end of my stay there, I had to get rid of my bed, so I was sleeping on the floor. I DID NOT want any bugs coming inside and crawling on my body. I looked online to find natural solutions to my cockroach problem, because killing a big ol’ nasty cockroach was just disgusting. I saw that they hate the smell of peppermint, citrus, and bay leaves. I bought some bay leaves to burn. After that I didn’t have much of a problem.
However, then, and even now, I dream about the cockroaches. I saw that cockroach go under my door. Ever since then, I dream of cockroaches entering my house by squeezing their fat, gross body under my door. I often have nightmares about that. Be careful, just an FYI.

In the Countryside

I currently live in the Countryside of Japan. It has been an eye-opening experience for me. There are bugs here that I've never seen in real life. For instance, there are dragon flies, centipedes, bumblebees, and what I think is a hornet. It's the biggest looking wasp I have ever seen, and I'm pretty sure that it's deadly. All the bugs that I've seen here are also way bigger than any bug I've seen back home. That includes ladybugs.

Please be safe and take care of yourself while living in Japan. It is a clean place, that IS the reason why there's so many insects. The air is clean, and the bugs can survive here. There are measures if you get cockroaches, like freeze sprays, and just plain bug killers. However, please run from the wasps if you ever come across one. Two stings and I think you could die.

Good luck on staying bug free in Japan.