Wild Thailand: (GIANT) Bugs, Catfish, and Lizards, oh my!

Thailand is a fascinating wonderland of wildlife, even smack dab in the middle of the city (or inside the walls of your apartment... yikes).  In this post, I share some of my encounters with wild beings here, including insects, giant catfish, lizards, snakes, and a terrifying spider I have named Natasha (pictured below).  Read on to adventure into wild Thailand with me!

Insects

Let's start out with some of the insects I have had the pleasure of meeting in my nine months in Thailand.

Centipedes

As I want to start the post on a positive note, I will share with you my favorite insect I've seen in Thailand: the Southeast Asian centipede!!  These babies are huge.  The first one I saw was crossing the road at night, and I saw it from meters away!

Just look at how it walks, and how big it is compared to my finger!!  AMAZING creature!!

Mosquitos

Mosquitos in Thailand are no joke.  These ones were quite large after living in my apartment for awhile and having delicious feasts on my blood.  That one on the left was quite full when I fly-swatted it... no wonder I spend most of my time here itchy!  Also, they tend to bite me in very hilarious locations, especially when I'm asleep under the covers and only my face is exposed.  The most uncomfortable bites so far were on my eyelid (that was painful) and the tip of my nose - which was mostly uncomfortable because the teachers were calling me Pinocchio.

Cockroaches

Meet Gregor.  (Anyone get the Kafka "Metamorphosis" reference?)  He lived in my closet for a long time.  He was too clever and quick for me to catch him, so we had to coexist (for much longer than I was comfortable with).  The bottom right cockroach is not Gregor; this lady lived in our bathroom in Bangkok for orientation.

After some time, Gregor migrated on his own to a different apartment (or perhaps he passed away).  I needed to ensure that my closet was no longer a desired habitat for cockroaches, so I did a massive cleaning project in which I emptied the contents... and I'm very glad I did, because look at all the cockroach poop I found.  And see that larger lump in the left photo?  Yep, Gregor laid an egg.  Gregor actually laid a lot of eggs.  I found them tucked into all corners and hinges of my closet, probably about six to eight eggs total.  I learned on the internet that roach poop indicates to other cockroaches that this is a good place to live for them, so I was obviously having none of that.  I also found a cockroach mite, which I promptly dealt with.  I feel kind of bad when I kill bugs, but I have to take the stance that it's either that or me not feeling safe in my own space... sorry, sweet little beings.  Whenever I can remove them safely, I do.  May you be well in your next life, and hopefully you will not be a cockroach!

Termites

Every evening at about 8 PM starting in mid-April, a march of mysterious critters ensued, from my front door all the way across my floor, up my wall, into each little hole (of which there were many) in my apartment.  They at first looked like ants to me, but then I noticed that they were different in shape, and that they were not heading for food or water, but for wood.  A fun realization: I had termites!

I notified my landlady and she did a spot-treatment extermination herself.  It worked... for the spots she sprayed.  Within a few days, the termites promptly adapted and found some new holes to colonize.  I identified eleven untreated hotspots and told my landlady.  She popped by the next day and gave me a can of termite treatment of my very own.  And thus, I became my own exterminator.

The treatment worked.  Too well.  When I came home to my apartment that evening, my dear pet daddy long legs, who had lived in my apartment with me since the very beginning, was on my bathroom floor, passed away.  I have never sobbed so much for a spider.  I gave him a burial outside.  His webs continue to catch mosquitos to this day, even though he has been gone for months.

The good news is: I successfully eradicated my termite problem!!!  I only saw a couple drunken stragglers over the next few days, and have seen no termites (and no anything, including ants, cockroaches, etc.) since.  Three months down the line, I would say the termite poison was very effective!

Bedbugs

Okay, so these were in Laos, but I'm including them because these are truly creatures of my nightmares.  I slept in a bed that had them for two nights... I noticed their presence the second night at about 2 AM, far too late to find a different place to sleep.  And these bedbugs were big.  The next day, I was covered in little itchy bites.  Including one on my forehead that bled and scabbed - see it in the photo?  I was extremely careful to not bring the bedbugs back with me, which was difficult because they travel on clothes, in backpacks, in hair, ICK.  And the only way to get rid of them once you have them is to get a NEW MATTRESS.  No thank you.  I didn't bring them home with me, but wowza I had nightmares about them for a long time.  Violation of psychological wellbeing!!  After this experience, I determined that bedbugs are #1 on my list of pests I do NOT want in my living space.

Fire Ants

I had never experienced these in the States, but wow are fire ants interesting creatures.  They are massive, for ants, and they BITE.  OW!  This one was on the exercise machine I was using, and it bit my neck, as a pointed way to let me know that I was encroaching on its territory.  I had never been bitten by a bug that hurt so much in the moment!  I had to find what had bitten me and get a photo of it, plus my pinky finger for scale.  Impressive sized ant, no?

Snails

Both of these snails are so enjoyable to me!  Look how swirly and beautiful.  The first one was so flat, I had never seen a snail like this.  The second one was big, too!

SPIDERS

Meet the ever-glorious Natasha.  She is about the size of my outstretched hand, maybe a little bit smaller.  But that is still far too large in my book.  I am an arachnophobe from early childhood, so Natasha is by far my least favorite member of this post.  I have massive goosebumps while writing this.

Look at her fuzzy arms... cringe.  This photo was taken right outside my apartment.  If she EVER comes inside, I'm buying a plane ticket.  To Mars.

One of her babies!  I see these much more frequently than I see Natasha herself.  It disturbs me that the babies would end up being Natasha's size, but all of the geckos around give me comfort that most of them won't make it that far.  Also, don't worry that my finger is so close to the baby - it was very still, and I also did some research and determined that these are (most likely) not poisonous.

Miscellaneous/Unidentified...

I have no idea what those top bugs are.  Some type of beetles?  Then, a moth, and a praying mantis, I think.  Feel free to identify these and e-mail me!

Reptiles

Time to enjoy some of my favorite beings in Thailand: the lizards, namely anoles and geckos!

Anoles (Jing Jong)

These little lizards are just the most precious things: anoles, in English, "jing jong," in Thai.  Jing jong are wonderful - especially because they eat mosquitos, ants, and termites!



I frequently have jing jong inside my apartment.  Look how well the one under my desk camouflaged into the wood!  I found out it was there because it pooped on my knee while I was sitting, working on my computer.  Instead of being grossed out, I was actually honored.  I felt so connected to this little guy!  (But I did promptly clean my leg.  Hehe.)



When I meditate in the morning, sometimes I notice a tiny outline in my door crack - little jing jong waiting for breakfast!

Meet Sillvester.  (I call every jing jong in my apartment this because the very first one I had lived in my windowsill.  Ergo, "Sill"vester.)  This was my most special Sillvester, as he lived with me for a long time.  Warning: kind of sad story... he lived in my apartment when I did the termite extermination, and I believe he ate some poisoned termites/was impacted by the poison in the environment.  His motor abilities began to deteriorate, so I moved him into my outdoor room, where I could keep an eye on him but where he would not be affected further by the poison.  I fed him bugs I had freshly killed (ants, mosquitos) that had not ingested the poison.  He actually started to trust me to the point that he would run toward me when I came into the outdoor room.  He lived there for about a week before he passed away.  I was truly heartbroken.  I think he was not long for the world anyway, but I did everything I could for him.  I buried him next to the spider.  Rest in peace, sweet one.

To end the jing jong section on a happier note: look at the sweet tiny baby that was in my bike basket this morning!

Giant Geckos (Dokay)

Meet Franc, the beautiful giant gecko who lives right outside my apartment!  Thailand is full of these awesome lizards.  Adults can reach up to 14 inches long!  I love her patterning, almost leopard-inspired.  She also makes such a fun song, which is actually the reason for her species name ("tokay" gecko).  Have a listen!

Here's a couple other, smaller tokays, awaiting a delicious insect dinner.

Lastly, here is a video of Franc hunting a FAR TOO LARGE flying insect that just might be a helicopter.  I wanted her to catch it so badly!!

Snakes

I love snakes.  I think that they are fascinating, and when they are not poisonous, I truly enjoy looking at them and saying hello (from a bit of a distance, so as not to scare them).  This snake was at the exit way of my apartment building, so I had to walk by it to leave.  It got quite scared and stood up, puffed out its neck like a cobra, and gave me quite a fright!  It certainly knew how to make itself look bigger!  Very cool defense mechanism.

I'm sorry that this snake is deceased, but I just thought the skin was too cool to not photograph it.  It had been run over on the road and this is what its remains looked like.

Fish

Last but not least, let's venture into the water to see some of the coolest fish out there...

Catfish!!

Thailand, especially the Mekong River (the river border between my town and the country of Laos), is famous for its quite sizeable catfish.  These are a mix of Mekong Catfish and Whale Catfish.  The Mekong Catfish is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world; it has been recorded to reach lengths of 10 feet!!!  (That's as tall as a one-story building.)  

The photos and videos here are from lakes at parks near my home, which are simply filled with these fish.  They sell fish food and loaves of bread by the lake shores so that people can feed the fish.  I don't think that bread is the best fish food, but these fish have clearly adapted to it and eat it just fine.  I had a few stale crackers one day, so I fed them to the catfish.  They enjoyed them!

 Hungry, hungry catfish!

I don't know what species that fish to the right is, but I love its pattern.  Cool, no?

The monks enjoyed the catfish feeding frenzy as much as I did.

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This brings us to the end of my Thailand wildlife post!  I hope you enjoyed seeing some insects, spiders, reptiles, and catfish that I encounter regularly in my Southeast Asian home.

Comment below which one is your favorite, and which one you would prefer to NEVER encounter in person!