Hello all,
I’ve recently moved to Japan as an ALT. I was lucky and have been moved into a rather large house. This comes with the treat of once a week I find a yamori somewhere inside. Is this a problem?
One I caught and let go, but the one I’ve found today got behind a piece of furniture so I’m letting him stay. I was wondering if there are any issues that may arise from leaving a yamori to roam my home freely? Also, does this mean I have a separate problem that is attracting them inside?
It’s rather cute, but very skittish. When it runs out of random nooks or starts throwing itself down my stairs it slightly startles me but I’d rather a yamori over most things I’ve heard can try take up residence in your home. I also sleep on the floor upstairs, so I’m a little concerned I might wake up to a yamori trying to give me a good nights kiss or something.
Please give me some advice on the matter, thanks!
11 comments
They say it’s good luck. Probably eating other more annoying pests for you.
one fell from the ceiling straight onto my sleeping cousin’s face once, which has led to a bit of trauma for her… but yeah, same as bugs, if you live anywhere with abundant nature, they’ll probably find their way in sooner or later. they eat cockroaches, so personally I’d be happy to have a couple around.
> are any issues that may arise from leaving a yamori to roam my home freely?
Yes. They’ll mercilessly hunt down all and eat all the insects in your home.
And the fact that one found its way in means there’s prey for it.
They’re good luck and protect your house! The major problem is if you are also skittish and they jump scare you. I have a few on my balcony that stay almost exclusively hidden behind all my pot plants. I’ve screamed a few times when moving stuff and accidentally disturbing one. I do get extremely happy when I see one on the wall hunting insects at night, though.
Good thing: they eat bugs, flies, mozzies, etc.
Bad thing: they poop on the walls and ceiling.
They’re the best critters to have around! Better than say kumo or mukade.
I grew up in SEA and geckos/house lizards are practically unashamed to show their presence.When I was a kid, I used to shoot rubber bands at them, some get critical hit like pokemon, and grab them fast when they drop on the floor.
I miss that clicking sound they used to make at random times of the day back home.
I always wondered if there are enough house bugs for a lizard if it lived in my house, I’d love one. (Big shout out to my very large spider that I haven’t seen in a year but I hope he’s still around and doing well)
ok but be warned: if you don’t get it outside at some point soon, in winter you’ll eventually find its mummified corpse under the couch, someplace like that. Happens to me every year, there’s always one or two I can’t catch
Yamori means “house protector”. They’re great to have around as they eat all kinds of bugs.
If you try to catch one, go easy. Advice is to toss a cloth over it to scoop it up. They’re a bit frail and their tails can come off easily.
Some ryokan I’ve stayed in have yamori so guests don’t get harassed by skeeters.
A question for the specialists here:
Do they eat cockroaches too?
Those damn ゴキブリs were a damn nightmare when I was in Japan on summer.
I think Yamori-san would rather be outside, and is most likely in the house by accident. So I will try to move them outdoors if I can.