Maybe someone on the Chinese forum could tap into some of the local knowledge about keeping these beasts out of living areas?

There is a very simple solution
Spray Baygon round the bases of doorframes & across the floor between the doorframes once a week - as soon as they touch the Baygon they start to die

The most popular spot for them is in the holes at the base of the doorframe.

Also if you leave music playing with a heavy base at night they don't like the vibration in the airwaves - doesn't need to be too loud, just enough to lull you off to sleep & them out of the house

During my 12 years on Lamma, I only saw one in my G/F flat 3 years ago although there have been numerous claims of casualties. I was advised to burn a couple of stick of indonesian incense(musk maybe?) in the evening to keep the creature away. It seemed to work at the time. Then I moved to 2/F few months afterwards so I'm not sure if it really worked or it's just pure luck!

I find cockroach bait -- about $40 for a box with 9 baits -- effective in keeping the roaches at bay. With the warm season here a few roaches appeared in our kitchen last week so it was time to renew the baits. We also had a home invasion by a medium-sized (about 15cm) centipede, which nipped me on the toe before scuttling away. He turned up dead the next day after a massive spraying under and behind all the furniture.

The Centipede
by Ogden Nash

I objurgate the centipede,
A bug we do not really need.
At sleepy-time he beats a path
Straight to the bedroom or the bath.
You always wallop where he’s not,
Or, if he is, he makes a spot.

I came across a Chinese folk remedy for centipede bites; rub the affected area with the juice of fresh mulberry leaves and salt. Similar, I guess the the UK remedy of dock leaves for nettle stings.

Plenty of mulberry trees around, enough to cope with a large number of bites.

or anti-histamine cream.

a tried and tested method for insect and centipede stings and bites: a cold pack (as can be bought in regular pharmacy) (and kept in freezer) wrapped in a towel or cloth, immediately placed on the bitten or stung area for 10-15 mins (this can be repeated after 10 mins or so if still painful), is useful to help the swelling to go down and reduce pain.

info on centipedes here: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/ ... dling.html