Monday, June 16, 2008

House Centipedes!

I had found this unidentified bug in our apartment and had previously assumed that they liked moisture for as far as we knew, they were hanging around our tub and sinks. Well our assumptions weren't that far from the truth, but they don't come from the drains like we thought they did. I found out today that these bugs are called house centipedes!!!! They have 15 sets of legs that are long and have white bands on them. The centipedes get to be around 2 inches long. They are grey and love the spring! Oh and the main place where they are found are in basements, dark and damp places, and always on ground floors. Well, now I wish we lived upstairs!!!

house centipedes are now what haunts my everyday living since Saturday! I was sitting in the computer chair minding my own business and checking my email. I was also waiting for 11 o'clock to roll around so that I could go to work. I saw from the corner of my left eye a quick movement. I turned my head to look and saw my enemy from last year! I had already seen five of these insects in the apartment from the day that I first moved our stuff into this apartment. It was running across the floor and scuttled under the desk! I was in no mood for this creature! Oh how I hate these things and had hoped we had gotten rid of them. No! They are back for the spring! EW EW EW EW EW! That is all I can say about them. I shudder at the sight of the pictures of them. EW!!!!!! SO I am mortally terrified of them now and Nathan wants me to clean behind the shelves and behind all furniture so that we can get rid of them by keeping the place clean, but all I can think about is their long legs and how gross and scary they look to me. I know that my sister in law and Nathan like to pick at me and make fun of me about this new fear of mine, but they can pick on me all they want, it won't change the way I feel about them. I am in no way offended or upset by their picking on me and rather like to laugh with them both, but I shudder when I think about those legs and what they must feel like when crawling over my body.

So this house centipede was under our desk and I didn't know what to do. I had frozen in my place and couldn't move. I of course had my feet curled up on the desk chair and had the desk chair removed from the original location up against the computer desk. I waited a while and called for Scrabble repeatedly. Only I was afraid that this bug was able to hear me and may run out from the desk at any moment because of hearing my voice. What if it knew my plot was to destroy it by way of my kitten? Well finally ran out, and I mean ran!! And this time Scrabble saw it. I shouted for Scrabble to get it! I sounded like I do when I am watching one of the memorial day backyard baseball games. "Get it Scrabble Get it get it get it!!!!!!!!!" I was desperate! Scrabble heard me as she was crouching to get the monster and turned her head to see me and then ran up and sat in my lap. She was distracted and forgot about the centipede. It had now gone under the piano where I couldn't see it. And that is far worse than seeing it and knowing where its exact location is. I wanted it dead but was deathly afraid of killing it myself. Besides I had no idea if it could jump high like some weird insects can. Or if it would bite me. And I didn't have sock on under my crocs. There are breathing holes in my crocs that are big enough for that bug to crawl through and I didn't like that idea.

Scrabble decided she wanted to go to the couch and nap with Copper. This was no help to me. Two minutes later and I spotted the critter beside the coffee table. I didn't know how to get Scrabble to see it when I was between the cats and the monster. Thinking fast, I grabbed a piece of cat food and rolled it across the floor purposefully missing the insect but just to where I got both Copper and Scrabble's attention. It worked! After the third piece of food, they were both interested in this game and wanted to catch the cat food pebble as it skidded across the floor. Another piece and they both found the centipede and pawed at it. With no success though! It got away and was under the piano again. I am not deathly afraid of practicing the piano and using the damper pedal. I prefer playing without the pedal for now and curling my feet up under me or sitting Indian style on the piano bench.

Now anytime Scrabble is chirping at me or at something in the room, I assume that she has found my monster and haunter and I jump to the nearest piece of furniture in mortal fear. Was it caught and killed while we were gone on Saturday and Sunday? Will the cats kindly communicate? I search Scrabble for evidence that she ate it, but I have no idea whether it was found or if it is still here. They live their wholes lives in houses! I don't want them living a second in my house! Oh I hate the looks of them and can't stand to look at even pictures of them. Even now as I search for a picture to show you, I close my eyes while I right click on the pictures and copy it.

The first time I saw one I wasn't afraid of it, until I saw how fast it could move and when I used the zoom on the camera to find out that it was very creepy looking up close. No amount of looking at one or seeing a picture of one will help me be cured of this new phobia of mine. I really just picked the closest picture on a google image search to come up with this picture. I can't stand the sight of them. I will have to write a lot of blogs soon to get it so that it is farther down on the screen when I go to view my blog. That is also why it is at the bottom of my blog entry and not the top. Ok enough said, I can't bear to be reminded of this any longer. Nathan and I will definitely be getting something to spray the house with. Only my body doesn't handle pesticides well so we will be trying natural sprays that can be found until we find one that works. I have heard that MQ7 works. So we will see. Until then, I am supposed to clean the house from top to bottom but I don't want to discover one hidden in the closets or under the bed or behind and between books and bookshelves. I feel like the apartment has become my enemy! I don't want to be here any longer until I am assured that they don't live here!!! EW EW EW!!!!!!!


9 comments:

Ashley said...

Ooh! I know that feeling! You have my sympathy. Cats never know when to defend their masters from outside intruders, sadly.

Anonymous said...

*shudder* i have them in my place too, and just caught one tonight. I decided to keep mine as a pet, thinking that maybe if I force myself to look at it every day that my fear will go away. Wish me luck!
PS- that is a really beautiful picture of the house centipede. I like the look of bugs, but not when they are alive and moving fast.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

How do you get rid of them? I am not comfortable at all sleeping at night knowing this little critter in running around our apartment. It is the nastiest thing i have ever seen & i would like it gone!! Help us please!!any ideas email me at crazy2000amber@yahoo.com my name is Amber...thank you to anyone who can help me sleep!!!

Anonymous said...

Actually the house centipede kills many known pests inside the home. we used to have a bug problem in my house untill one day those scary little insects from hell showed up, one month later the house is completely bug free except for the occasional house centipede we spot. I figure it's a fair tade off, as it isn't harmfull to humans but that doesnt prevent us from spraying once and a while to keep their numbers low.

Anonymous said...

You really shouldn't kill these insects. Also, your house being 'dirty' is not what keeps them around. House centipedes are necessary hunters, absolutely voracious when it comes to other insects. And while they can actually give you a bite, it's not really dangerous in any way. I would suggest letting the bug go about it's business, it will clean out your cockroaches and other such creatures on it's own without the use of chemical sprays!

Dorothy ("Dorry") said...

I too have nightmares about these critters and even though I know they won't kill me or anything if they did bite, I just prefer they weren't around! I wish I never knew they existed or that I had discovered what they are and how fast they crawl and that they do bite. I am a girl when it comes to these bugs and will not hesitate to jump onto the nearest table and scream like a little girl when I see one. I believe it is a fear of mine that I will carry for a long time!

Anonymous said...

I have the same problem, exept this time was quite different...IT BIT BE!!!!1

Oh you heard me right. I was taking a nap on the couch and I had my hand under my pillow and I awoken with a sharp pain on my finger. It accually bit twice, leaving two blisters. Well, I did some research and they said that they are known to bite if they are agervated. The best thing to do is to pop the blisters and wash the bite thoroughly with soap and water. Well, I did that but a few days later I now have an open, crater-like soar on my nuckle that is quite painful. It looks like is has begun deteriorating my skin. Tomarrow I am going to the doctor to have it examined. I am terrified of this hidious insects and I hope none of you have the misfortune of being bitten by them.....

If you would like, email me and I will be glad to send you a pic of the bite.

eastcoastcustomdetail@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

Finally I know what these things are. Although I've never seen them in the states, I lived in the Azores for a couple years and had them by the hundreds in an off-base house. Arguably the most hideous looking insect on the planet - at least to me. Like a mutated spider, only faster. If you turned out the lights they literally came out of the woodwork. Every nook and cranny. They'd TRY to walk across the ceiling, only to lose footing and drop on you in bed. I used to get a couple weeks to a months reprieve by bug bombing the house, leaving at times hundreds dead, but they always returned. Just saw one on TV so I finally launched an internet search to see what they were. Never been bit, but they freaked me out so bad, I lost a lot of sleep over them. I feel for anyone who has these in their house.