Uninvited house guest

[AkumaX]

 

[OverVolt]

Always thought they were cool. They like to live on the water that stays in drain pipes. Had them alot in Maryland-Ish Area.

Found them in the bathtub/sink alot.

 

[rasczak]

wth is that thing!?

 

[BoomerD]

IIRC, house centipede. I've never seen one here in California, but have seen them elsewhere over the years.


You talkin bout me?

 

[HamburgerBoy]

얼마나 사랑스럽다

 

[Ichinisan]

Sometimes find them at my apartment. Maybe once or twice a year in the bathroom.

 

[arkcom]

Never seen one of these. Looks like a cricket and centipede got freaky.

 

[Ichinisan]

IIRC, I read about them once and they eat other bugs.

 

[13Gigatons]

House centipede = most common bug found in American homes

 

[arkcom]

House centipede = most common bug found in American homes

Pretty sure the house fly is more common.

 

[Skitzer]

Harmless. There are far worse bugs you should be worried about.
Like this guy

 

[Crono]

I have a rule about insects indoors: if I see it, it dies.

 

[rudeguy]

I have a rule about insects indoors: if I see it, it dies.

Good rule

I'm a bit more relaxed. I leave spiders alone but anything else gets squished.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Kill it with fire.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Kill it with fire.

This.

 

[Lamont Burns]

Anything that kills other bugs I let live typically.

 

[Ichinisan]

House centipede = most common bug found in American homes

Pretty sure the house fly is more common.

Or even the cockroach.

 

[Brigandier]

Bugs with a lot of legs give me the willies.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I see those in my house on occasion. Try catching one by its legs -- as a defense mechanism, any leg you grab will fall off, allowing them to escape. For the most part, they're active at night and I wouldn't kill them unless I had a huge infestation.

 

[bobdole369]

We get these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIIbt5UjKns

And giant (like 2-4") flying cockroaches. (we rich folk call em palmetto bugs).

 

[bobdole369]

Or even the cockroach.

I do believe the lowly carpet beetle or tobacco bug is far more common.

 

[Juddog]

Centipedes are actually good to have around. Here's why:
* They breed slowly compared with other bugs. Typically they have one egg a year, and live longer than typical bugs (6-7 years), so population doesn't suddenly go crazy if the conditions are right.
* They typically stay out of sight, since they don't like bright light or noises.
* They eat the other bugs that you don't see. For every centipede you see, that's literally hundreds of other bugs that you won't have to deal with.
* They are harmless to humans. They'll creep you out but that's about it.

When I do see them in a basement area I typically leave them alone. The only time I have killed them is if they wander up into the kitchen area or in the bathtub / sink.

 

[destrekor]

If I see centipedes upstairs, I kill them. If they are in the basement, I pretend I never saw them.

Same with spiders: upstairs, no go. Basement, only if they are out of my way.
If the basement was furnished, this would be different, but I rarely have to do anything down there, so I don't care.

They take care of just about everything else, and sometimes each other, so we don't see many other types of bugs except for flying critters in the summer.

 

[Eli]

Harmless, beneficial. They eat spiders. That's good enough for me.

I let them live. Plus, the babies are kinda cute the way they scurry around so fast.

 

[Newbian]

Centipedes are actually good to have around. Here's why:
* They breed slowly compared with other bugs. Typically they have one egg a year, and live longer than typical bugs (6-7 years), so population doesn't suddenly go crazy if the conditions are right.
* They typically stay out of sight, since they don't like bright light or noises.
* They eat the other bugs that you don't see. For every centipede you see, that's literally hundreds of other bugs that you won't have to deal with.
* They are harmless to humans. They'll creep you out but that's about it.

When I do see them in a basement area I typically leave them alone. The only time I have killed them is if they wander up into the kitchen area or in the bathtub / sink.

They can still do nasty bites and have been known to cause issues, especially to kids, so they either get tossed outside if I feel like it or squished.