I present to you the Cellar Bug
THAT Josh is a household centipede! That is the lovely species that keeps showing up in my basement. Once you get past the long legs and antenna it's really quite lovely...NOT! It's frightening and it doesn't matter how many times you see them, it never gets better.
You see it all started many months ago as Alex and I were enjoying a movie downstairs. In the corner of my eye I saw something with long legs moving rapidly across my floor. Woman intuition told me to run, and so I did. I refused to go back down there until the perpetrator was caught and dare I say it killed. So Alex spent a good 15 minutes down there on the hunt, those things are fast! Finally it was sent to a better place and peace was restored.
I told my roommates about it, even got Alex to draw a picture but they didn't believe me. "It's just a cockroach" they would say. Even after I saw another one in the basement they still didn't believe me. It may have had something to do witht he fact that I would flee the area and not collect any evidence. However, they're sweet ignorance was soon gone after one of these "cellar bug" (as we've taken to calling it) showed up in the kitchen. Since then they've seen them in the kitchen, in the bedroom and even in the studio.
Because we don't actually know where they're coming from (I live in a duplex) we don't quite know what we can do about the problem. All I know is that they frighten me something fierce. I just sit, and wait, and hope and quietly chant to myself "this house is ours, this house is ours."
posted by almost famous kiwi @ 12:33 AM
14 comments
14 Comments:
oh ew ew ew! that is nasty! All this time i thought it was a figment of your overactive imagination...
lol don't worry about those bugs...they're called household centipedes...and strangely enough these ugly and scary bugs are one of the most beneficial insects to live in your house considering they eat every other bug you "really" don't want in your house such as bedbugs,termites,ants,roaches,silverfish...anyways look them up on the internet...i presently have one huuuuge mother in my house as we speak...and trust me i'm 220lbs and 6'1'' and it freaks me out too.. :) but after reading up on them...i'm considering confronting my fear of these weird bugs and maybe even leaving him there... i figured this much..i haven't seen any other bug in my house ONCE in about 2 years so i guess he's doing a good job..
I agree they are something fierce! They should hang the person that says DON'T WORRY! Yes it's great that they eat all bugs ESPECIALLY ROACHES but roaches don't run that fast when you're trying to kill them! Nor are they tempted to chase you when you're in pursuit! Ukkkkk....
AGH! Bad experiences with these monstrosities! Such as just last night, when one of these FELL OF THE CEILING AND RIGHT ONTO MY FACE!!! No joking there, and I was beyond disgusted! Get these things OUT OF MY HOUSE!!!
I found one in my car thank god I wasnt driving at the time! I agree they are just downright creeeeeeeeeepy!!!!!!
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They exist in my bedroom during summertime !! I live in a condominium and my bedroom is very very close to the pool. I believe those came from the pool or from the shower room ?
Anyways, those thing have haunt me since I was 11 or 12 y.o. and they still do !! Once in a while I would see them on my bedroom wall or ceiling, then i would use vacuum cleaner to suck them in.
I wonder if they're poisonous of if they bite ??
and do they have any scientific name or specie name yet ?
Their scientific name is Scutigera coleoptrata but commonly known as the house centipede.
Unlike its shorter-legged but much larger tropical cousins, S. coleoptrata can live its entire life inside a building, usually the ground levels of homes. They are generally considered harmless to humans. Bites (stings) are not common, and the forcipules of most house centipedes are not strong enough to penetrate human skin. Stings are generally no worse than a bee's sting, with its venom causing redness and mild to severe swelling.
Techniques for eliminating centipedes from homes include drying up the areas where they thrive, eliminating large indoor insect populations, sealing cracks in the walls, and seeking the assistance of an exterminator.
I met one of these on my vacation in Croatia where these originally come from (Mediterranean region). He was sitting very quietly and I took a picture of him, although the hair on my arms stood upright. Then I didn't know what it was, but after looking it up it's stil a quite creepy animal, I think. Hope it never bites/stings you!
That is a Scolopendran centipede.
Its harmless and I have even seen one rating a cockroach in the bathtub. Its great to have around the house. For a while now I have been try to capture one hunting and eating other bugs to put on youtube. Don't kill them or you will have more if the nasty bugs that really creep you out. LOL!
I am SO glad you posted that picture. I just found one in my house and googled "many long legged bug" to try to find out what it was.
For the record my cat walked right past it, useless cat, without making any attempt to save me. It came across the carpet at me, and hid in my shoe! I may have to burn that pair now. EW!
i found one in my flat this morning i quickly jumped on my bed and rang my brother to come to mine and get it out. and now im scared to go to sleep just incase one crawls in my mouth.
Eh...I was watching the ballgame last night & 1 of these crawled out from under my sofa. Inches away from my foot... Still creeped out.
I do agree i just came upon one of these buggers just last night trying to crawl on my bed and went looking for info online and found this site. i don't have any bugs (roaches or otherwise) so i will definitely not collect any other type of bugs. besides i have insectophobia so i can't stand any bugs, ewwwww!!!
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