# Centipede invasion... Help!!!



## sleepnrain (May 20, 2006)

I moved into a new apartment a week ago and have seen about 1 centipede each day since (house centipedes). They freak me out and I haven't enjoyed it, but I can handle 1 or 2. Tonight I've seen SEVEN. 3 were on the walls and easily kill-able, but 2 are on the ceiling and aren't moving, one ran into a crack in the wall, and another was sitting right at a crack.

What do I do?? How do I kill them on the ceiling?? It's about 10-12 feet high.

I can't sleep, study, or do anything other than watch them, completely freaked out. I need killing instructions for right now, and prevention instructions for later... Mods feel free to move this, but I'm hoping it will be seen here faster! Sigh.

I hope there are some wise centipede masters here! Thanks


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## mamabadger (Apr 21, 2006)

You have my condolences. I can't stand the things.
We have an old house and used to see an awful lot of centipedes in the warm weather, especially in the basement. I found that diatomaceous earth is very effective. It isn't poisonous to people or pets, so it's safe to use even in the kitchen. It's a fine powder that you place in corners, in or near cracks, or anywhere the critters are likely to go. They have to actually come in contact with the substance for it to work, but most commercially packaged diatomaceous earth also contains an attractant. I find it at most hardware stores, under various brand names. Chemfree Insectigone is the one I have at the moment.

I have never found a way to kill centipedes on the ceiling. I was always terrified I would accidentally knock one down onto myself. Sorry for putting that image in your head.
Good luck.


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## sleepnrain (May 20, 2006)

Thank you for the product recommendation! I will pick some up tomorrow. I only seem to see them in my bedroom, and I'm on the 4th floor.. But it is an old building, so I'm sure they're everywhere.

That's the exact image I have in my head for the ceiling ones.. They've been sitting there not moving for an hour, they must know I'm here. But if I knock them down I'll never find them!

I just sprayed some vinegar mixed with Dr. Bronner's peppermint on the one by the crack (the biggest I've seen so far, about 4 inches long!!) and it ran away into the crack. Hopefully to die







: ... Does anyone have experience with whether that mix would actually kill?


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## BamaDude (Aug 17, 2006)

Yes, house centipedes are creepy, but they are perhaps the best bugs you could ever hope to have around because they are voratious predators and they eat other even ickier (and destructive) creepy-crawlies like roaches, silverfish, and spiders.

Look at it like this: If you have seen that many house centipedes, they must have a very good food source nearby and they are just being vigilant in keeping your house free of other pests.

Yeah, they're still creepy, but they are by far the lesser of several evils.


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## sleepnrain (May 20, 2006)

Thank you for your response, Bamadude. I know that you're completely right, and that I *should* be happy they're around. But how can I become comfortable with that? I have visions of them crawling over me at night, showing up in the shower, etc. and it FREAKS me out.

There are now 3 on the ceiling







:


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## BamaDude (Aug 17, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sleepnrain* 
Thank you for your response, Bamadude.

You're most welcome, Ma'am.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sleepnrain* 
I know that you're completely right, and that I *should* be happy they're around. But how can I become comfortable with that? I have visions of them crawling over me at night, showing up in the shower, etc. and it FREAKS me out.

To be honest, I don't know.

Finding out more about house centipedes and how beneficial they are helped me to be much less squeamish about them, but if you want to see a 6'1", 230 lb guy do a near-perfect impression of a six-year-old girl having a screaming freak-out, just let one get _on_ me.

House centipede in the room? Good bug.
House centipede on me? Dead bug.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sleepnrain* 
There are now 3 on the ceiling







:

Just keep chanting "They eat roaches". I do.


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## monkeydoodle (Jan 9, 2007)

House centipede in the room? Good bug.
House centipede on me? Dead bug.


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## sleepnrain (May 20, 2006)

and also a little bit of







. Thanks for lightening the mood.

If I ever have one *on* me I think I'll have to faint. I did just let one run into a crack without killing it though.. So maybe I'm on the right path? Let's hope so.

Starting tomorrow I'm taking all measures possible to get rid of all pests:

- NO garbage out in the kitchen, ever. It'll be in a sealed container for the day, then into the hallway (apartment building) bin at night.

- wash all dishes right away, none ever in the bedroom

- nothing on the floor other than furniture legs.. All clothes put away (that'll be a new one for me..), shoes on racks, bags/purses on shelves and hooks.

- throw out all garbage/cardboard left over from moving, unpack boxes and get everything put away.

- fill all cracks with caulking, all small holes with steel wool (getting ready for the mice that I'm sure will arrive as it gets cold)

- weather stripping on door to hallway

- all dry foods are already kept in glass jars with seals or in the freezer. What about fruit that I don't want to be cold? Just keep it in the fridge anyway?

Let me know if there's anything else I can do! I'll leave centipedes that are under an inch or so alone, but I really want to be on the offensive for all possible pests.

Lol. I feel like some kind of hunter!


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## mamabadger (Apr 21, 2006)

We used to keep all food locked away, but forgot about the bowl of cat food left on the kitchen floor. One day DD and I walked in to find an impossibly huge centipede standing there eating away.









I have heard the argument that centipedes are good to have around because they get rid of spiders and things, but I do not find it compelling. It is like encouraging rats in your house because they kill the mice. Nothing is creepier than a centipede. I would rather have twice the number of spiders, personally. At least house spiders seem to have a limit on how big they will grow, which is not the case for centipedes.







:


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## frog (Jun 1, 2005)

I had a terrible experience with pedes in an apartment.

Do you want to hear it or would it not help?


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## IansMommy (Jun 14, 2005)

We used to have these, until we got a dehumidifier in our basement. I think the things centipedes (or "many leggers" as we call them in our family) eat are usually attracted to moisture. Silverfish are definitely fans of damp or dank living space.
Good luck. I HATE those things.
And they are FAST.


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## absinthe (Mar 16, 2004)

(absinthe's dh relating a creepy centipede story) Absinthe and a girlfriend were watching "The Ring" one night a few years ago, and right as the movie got to the part where the centipedes and other bugs came out, a centipede decided to crawl up the wall behind the television. It was extremely creepy, and they both woke me up to deal with it. Apparently, there was a gap in the moulding where it decided to come in from outside. I must admit it chose the perfect time to make a grand entrance, though...


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## Redifer (Nov 25, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BamaDude* 
You're most welcome, Ma'am.

To be honest, I don't know.

Finding out more about house centipedes and how beneficial they are helped me to be much less squeamish about them, *but if you want to see a 6'1", 230 lb guy do a near-perfect impression of a six-year-old girl having a screaming freak-out, just let one get on me.*

*House centipede in the room? Good bug.
House centipede on me? Dead bug.*

Just keep chanting "They eat roaches". I do.

Bolding mine. I just laughed so hard I woke up the baby.

I let centipedes live, provided they aren't killing my silverfish. Those are the only two bugs I'll permit in my house. Centipedes eat other bugs, and silverfish eat the mold/mildew in the basement or walls, which I am HIGHLY allergic to.

I can always tell if SIL has been in the basement killing my silverfish, because my eyes swell shut and my throat closes up and I start feeling like I'm gonna vomit, die, sneeze and suffocate all at the same time.

But, like you said, On Me = Dead Bug. I don't charge rent, I don't squish, I leave them alone. Pretty sweet deal for a bug. Least they can do is respect the landlord by not creepity-crawling up my pantleg and giving me a near heart-attack.


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## Learnintolaugh (Nov 9, 2006)

We lived for about 2-3 years in a basement apartment where these things came out every fall. I think it took me almost 2 years after moving out before I stopped seeing phantom centipedes out of the corner of my eye. I still get the willies reading about them. In fact, I can't even believe I opened this thread.

Oh, and we had splotchy brown carpet. Nothing is creepier than having the patch of carpet by your foot suddenly scuttle away.

Blech. Off to think pleasant thoughts now.


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## amydidit (Jan 21, 2005)

This thread is helping me so much! We found 3 centipedes this summer in our downstairs bathroom... I killed them really quick and haven't seen any since. They were small (I guess... the seemed big to me at the time), about 2". I didn't know they got bigger. ~shudders~

Don't centipedes sting people? Or am I thinking of a different bug?


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## elmh23 (Jul 1, 2004)

I'll have to remember that they are good bugs next time I see one. Our big thing is the fact that they like to crawl over my dh (poor guy has had 3 run over or fall on him in the last couple months) and they like to get into my daughters doll's hair. Not so much fun when they are just hanging out in there and she can't go play cause "there's a snake in my room." But if I see one just hanging out not on anything where it could fall on me or somehthing my kid wants to play with.


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## frog (Jun 1, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *amydidit* 
Don't centipedes sting people? Or am I thinking of a different bug?

Yes, they bite.


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## amydidit (Jan 21, 2005)

Biting bugs = bad bugs = dead bugs

I don't care what else they eat. I will not be dinner.


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## mamabadger (Apr 21, 2006)

Quote:

Yes, they bite.
They *do*?!!









Quote:


Originally Posted by *absinthe* 
(absinthe's dh relating a creepy centipede story) Absinthe and a girlfriend were watching "The Ring" one night a few years ago, and right as the movie got to the part where the centipedes and other bugs came out, a centipede decided to crawl up the wall behind the television. <skip> I must admit it chose the perfect time to make a grand entrance, though...

And that was no accident! They _know_!

My friend's cat used to catch them in the basement and bring them to her, alive. So considerate of her!


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## frog (Jun 1, 2005)

Yep, they bite.

Since others are sharing their stories, here's mine.

In the mid 1990s, toad (my ex) and I were in part of a four-plex, in an upper unit. The last spring/summer we were there, the centipedes were EVERYWHERE. We woke up one morning to find our cat with one dangling out of her mouth, part dead, and FOUR dead on the futon where she'd left them for us.

<shudder>

We called the landlord, we had the exterminators in (who told us that the building must be totally infested for there to be as many of them in our unit as there were) and deducted the charge from our rent, we sprinkled the whatever stuff that's supposed to get rid of these nasties and not kill our cat, but nothing helped. The morning we woke up to several live ones in bed with us, welts from bites on both of us, and a welt on the cat we'd had enough. We moved out and stayed with toad's brother until we left town.

The UAV landlord took the money for extermination out of our deposit.







:

All that was in 1995 and I'm STILL totally freaked out by the stupid things. I hate them.


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## Redifer (Nov 25, 2006)

Yes, centipedes do bite, and they're venemous - hence the welts when bitten.

House centipedes are venemous, and the bite of smaller cents is usually no worse than a bee sting.

Here's an image of a 4" house centipede bite:
http://sifter.org/~simon/journal/ims...12_409x295.jpg


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## Mylittlevowels (Feb 16, 2005)

I really, really hate these things. I had never seen one before last October. It actually _charged_ me







Now I seem to see them on a regular basis. At first they were in our basement, now they've been creeping upstairs







If I see one, I squish it (okay, I have dh squish it). There's no poison that's known to really work on them. One thing I've read helps is sticky traps, the kind you can catch rats or mice on. Since these things are predators, they don't reproduce in great numbers, only 3-4 babies at time, and the mummy centipede carries the eggs on her back. Getting rid of their prey is the only sure way to dispose of them completely, and that's tricky. We have silverfish and sowbugs, both of which are favorite foods of the house centipede. I tell myself that they eat the pests, but honestly I would much rather have the sowbugs


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## sleepnrain (May 20, 2006)

Gahhh ewwwwwww

THANK YOU for all the responses.. I'm still completely freaked out (and totally hear you on the phantom centipedes, learnintolaugh), and went out and got a bunch of pest-fighting stuff today. Sticky traps for centipedes/roaches (not that I've seen any, but if those are the eggs they're eating I need to get them too!), some natural thing that's supposed to deter mice, steel wool, caulking, mason jars for food (I got the plastic lids, hopefully they're airtight?)

It's very very comforting to know that others have been through this! They don't seem to come out in the day, so I'm living in fear of the night right now









And frog, your story is so scary! I think my apartment must be really infested too, I saw 10 in total last night. Sorry that happened to you! And I'm *not* happy to hear that they bite.. I don't like bee stings, so why would I want that? And I'm all alone in a new place too, no mom to comfort me lol.

Any recommendations on where to buy a canopy mosquito net in Chicago? Maybe then I wouldn't have to sleep with the light on...

In other news, I think I have lice (again, no treatment seems to be working). Do you think the centipedes will come after them while I sleep?


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