365 Urban Species. #147: House Centipede

[urbpan]

photo by cottonmanifesto

Urban species #147: House centipede Scutigera coleoptrata

Well, if you made it past the photograph you're better than most. No other animal, pound for pound, can excite and distress people quite like the house centipede. It appears suddenly, fifteen pairs of legs propelling it across the wall at great speed. Even people who are fully aware that this animal is a beneficial member of the household, eating small flies and other insects, will kill it on sight.

Apparently indigenous to the Mediterranean (a region of origin for numerous urban species) and then accidentally transported to subtropical America, the house centipede has made the building by building journey to northern states. Like house mice, house flies, and several species of cockroach, they are always found in association with humans in their new temperate range. The great indoors serves as a series of subtropical islands, temperature and humidity controlled for the primates that created it.

Unlike other centipedes, house centipedes' body segments are fused; also its legs are unusually long, and are of different legths. Each of these adaptations probably adds to the creature's running speed. The racing stripes probably don't make it any faster, but help make it a distinctive and attractive animal. Still with me?

All centipedes are predators that hunt with a pair of legs that have been modified into venomous fangs. House centipedes are reputed to be capable of delivering a bee sting-like bite to humans, but I have yet to hear a first person account. For my part, I have handled them without incident--your results may vary. If indeed they can pierce human skin and inject venom, an allergic reaction could result, as in any envenomation.

House centipedes are a personal favorite, and I have written about them previously here: http://urbpan.livejournal.com/60469.html
and
here: http://urbpan.livejournal.com/64272.html
and centipedes in general
here: http://urbpan.livejournal.com/tag/centipede

Comments

one of these creatures bit me

[(Anonymous)]

it didn't hurt but my shoulder was swollen really bad, some antihistamine and claritin or allergies brought it down I was left with a bruise on my shoulder though and numbness, it went down after two or three days... but it was creepy

Just got stung...

[(Anonymous)]

Well, they do, indeed, sting - or bite. At least in Georgia. I just had one crawl across my throat while I slept -- I awoke to the movement, sweeping it off of my skin.....evidently it did not take kindly to the movement and bit/stung me on its way across the bed. At first I had no idea what had stung me (a mild bee-sting in terms of the degree of pain), but a turning over of my pillows uncovered it and it ran off behind the bed. Now my question is: whose bed is it? I've often had discussions with spiders where we've come to an agreement that allows us to co-exist in the same room without my being bitten or their being squashed.....but I've never tried that with a centipede.......I'd prefer not to get bitten/stung again.....not to mention the image of it crawling across me giving me cause to shiver. Curious about symbolism. I'm guessing, for me, it has something to do with getting my feet moving......also linked with 5th chakra, as that's where it appeared and stung me. hmmmmmmmm

ewww

[(Anonymous)]

yeah these things only come out at night because they are light sensitive...anyway i've seen about 10 of them in my house within the last 4 days....last night as I was sitting against the wall of my bedroom one came down from the wall ...and bit me on the back...it was worse than a bee sting.

house centepedes

[(Anonymous)]

how do you get rid of them

Re: house centepedes

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I don't know. Deprive them of food, one supposes, which means eliminating grain moths, cockroaches, and little house flies and other insect pests first. I personally don't mind having them around, but if they really bother you I guess you should call an exterminator.

[laughing-jackal.livejournal.com]

Another first person account of a biting: I've had many encounters with these critters and had never been "stung", but last summer I picked up a damp towel in our bedroom and immediately dropped it when I felt like I'd been jabbed by a pin. A largish centipede (colloquially called "million leggers" around my house) ran out and across the floor.

The pinch was nothing serious - a reddish spot that went down in 20 min or so, but seriously creeped me out. I'm afraid of very little - I will generally leave spiders alone to their corners and enjoyed discovering that house centipedes are amazing predators - but when it comes to excessive legs I'm a complete wuss. Too many legs. Too fast. They can live in the basement, but upstairs is an instant squish :)

very common everywhere i've lived

[(Anonymous)]

in every place i have ever lived these "million leggers" (i thought i made that up as a kid) have been present. i find that they come out more during the warmer months. i am in ohio currently and it has been very hot and humid recently, and our a/c has been kept pretty low. i think these bugs are drawn to moisture because they seem to reside mostly in our damp basement. often times i find several of them in my toilet in the morning, and let me tell you, that is not what i want to see first thing in the morning. i would be totally cool with them if they stayed in the basement, i'd even feed them if they wanted. but when you are watching t.v. and one darts across the wall or floor it freaks you out. it has happened to me dozens and dozens of times, but it still freaks me out. i also scream like a little girl while i try to kill them. its best not to chase them, you won't catch them. you have to ignore them and wait until they stop moving, then you have to tip-toe over to them and get really close, then wham! you squish them. i find charmin extra soft to be most effective. never, ever use something thick like a paper towel or newspaper. you won't be able to squish them and they will fall out of the towel and disappear into the night. good hunting

House Centipedes vs. American Cockroach?

[(Anonymous)]

I know centipedes are predatory, but the American Cockroaches are pretty big suckers... Do the centipedes kill American Cockroaches? Because if so, they might be my new best friends.

Re: House Centipedes vs. American Cockroach?

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I think an adult palmettobug is too much for even a big house centipede. I suspect that centipedes probably only take small roaches --Germans and maybe nymph Americans.

The zookeeper I spoke to in Hawaii said that giant toads (Bufo marinus) eat American cockroaches. Beyond that--I don't know; cats and chickens probably. :)

[(Anonymous)]

are they harmful to us?

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Read through the above comments. Some people report being bitten by big ones, but smaller ones seem unable. I've handled them without being bitten. If you were allergic to centipede venom, you might possibly be harmed. There are no records that I'm aware of, of people being hurt by house centipedes. Big scolopendras on the other hand...

[(Anonymous)]

In our house we call 'em fast bugs

[(Anonymous)]

is the allergic reaction from their bite deadly or just the amount of a bee sting?

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of anyone dying from a house centipede sting. About 90 to 100 people die each year in the US due to anaphylactic shock caused by bee and wasp stings.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2076.html

[kittdawn.livejournal.com]

sorry, but i kill House Centi's
they always manage to find their way into MY room.

a House Spider is highly more likely to be safe from my instant newspaper smashing/bug spraying.

if the thing wants to live in my house, it better stay away from my room. simple as that. . yes the things are a gross out, and the biting stories are not comforting.

i am not afraid of millipede's. their slower movements are far more comforting.

now reading this LJ Entry. i now get that the fast speed of House Centi's is for their predatory ways. . perhaps i will be nicer to them, if i have no trouble cupping them.

the photo presented here, actually makes the thing look cute.

just came across this in my search...

[(Anonymous)]

i just came across you guys in my search for info on these infernal creatures and want to thank you all for posting such great and first hand info.

that said, i still want all of them DEAD! gone from the planet forever , i even want their pictures destroyed and any memory of their existence erased!

i know this is crazy but i swear that the creeps follow me... yesterday morning i woke up with one sleeping next to me!

aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!

there, i feel better... thank you...

[kittdawn.livejournal.com]

ah
welp. some good news, and some bad news

good news. there was a Centi in my house/basement.
bad news. i had to let it go outside...

my cousin and her friend sleep downstairs for sleep overs
so i couldnt leave it there. or in the kitchen.

-_- i wish i could have put it by the tree.
but it seemed fine wandering off on its own.

it was BIG...so it must have been eating something in the house 0_o blargh!!

after looking at the thing. i will try to add it to my list of "cute bugs not to kill on site" list

[(Anonymous)]

Irony, I just ran into one of this guy's when i turned my light on. It was too quick for me to catch it and release it. Sometime's, I kill them because they scare by suprise in the dark because you don't know their there until you turn on the light! There are possitive's about having these creature's though they eat all the other bug's in your house. But, if you really hate the call an exterminator.

Re: Just got stung...

[(Anonymous)]

I just had the exact same thing happen. I mean exactly (Georgia, night, neck, sweeping skin, bite, pain,... everything)!!! I was cleaning out the woods behind my house last week and stirred up a yellow jacket nest. I was stung 7 times, and this centipede sting or bite hurts every bit as bad if not worse. Just curious, where in Georgia did this happen?

Bites...

[(Anonymous)]

I've had these lil suckers living in my apartment apparently and they infested my bed. I kept waking up with little red bites all over me... and i mean literally all over me. I must be allergic to them though because all of my bites have now turned into big rashes with very dry skin. I spray a flea killer thinking that was what was biting me onto my mattress and all over my carpet and then i discovered several dead house centipedes and lil bitty baby ones underneath my bed. Those things are super creepy looking and too think that they were walking on me in my sleep gives me the willies... I think i'm moving as soon as i can!

eww eww

[(Anonymous)]

These things make my skin crawl, but the reason I was looking them up was that my five year old woke up telling me she itched and hurt all over, so of course I went to inspecting her skin, and found these swollen bites or stings, one on her back and two on her stomach/chest area. The poor little baby had been sharing her bed with one of these nasty bugs and apparently upset it in the middle of the night. Needless to say I'm stripping all the beds and vaccuming the mattresses.

Centipede Roommates

[(Anonymous)]

After renovating the basement, centipedes have overrun the other floors of my house. I presume their upset that we disturbed their normal quarters.

I've noticed that the small ones seem to travel in pairs. It would seem that the large ones travel alone. However, whenever I find the 'smalls', not far behind is the 'large'. I've had three instances where after discovering or or two smalls, in another nearby room or in the same room is a 'large'.

gross

[(Anonymous)]

these things scare the living hell out of me. and when you squish them and get their guts wet, it turns blue. we refer to them as the "alien bugs." :/ they aren't native to minnesota, but somehow we're the lucky family! ewww.

Ick

[(Anonymous)]

I do not like bugs in general. Especially things with lots of legs! My new apartment has millipedes, spiders and house centipedes (call them leggers)! I want to die every time I see one!! Millipedes are ok, they are slow and harmless. House centipedes make me freak out every time. I just found a HUGE one tonight. The biggest I have ever seen, shooting across my baseboard! I worry that they crawl on me when I sleep. My bug OCD is only gonna get worse after tonight. I came across this posting while looking to find out how long they live...turns out, UP TO 6 YEARS. EEWWWWW....... I smashed that sucker with a book. I have become a pro.

ewwy

[(Anonymous)]

okidoki! thanks all of you for making me feel somewhat better about the discusting insect i found in my tub at 3 in the morning!! i am only a 13 year old girl so my first instinct was KILL IT!!!!! i took all the hair stuff i had in there and sprayed it!! that thing scared me so much instead of taking a regular shower i used the sink to wash my hair and took a bird bath!!i couldnt sleep well after that, i seriosly thought i had found a new species of discusting bug!! my friends thought i was crazy when i commented about the finding on myspace cause im crazy like that. that bug is my new enemy! my mom also found one this morning and i am NOT looking forward to any future encounters!! i am gonna become a house bug killing ninja!! heck yess!!!