Spyke
lemmy.world

Maybe if they could wear a suit and say thank you once in a while.

205

And they horde their rich minerals all to themselves, when they could just ask us to look after it for them. Maybe.

12
casmaelreply
lemm.ee

Yeah the trick is you gotta decide which order you’re going with first

11

oh yeah my dad told me his mechatronics thesis was about building a robot that has legs and moves like a spider ... so, almost centipede. he told me they also looked at centipedes just for reference.

2
Lenareply
gregtech.eu

Conversion from freedom units 🦅🇺🇲🦅🇺🇲🦅 to metric 🌍🌏 please

20

Wait what? $5 footlongs are only like 6.5 inches long? Not that there's anything wrong with that length. It's above average really.

7
lemm.ee

I don't have a phobia of bugs, but centipedes really do make my skin crawl.

59
midwest.social

I think this is deep in the dna of all mammals from like 100 million years ago

34

I have a strong dislike of centipedes as well. One time years ago I had a terrible dream that a large centipede (one of those big jungle ones) was crawling all over my body. As it raced down my arm I slapped at it, with a jolt of pain my arm went instantly numb as it bit me.

I startled myself awake to realize I was laying on my arm and it had gone completely asleep and was numb. Still one of the scariest dreams I've ever had haha.

28
lemmy.world

Centipedes are scary because they have so many legs and they scurry very fast with incredible agility. In general I think we feel a revulsion to small critters with that kind of speed and agility. But if they’re too small (fly sized or smaller) then it’s more annoyance than revulsion.

The many legs thing is a real mystery though! I think it might be some kind of proxy for venomous critters, as spiders and centipedes have more legs than insects and also tend to be more venomous (apart from some Hymenopterans).

11
lemmy.ca

I dunno, silverfish are smaller than flies, but they still give me that revulsion response.

9

I think they move too smoothly. I think it's maybe a combination of the "ew, tiny things are parasites" and the "ew, smooth-moving things are snakes" responses, even though neither of those is appropriate for the silverfish itself. I think that's part of what happens with the house millipedes, too.

5

I used to live in an apartment they sometimes showed up in and if I went to take a shower and one of them was in the tub, I would leave. The bathroom was occupied.

58

A locust flew into my bedroom one summer night. Large, brown, scuttling winged thing with the mass of a tennis ball (exaggeration).

I quietly exited the room and slept in the bathtub. I carefully went one-by-one through my things during the day but I could never locate it, only hear it buzzing somewhere.

I slept in the bathtub for three nights before I my roommate came and flushed it out. By then I was ready to move out.

17

I said this the last time this was posted and I'm saying it again

"THEN MAYBE DON'T MOVE SO FUCKING FAST IT ACTIVATES MY FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE!!!"

57

one of these creepy bastards got inside of my soap dispenser brush thing for doing the dishes. just threw the entire brush away D=

16
lemmy.eco.br

Sometimes I try to imagine a giant version running around in a proportionally fast speed. That really activates my fight or flight response

14
Agent641reply
lemmy.world

Size of a bus, thundering down the freeway at 450 miles an hour

11
ulternoreply
programming.dev

If they weren't fast enough, how would they catch the cockroaches?

12

I can catch a lot of things if I sprint, but I don't usually sprint from the couch to the kitchen.

1
lemmy.world

In a related story: I met with my new housecleaning service a few days ago and told them I had one very special request: DO NOT DISTURB THE SPIDERS IN OUR BEDROOM!! They are my mosquito-munching pets; just mop the floor under them.

34
miss phantreply
lemmy.blahaj.zone

Disabled on lemm.ee due to abuse I believe, gotta upload it somewhere else and post the link.

3

I honestly wouldn't care if it stayed at one or two of them, but I know if I leave these things and treat them as pets I will get an infestation in no time.

And with each new one the chances of me feeling one of them walk on my arm increases, and I am not letting that happen.

21
socsareply
piefed.social

They are also territorial and won't actually eliminate a roach infestation because they will kill each other long before they reach sufficient density to make a difference.

7

Meh, don't need them to end an infestation. Just killing the few roaches that might exist somewhere around is enough to pay their rent.

If I find one close to my face on the other hand, the place it considered territory would be wiped off the map. It would become an endangered species.

6

They are fascinating little creatures. They have a bunch of stripes on them, even across their legs. They eat dangerous house pests. They are venomous, but their "bites" are less irritating than a mosquito bite. They also don't technically bite, they envenomate using two modified legs.

20
feddit.dk

That bug has a voice when I read it in my head, and it is creepy as hell

18
lemm.ee

I will catch and release spiders outside but centipedes all get the boot. They are just too fast

16

When I found out that these guys ate spiders as a kid I was super upset I needed to pick sides in the bug war. I chose spiders specifically because I didn't trust anything that ran away from me that fast. The spiders didn't have anything to hide.

3
programming.dev

I got stung by one of these once when I was staying at my high-school dormitory which was in the woods and away from city. Apparently it crawled into my slippers while I was sleeping so I had not idea this was going to happen. I wore my slippers and felt a certain pain afterwards. I still remember the hole it put into my foot.

It was not a house centipede but a regular wild one though.

14
sopuli.xyz

my slovenly ass picked up my dirty t-shirt off the floor in Hawaii and some 30-cm monster came flying out and disappeared underneath the china cabinet, not sure why there was a china cabinet. took me awhile and some soothing from my unflappable lover to decide if I should be really freaking out.

6
muhybreply
programming.dev

That's huge. I'm glad there is nothing like that here. Did you learn what was it?

2

no idea but probably just a common million-footed monster that will absolutely spicy bite. we got em in the U.S. midwest, but not quite so big. Ohio people are terrified of sprickets, giant harmless crickets, and they are just part of the dank basement ecosystem

2
🏴Akujireply
leminal.space

Nope!
Ackshually, it stings, its forcipules aren't a part of its mouth 🤓
But when it comes to humans, it's in reaction to a threat (someone mentioned being stung by one that hid inside their slippers: put yourself in the numerous shoes of a centipede, cornered by a giant fleshy thing invading the cozy place you just found...)
It would rather flee otherwise.

8
lemm.ee

The centipedes at my mom’s house def bite, it’s very painful. Sometimes you need to go to the hospital.

Basically never walk around my mom’s house barefoot.

2
Comment105reply
lemm.ee

Have you considered cleaning out the house and closing all the gaps?

I know a lot of these insect threads tend to disagree, but sealing a house and only letting in air through very fine meshes is 100% possible.

Every time I bring this up people start taking like spiders and bugs can phase through solid walls of wood and caulk.

While I have no understanding for that, I do however understand that poverty or mental or physical health issues can make it difficult to get your home to not be a gappy mess. Especially as renters have no authority to do that.

7

My reluctance isn't that this isn't doable, but the amount of effort it would take to inspect every external surface for small gaps. Cracks, for reasons of personal head cannon, seem much easier to identify. Both the attic and crawl space require a fair amount of persistence in tight, dark spaces with not the best of footing and air quality conditions that are tolerable in limit situations without mitigating equipment.

The roof is also another tricky spot. Definitely worth it for critter sized openings, but I'm not sure I can pull it off for bug sized.

With that said, I think most people will get a lot of bang for the time if they inspect doors, windows and search for cracks on the sidewalk along the foundation.

1
lemmy.world

They should care! It could be a source of selection pressure

13
lemm.ee

yeah would be willing to believe people are more tolerant of e.g. jumping spiders than other kinds

6

These mother fuckers would sometimes drop on me and my father. Creepy fast little fuckers man

8

When I first moved to Taiwan, I rented an Airbnb for 3.months to find my footing in the city.

One night I slipped into bed and felt the most painful bite I have ever felt in my life. My entire leg then proceeds to swell up and puss on the site where the centipede bit.

I would rather have the cockroach.

5
Epherareply
lemmy.ml

Same. What we refer to as "centipedes" also looks a lot more like millipedes with less legs. So, their body is longer and the legs shorter.

1

Instead of fumigation, can you breed them, release them in a house to kill all the cockroaches, then lure them back into their mobile home with food?

1