Engrossed saying that they eat other bugs is completely missing the fact that these things only show up if there are other bugs to eat.
If you spot one of these mfers it means you have a pest problem you're completely unaware of. It's the same with a lot of house spiders too. If you see a bug predator that means you have a lot of bug prey
it can also just mean that you have a bunch of holes in your house, allowing anything to just waltz right in if it catches their fancy
these fuckin house centipedes keep coming in through the electrical socket or the gap next to the closet, then getting lost in my bedroom until i vacuum them up. istg there are 5 or 6 of them every day, i can see them wandering around outside my windowsill and two minutes later they're running around on my ceiling
House centipedes will eat any intruders in your house, even spiders.
They do not leave noticeable poop either, so they are very clean. They may leave less tasty parts of their prey if they are full, tho.
They prefer darker and damper places than spiders, so if you keep dark and damp corner spots near the floor, like plant pots with humid soil in a corner, or a cool basement, you can reduce the chances of them eating your house spiders that prefer higher locations.
That way, your spiders will be safer, letting them eat the moths, flies, and mosquitoes that house centipedes have a harder time catching, while house centipedes will be more likely to stick to to silverfish, cockroaches, ants, termites, and the like.
I accidentally picked one up once. I had just stepped into the shower, naturally didn't have my glasses on, and saw a piece of what I thought was lint. I picked up the lint to put it in the garbage, saw that it was squirming then threw it against the shower door so hard it splattered.
It's a butterfly. Unless you are liquid, it won't be able to do much about you even if it is huge. At least I think their mouths are straws, maybe I'm way off on that.
They absolutely do NOT only attack tarantulas. They will sting the ever living fuck out of you, and have one of the most painful stings of any insect on the planet.
I have been stung by one and it hurts like a mother fucker.
Those wasps are dead. They don’t just chill like that.
Dang can I ask what you were doing when you got stung? Also what was that like? That's supposed to be like one of the most painful things ever!
We have them where I live (tho it's pretty rare to actually see them out and about) but it's pretty hard to get them to sting you here. You have to basically accidentally squish it or something
I was pulling a calf out of a momma cow in the field. I’m guessing her stomping around had already pissed it off since they burrow in the ground. Thing came out of nowhere and got me in the side of the neck lol. It was excruciating. Felt like I got stabbed in the throat.
I also got stung by a cow killer/velvet ant/ground hornet as a teenager by being a dumbass. That one hurt like hell too.
Dude! Those are both on the list of most painful insect stings in the world. You are probably one of the few humans in the world to be stung by both of those lol. I dunno if that makes you unlucky or maybe you've got nothing but good luck in front of you after getting that out of the way. Either way, you are one tough customer!
It makes me very sad. I love wasps. I like to imagine them as placid enough as to be able to be in that situation, and I really want that picture to be real.
I was hiking one time outside and saw what looked like a wounded mouse slowly limping across the trail or something. When I got closer it was one of these dudes dragging a tarantula to its burrow! It was like living thru a planet earth scene or something. I never thought I'd ever get to see that in person!
House centipedes are creepy looking things, but they are nocturnal so you don't really seem them while they're going about their job of taking out the other creepy crawlies.
These guys give me a fright whenever I see them - especially out of the corner of my eye. I never kill them, though, because they are totally harmless to people and they kill actually nasty bugs.
These little guys can live for up to 7 years so be sweet to them.
I look at them like this: If a company made a little robot that does it's best to stay hidden from your view, crawls through the innards of your home in search of spiders, bed bugs, termites, and ants, it would probably cost thousands of dollars.
In my experience, I see them an awful lot for something trying to stay hidden. I get them in my basement and they inevitably come upstairs. My cats try to eat them when they come upstairs. I also have spiders in my basement. So they aren't doing the best job at eating all the spiders.
I moved in (and quickly out of) a place infested with critters I had never even heard of (wtf is a carpet beetle). The day I moved in, there was a house centipede and a sizeable spider in the bathub, fighting to the death. I didn't know which side to take so I left them alone. I came back later to find them both ostensibly dead and not moving. I came back even later to find the centipede gone but the spider still dead. I felt like David Attenborough. I still think about those lil gladiators sometimes
House centipedes are always welcome in my house. They usually stay out of sight, eat other bugs, and can't really harm humans. Win, win, win as far as I'm concerned.
It also depends on the species of centipede. In Hawaii they get big (6-14 inches) and can absolutely pierce your skin, and they are FAST. Like, when you try to stomp them they scurry out of the way and attack your foot sort of fast.
Well they don't have any problem with you outside of the basement so just don't go down into the basement! Ever. They do basement stuff down there. It's better that you don't know.
I let house centipedes and the spiders around my door live. Those spiders catch so many gnats and small bugs its insane. And I have a lot of springtails and small ants in my area which I figure the house centipedes probably help with.
91 replies
Engrossed saying that they eat other bugs is completely missing the fact that these things only show up if there are other bugs to eat.
If you spot one of these mfers it means you have a pest problem you're completely unaware of. It's the same with a lot of house spiders too. If you see a bug predator that means you have a lot of bug prey
it can also just mean that you have a bunch of holes in your house, allowing anything to just waltz right in if it catches their fancy
these fuckin house centipedes keep coming in through the electrical socket or the gap next to the closet, then getting lost in my bedroom until i vacuum them up. istg there are 5 or 6 of them every day, i can see them wandering around outside my windowsill and two minutes later they're running around on my ceiling
have you considered using expanding foam?
House centipedes will eat any intruders in your house, even spiders.
They do not leave noticeable poop either, so they are very clean. They may leave less tasty parts of their prey if they are full, tho.
They prefer darker and damper places than spiders, so if you keep dark and damp corner spots near the floor, like plant pots with humid soil in a corner, or a cool basement, you can reduce the chances of them eating your house spiders that prefer higher locations.
That way, your spiders will be safer, letting them eat the moths, flies, and mosquitoes that house centipedes have a harder time catching, while house centipedes will be more likely to stick to to silverfish, cockroaches, ants, termites, and the like.
As someone who likes and appreciates insects, I will definitely admit that scolopendromorphs give me the fucking heebie jeebies bigtime
Into the vacuum they go!
The spiders go into the vacuum too! They can eat them there.
Vacuum. Bugs go in the vacuum.
Be a lot cooler if you put em outside instead
Bugs you can SEE go in the vacuum. You have to train the rest to hide better.
yeeeeessssss, bugs go in the vacuum!
Great? Sounds perfect.
Thanks for the good laugh.
I accidentally picked one up once. I had just stepped into the shower, naturally didn't have my glasses on, and saw a piece of what I thought was lint. I picked up the lint to put it in the garbage, saw that it was squirming then threw it against the shower door so hard it splattered.
In India I bent over to pick up a sock from the floor in the shower but it was a butterfly with one half of its wing chewed off.
Thing was big as two palms.
(I never found the sock)
Hand palms or tree palms
You know what I just decided palm fronds like off those really big palm trees
How did you survive?
I died.
It's a butterfly. Unless you are liquid, it won't be able to do much about you even if it is huge. At least I think their mouths are straws, maybe I'm way off on that.
If bugs stay out of my way i let them live. When they get in my way i can't overcome my level of creeped out and things go wrong.
I try, i really do.
you're helping them evolve. you kill the ones you see, while the smart ones hide until you are asleep and then crawl over your body at night.
How do I unread what I just read. YELP!
They do crawl over your body but it's just because they're tucking you in and giving you some good night smooches.
I consent 🙂↕️
How fortunate.
We get these:
Tarantula Hawk Wasps. Fortunately, they only attack tarantulas, unless you antagonize them.
Fucking Cazadores, the bane of any new vegas run
I was thinking Novistadors.
They absolutely do NOT only attack tarantulas. They will sting the ever living fuck out of you, and have one of the most painful stings of any insect on the planet.
I have been stung by one and it hurts like a mother fucker.
Those wasps are dead. They don’t just chill like that.
Yeah their legs are totally stiff in the pic lol
And their wings are out. Most flying insects don’t have their wings outstretched unless flying.
If they were alive, their wings would be folded straight down their back.
Dang can I ask what you were doing when you got stung? Also what was that like? That's supposed to be like one of the most painful things ever!
We have them where I live (tho it's pretty rare to actually see them out and about) but it's pretty hard to get them to sting you here. You have to basically accidentally squish it or something
I was pulling a calf out of a momma cow in the field. I’m guessing her stomping around had already pissed it off since they burrow in the ground. Thing came out of nowhere and got me in the side of the neck lol. It was excruciating. Felt like I got stabbed in the throat.
I also got stung by a cow killer/velvet ant/ground hornet as a teenager by being a dumbass. That one hurt like hell too.
Dude! Those are both on the list of most painful insect stings in the world. You are probably one of the few humans in the world to be stung by both of those lol. I dunno if that makes you unlucky or maybe you've got nothing but good luck in front of you after getting that out of the way. Either way, you are one tough customer!
I suppose they're better than tarantulas... Ugh
Tarantulas are wonderful little creatures. I'd have one as a pet, but I don't think they should be kept as pets.
Some are kept as pets but people should be informed about what it takes for a tarantula to be kept as a pet and should be informed about that
As somebody who don't know anything about them, what are things people don't realize when they want tarantulas as a pet?
They're beautiful!
The bright golden wings contrasted with the black body is very striking. I take a minute to admire them when I see one.
are they going to be okay?? they seem a little stiff
I showed this exact pic to my students and they were convinced all the wasps are dead.
I think they're dead, too. They don't just hang out with legs splayed and wings extended. But it shows how big they are, so I picked this image.
It makes me very sad. I love wasps. I like to imagine them as placid enough as to be able to be in that situation, and I really want that picture to be real.
I was hiking one time outside and saw what looked like a wounded mouse slowly limping across the trail or something. When I got closer it was one of these dudes dragging a tarantula to its burrow! It was like living thru a planet earth scene or something. I never thought I'd ever get to see that in person!
House centipedes are creepy looking things, but they are nocturnal so you don't really seem them while they're going about their job of taking out the other creepy crawlies.
These guys give me a fright whenever I see them - especially out of the corner of my eye. I never kill them, though, because they are totally harmless to people and they kill actually nasty bugs.
They've been around for 300 million years. They'll be fine looooooooong after we're gone.
I live in an attic. There are lots of creepy crawlies. House centipedes are fren despite lack of fren-shape; I pet.
Assume that for every one house centipede you see, there are a hundred other nasties they eat living in your walls. Go my fren: munch!
House centipedes. They have a lot of fast delicate legs and are quite creepy. I think they eat spiders.
These little guys can live for up to 7 years so be sweet to them.
I look at them like this: If a company made a little robot that does it's best to stay hidden from your view, crawls through the innards of your home in search of spiders, bed bugs, termites, and ants, it would probably cost thousands of dollars.
In my experience, I see them an awful lot for something trying to stay hidden. I get them in my basement and they inevitably come upstairs. My cats try to eat them when they come upstairs. I also have spiders in my basement. So they aren't doing the best job at eating all the spiders.
I moved in (and quickly out of) a place infested with critters I had never even heard of (wtf is a carpet beetle). The day I moved in, there was a house centipede and a sizeable spider in the bathub, fighting to the death. I didn't know which side to take so I left them alone. I came back later to find them both ostensibly dead and not moving. I came back even later to find the centipede gone but the spider still dead. I felt like David Attenborough. I still think about those lil gladiators sometimes
Every centipede you see equals ~700 dead spiders that aren't living in your house laying eggs and biting you. You'd have WAY more spiders without them
For what it's worth, I'm team spider. Centipedes are way creepier. Spiders are cool.
imagine my surprise when i learned they live in chicago after moving here.
Big, scary looking, and intimidating. I was going to guess harmless/useful to humans and lived in Australia
If they eat spiders I don't want them. I love my spiders.
They eat pest bugs too. If you have house centipedes and lots of spiders, you have lots of pest insects also that they both eat.
House centipedes are always welcome in my house. They usually stay out of sight, eat other bugs, and can't really harm humans. Win, win, win as far as I'm concerned.
It also depends on the species of centipede. In Hawaii they get big (6-14 inches) and can absolutely pierce your skin, and they are FAST. Like, when you try to stomp them they scurry out of the way and attack your foot sort of fast.
Those are hawaiian toes fo sho
this image made me recoil in abject terror so hard i practically threw my phone at the guy sitting across from me in the train, thanks
That's not a house centipede. That's a Fuck You Centipede.
I got a lot of respect for any animal that tries to go toe to toe with humans.
and the stings hurt substantially more than bee stings, if you have ever felt those-- and those are bad.
Toxicognaths!
Gesundheit
House centipede
I have never found any centipede in any house looking like that. Centipedes here are an inch long and scurry away when you turn on the light.
That one looks like it hitched a ride on an asteroid and is about to burrow into someone's skull as food source for its spawn to eat when they hatch
Plus very nutritious, as part of a balanced diet of the dozen or so bugs you eat in your sleep every year.
^(don't worry, this is a myth)
It’s a myth on a technicality, because it doesn’t count as “eating” them if they crawl down your esophagus without you actively swallowing them.
It also doesn't count as eating if they crawl into your sinuses and lay eggs.
You can eat roly polys. Did you know that roly polys are over 300 million years old?
You have to fry them first though, because otherwise they are toxic. But they are perfectly edible!
Well also it'd be rude
I've had house centipedes in my bed. I appreciate their hard work but I stomp them when possible.
Yeah, those bugs are scary, but they eat other bugs. They are still scary though
I ate a cricket once.
You're very scary too
Put it gently in a jar and release it outside. Mass insect death is real.
I do this with spiders. I like spiders. But centipedes, ants, and box elder bugs receive no quarter from me.
I'll just leave cellar spiders where they are, they're pretty chill. They always go to the same spots and never bother anyone.
That's probably the last of its kin.
Which is fortunate.
Those eat bed-bugs
Bring your friends.
Ungodly fast things. But I have no problem with them in the basement, it's everywhere else that bothers me.
Well they don't have any problem with you outside of the basement so just don't go down into the basement! Ever. They do basement stuff down there. It's better that you don't know.
i am fine with anything except cockroaches. Those get genocided
What about bed bugs?
They're just special ops cockroaches.
They usually don't move in on their own, only with a moving crew
just below cockroaches. I am taking bed bugs
I let house centipedes and the spiders around my door live. Those spiders catch so many gnats and small bugs its insane. And I have a lot of springtails and small ants in my area which I figure the house centipedes probably help with.
I think they're fascinating.
It's like this insect that flew in my window the other day to collect pollen from a flower I had on my kitchen table.
I thought of shooing it away, but I let it bee.