They were viewed as little monsters which got swept up as quickly as humanly possible. Mommy got on the internet and researched them thoroughly to find out about them...if they were poisonous, what to do if they bite, how to eradicate them, etc, etc. But the more she read about the house centipede, the more she began to like them!!! She read that they are one of the most beneficial insects to co-habitate with. But most humans are not willing to share their home with them is because their speed scares them and they consider them a nuisance. Here is an excerpt from a webpage, sited below:"Because they eat household pests, house centipedes are considered among the most beneficial creatures that inhabit human dwellings. Benefits aside, because of their alarming appearance, frightening speed, and painful bite, few homeowners are willing to share a home with them.
"The bite of most house centipedes is incapable of penetrating human skin. Those that can give an effect no worse than a minor bee sting. The symptoms generally disappear within a few hours. However, the bite can cause health problems for those few who are allergic to the mild venom of its bite, which is similar to that of most normal centipedes. It is possible in some cases that a rash may develop and many minuscule bumps can form, an allergic reaction which might be comparable to a bee sting in terms of pain, or to a mosquito bite in terms of itchiness. The house centipede's venom is too weak to cause any serious harm to larger pets such as cats and dogs." ~ to learn more & see pictures, visit this site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_centipede
For the record, only Jesse's been bit, and that was because he tried to pick one up. Otherwise, they go about their business at night and leave us alone during the day. Now, Mommy is not quite so intimidated by the fast, leggy creatures...however, it still sent shivers down her spine when she sees one zooming along the wall.
Then came the day (precisely 5 days ago) that a very sad thing happened. That night, not one centipede was to be seen. By the 2nd day, we spied some very tiny babies (not even a cm long). Mommy was afraid that we'd killed off the adults and the babies must be coming out during the day in search of food; she felt terrible about it. By the 3rd night and not one sign of an adult centipede, Mommy was very sad. Daddy said he thought that was a very strange thing to be sad about!! But Mommy said that she'd been seeing more spiders and bugs around the house and would rather have the centipedes than the bugs. She hadn't realized how bug-free the house had been with the centipedes around. So you can imagine her happiness when, on the 5th night, she spotted one! Not a very big one, but definitely big enough to start gobbling down the bugs! She got so excited, she grabbed the camera and took a picture. That is the picture you see above. It was in her bedroom, but she didn't care. It didn't move, but just stayed there while the light was on.
John was not so calm about it...after getting in bed and shutting off the light, he got back up and turned the light back on to see where the centipede was. It was running along the ceiling/wall juncture to the corner. As soon as the light flickered on, the centipede went dead still. John shut the light back off. The centipede started running. Two seconds later he turned it back on. The centipede stopped. Run, stop, run, stop! This continued as John tracked the progress of the centipede until he lost sight of it as it went out the doorway. It was rather funny to watch! It reminded me of the "Red light, green light" game. :)
For those of you who think I'm crazy to allow the centipedes to live as pets in my house, I want you to know that it is apparently a very Asian "thing." Here is another excerpt from a website: "In Japan, these creatures are referred to as gejigeji and enjoy a level of popularity. They can often be seen for sale in pet stores." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_centipede
This morning, I smacked a huge mosquitoe and caught him in the act of sucking my blood. I had John take a picture....so just which one would you prefer in your house???
a centipede that looks frightening but is basically harmless... or a bunch of bugs, spiders, and mosquitoes that are known to bite? BTW, that mosquiteo bite swelled up huge in just 5 minutes.
Now this is not to say that shivers will no longer run down my spine when I look up and see a centipede zipping along the wall. But I have a feeling that fewer centipedes will meet their untimely deaths in this house!!
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