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you should never ever squish a centipede
in your house because they eat insects
look it goes against all reason and
instinct but you should really never
squish a centipede even if you're in the
bathroom at 2 a.m. and one comes
scuttling out to the drain you should
try to resist the urge it's challenging
because there are a few crawlies as
creepy as a squirmy fast-moving
centipedes even those of us who are
immune to the creep factor of spiders
ants and roaches might get the shivers
when confronted with all those segmented
legs the yuck factor gets even higher
when you consider their favorite hangout
spots these guys like to hang out in
cool damp place and might even take up
residence in your toilet if you aren't
careful you have our blessing to remove
these guys from the commode but if you
get the urge to stomp resist the reason
why is simple you should never squish a
centipede because it might be the only
thing standing between you and a
bathroom literally crawling with other
gross creatures meet the house
centipedes unlike its larger more worm
leg cousins the house centipede has a
fairly short body with the perimeter of
about 30 scuttling legs yes it looks
like a false eyelash brought to life and
it is the very stuff of nightmares
still you should never ever squish a
centipede like this no matter how badly
you may want to while alarming these
creatures are actually nature's best
defense against other even if your
houseguests consider this the house
centipede is icky but it's also a
voracious ear it's favorite foods are
ants spiders bed bugs
cockroaches and silverfish basically
every arthropod pest in your home is a
gourmet dinner to a centipede silverfish
like the one pictured above are
particularly relevant
that's because centipedes and silverfish
tend to enjoy the same environmental
conditions like cool and humid areas if
you spot a centipede but haven't noticed
any silverfish slithering out of the
drain you can probably thank your
friendly neighborhood exterminator for
keeping the problem down that doesn't
mean that you have to let centipedes
roam freely throughout your home they
are alarming and they have a bad habit
of scuttling out from their hiding
places before moving there
very quickly in 1902 an entomologist
with the USDA described them as follows
it may often be seen darting across
floors with very great speeds
occasionally stopping suddenly and
remaining absolutely motionless
presently to resume its rapid movements
often darting directly at inmates of the
house thus creating much consternation
you don't have to be a victim of
consternation instead of squishing your
centipede house guests simply scoop him
into a jar and put him outside in areas
with lots of damp leafmold and rocks
where he can continue chowing down in
peace you can also try to reduce
moisture and humidity in spots like your
basement and bathroom to discourage
centipedes from moving in if you have
only seen one or two centipedes we might
even suggest letting them stay if you
don't bother them they won't bother you
and they will take care of all the other
creepy crawlies it's worth noting that
if you have to squish a spider
you risk accidentally releasing hundreds
of live baby spiders every which way
just let the centipedes do their job
most importantly the average house
centipede can't really do much to hurt
you other than scarring you mentally of
course but in all seriousness the house
centipede isn't generally strong enough
to bite a human unlike its more lethal
tropical cousins unlike house flies and
cockroaches these bad boys can't really
track serious germs into your home
especially because they are very
fastidious and spend a large part of
everyday cleaning their mini legs
in other words centipedes just want to
eat all the spiders in your bathroom and
make you happy
and there's nothing wrong with that did
you know the truth behind house
centipedes
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