The Creepy Crawler of Many Long Legs

Let's find me some cockroaches!

Are you afraid of spiders? Wait till you see this creepy crawler and spiders won’t seem like a big matter anymore. The House Centipede has up to 15 pairs of long legs, moving around is a breeze. They love sprinting from one place to another just to give you the scares. They prefer to live in human homes in tight dark places where they search for insects to munch on. Meals including all sorts of insects like spiders and cockroach and all the other insects that you’re afraid of. So maybe they aren’t so bad after all.

Aren't I pretty?

They have special legs that are attached to a rigid body which allows them to move at a very high speed of 0.4 meters per second. They also have the ability to run up walls and ceilings too. For some species, it will be hard for you to tell which part is the head or the back since some have developed their hind legs into antennae like thingy that will confuse you. If you try to attack it and accidentally got hold of one of its legs, it can detach it and continue their escape. House centipedes have also been observed to groom their legs. Even a creature as creepy looking as this cleans itself up (might make a good example for kids).

I'm really not that scary once you know me.

House centipedes love to live in cool, damp places. This is because they lose water rapidly in dry conditions. They are said to be able to live their entire lives in a human home, which is as long as 7 years depending on the environment.

Don’t be afraid of the home centipede, they are not considered dangerous to humans. A sting is very rare and should not be worst than a bee sting. I have yet to see a live one in Sabah, so do not worry. To keep populations of these centipedes down, make sure that your house does not have too many large insects, keep the place dry, or call an exterminator. 

To conclude this, they aren’t really that bad, they might look really scary, but with their help, you can keep the numbers of other ugly insects in check. So be kind to them.