I was bitten by a fucking centipede!

[pkbites]

Not all things of Gods creation are beautiful: Rat's, Algore, and centipedes are great examples!
Every spring, for some reason, we get centipedes. Mostly outside, but some get inside. I will not share my home with any non-human creatures other than my dog and my 2 cats! I will not have bugs in my house! But before the exterminators poison set in, a fucking 'pede bit me on my wrist while I slept! Mother fucker! It hurts like hell, and is all lumped up! And my wrist is all red! Oh, it will go away in a day or so, but FUCK! The idea of bugs in my nice fucking home really pisses me off! Fuckers!!!:mad:

[matt_mcl]

I objurgate the centipede,
A bug we do not really need.
At sleepytime he beats a path
Straight to the bedroom or the bath.
You always wallop where he's not
Or if he is, he makes a spot.
- Ogden Nash

[Tsubaki]

My MIL was bitten by a centipede a couple of weeks ago when she was at a hot spring...on her bum.

She didn't realise it was a centipede at first. She was sitting on a cane stool, so she thought it was some of the cane sticking into her. But when she stood up, she saw the thing crawling away.

Apparently the best home remedy is crushed-up cucumber. She put some on the bite, and everything was fine the next day.

But I agree, centipedes suck. Them and mosquitoes.

[kniz]

Originally posted by Tsubaki
But I agree, centipedes suck. Them and mosquitoes.

and leeches! :eek:

[Sofa King]

Leeches are worse. There is something spectral about looking down, noticing the trail of blood, and then tracing it to a bloated black remorah feeding on your essence without your prior notice or consent.

[Kaitlyn]

Look on the bright side. At least you weren't fucked by a biting centipede. Or maybe you were. Who knows what other nefarious things it was up to while you were asleep.

[Ashtar]

but..but..but..

I -like- rats!

[BooBoo316]

Originally posted by Number Six
Look on the bright side. At least you weren't fucked by a biting centipede. Or maybe you were. Who knows what other nefarious things it was up to while you were asleep.

:eek:

Oh, well...I didn't really need to sleep today. Or ever again.

[Brutus]

Was it one of those scary-assed hairy centipedes? I get those from time to time in my townhouse, and when they arrive, the Geneva Protocols go right out the door as I reach for various chemical weapons.

My neighbor has a pet ferret, which he claims is rather adept at killing (and eating...yech!). If I see any more goddamned nature in my house, I may have to raise a small ferret militia.

[LouisB]

Be grateful it wasn't the dreaded SouthWest Texas vinagaroon.

[Burnt Sugar]

Originally posted by Sofa King
Leeches are worse. There is something spectral about looking down, noticing the trail of blood, and then tracing it to a bloated black remorah feeding on your essence without your prior notice or consent.

OOoooohhh yes. I HATE leeches, it makes me squirm just thinking of them [squirms]...

[singular1]

EeEW! eeeeEEEW!EEeeooooeeEEW! EW!

I got bit by one of these little bastards in Mississippi! Not realizing how inherently evil they are, I was going to be nice and pick it up and throw it outside. My good intentions were repaid by the little shit sinking its goddam teeth (or whatever the hell it bites with) into my hand! :eek: Needless to say, all compassion flew out the window and the offending bug became a greasy little spot on the wall.

But that's not the end of the insult-the pain grows. You suddenly feel a throbbing surge every 5 minutes or so, elicting new and ever-more-offended bursts of "Hey, Ow! I mean, shit, OW! GodDAMMIT!"

So does your id mean pesky kritter bites?
:D

[lauramarlane]

Funny you should post this. My SO and I have been bitten for the past few nights in a row but we're not sure by what. I'm thinking it's spiders. We did a thorough cleaning and vacuuming last night to suck up the little fuckers but I'm still sore! I've only got one bite (TMI WARNING) but it's on my left areola--damn, it still hurts like hell! I will not share my house with bugs! Even my kids know my motto on indoor insects, "Stomp once, flush twice."

[lauramarlane]

Funny you should post this. My SO and I have been bitten for the past few nights in a row but we're not sure by what. I'm thinking it's spiders. We did a thorough cleaning and vacuuming last night to suck up the little fuckers but I'm still sore! I've only got one bite (TMI WARNING) but it's on my left areola--damn, it still hurts like hell! I will not share my house with bugs! Even my kids know my motto on indoor insects, "Stomp once, flush twice."

[lauramarlane]

Funny you should post this. My SO and I have been bitten for the past few nights in a row but we're not sure by what. I'm thinking it's spiders. We did a thorough cleaning and vacuuming last night to suck up the little fuckers but I'm still sore! I've only got one bite (TMI WARNING) but it's on my left areola--damn, it still hurts like hell! I will not share my house with bugs! Even my kids know my motto on indoor insects, "Stomp once, flush twice."

[lauramarlane]

Ackkk!! So sorry about the multiple posts! I kept getting error messages and just assumed it wasn't going through! I beg your forgiveness. No one should have to read about my boob bite more than once!

[Amp]

Are you sure it wasn't hubby doing a little late night nibbling?

;)

[lauramarlane]

Well, Amp, I can't say it hasn't happened accidentally before (I'm pretty sure it was accidental.) But if he's leaving bite marks like this---I'm an X-File waiting to happen! :eek:

[Lute Skywatcher]

I saw a centipede in our kitchen once which ran under the oven before I could do anything about it. We also have roaches under and behind the oven so hopefully the bug-munching centipede is having a nice feast under there. Of course, it'll probably get squooshed next time it ventures out. Originally posted by Sofa King
Leeches are worse. There is something spectral about looking down, noticing the trail of blood, and then tracing it to a bloated black remorah feeding on your essence without your prior notice or consent. I was watching Jeff Corwin on AP this weekend and he found a leech on his right thigh, and left it there! At least while he was on camera.

[ratty]

Do vinagaroons bite? I've seen people pick them up before without any serious repercussions. They look a little bit like a grasshopper wearing a lowjack.

House centipedes hang out in my basement. These are the long pale brownish ones with many very long legs. As kids we called them "thousand-leggers". Occasionally in the summer you will find one hiding under some damp towels. But I just leave 'em, despite having been bitten once or twice. They eat other, more numerous pests, such as silverfish.

Centipedes bite with mouthparts that are two little fangs opposed to one another, like a spider. The reason the bite hurts so much is because centipedes are venomous. Just like spiders, to whom they are related, 'pedes digest their prey before eating it, just slurping it up. Hence, the venom. House cetipedes aren't dangerous, but those long red ones with smaller orange legs you sometimes find outdoors can be serious, especially if you're allergic to them. My mother has a pet miniature pot-bellied pig that lives in the house with her. She (pig, not mom) eats almost all the insects she finds in the house.

And I like rats! And I sorta even like leeches. Well, they're interesting, at any rate.

[pkbites]

Originally posted by Amp
Are you sure it wasn't hubby doing a little late night nibbling?
;)


Uh,......? You mean my wife?

[Velma]

Originally posted by ratty
They eat other, more numerous pests, such as silverfish.



::shudder::

I hate silverfish. My parent's house used to have them, and I hated the damn things, they're so...crawly. And they were huge! Some as big as the palm of my hand!

Thank God our house only has the occasional little spider, and a few moths. The minute I see a silverfish, I will call an exterminator.

::shaking myself off:: Are they on me? I feel like they're on me. Gaaah.

[Lissla Lissar]

Ga! Gah! Gah!!!! I HATE centipedes! Especially house centipedes! I usually call them "demon-bugs" because frankly, they look like they were created by an evil power.
I should not have opened this thread. I'll never sleep again. We have house centipedes in our house, but I've never been bitten before. I have, however, occasionally been unable to sleep from the fear of waking up to find one of the damn things on me. If it ever happens, I'll shriek so loudly the whole of Ontario will be able to hear it.
Sorry, it's the only bug phobia I've got, but it's a bad one- something to do with having too many of the things skitter across my bathwater when I was young.Oh, and my SO's mom's cats used to hunt them and chew off the legs. I approved heartily.
BTW, the biggest I've ever seen in Canada was about 4 inches long. How big do they get?
.

[Tiburon]

Dude, I didn't even know the fuckers bite.

[Hanna]

Gah...I saw this thread last night, right after I saw a huge centipede in my bathroom. I don't like smashing insects, so I sat my cat down in front of it. Bo ignored the centipede. I put Bo in front of it 4 times, and every time he thought I was going to bed, so he ignored it and jumped into bed instead. I didn't want to catch it because they can move so fast...so I thought i'd leave it for the SO when he came home. by that time it was gone - long gone.

Then I was in bed reading and Bo got excited, there was a black flying thing coming in the bedroom, I DON"T KNOW WHERE IT WENT! It's a wonder I even slept last night between this thread, the centipede in the bathroom, and the flying black thing that is somewhere.

Then I sat down at the computer this morning, and I felt something on my leg. IT WAS A SPIDER! I did get that one though. My SO gets mad when I see bugs and don't kill them, but I'm always afraid they'll fly at me and get caught in my hair.

Waiting patiently for winter again.

[Stoid]

Good lord, where do you live? I have never seen a live centipede in my 44 years on earth...one more reason never to leave Southern California. (Of course, I've adjusted to the Black Widows...)

[pendgwen]

Just don't let the bites get infected. There was a guy in the ER last night who had been bitten by something while he was in Fiji. He had punctured the bite area with a needle to let some fluid out and then it got infected. After the week it took him to seek treatment it was a swollen area the size of a 50 cent piece surrounded by a reddened area about 8 inches across. And the skin in the very center looked necrotic.

[Freudian Slit]

Stoid- you need a room mate? :) Course, I don't think I could adjust to the black widows myself.

Ugh. I hate hate HATE centipedes!! My most hated of all insects!! My most feared of all foes. I saw one on my bedroom wall three years ago. <shudder> it was late at night...it could have KILLED me. I really hate that memory. And to this day I still get freaked out thinking that it could still be here. Oh god...Ugh. I'd love to never see one again.

[Left Hand of Dorkness]

See, I like centipedes. But then, I'm mostly used to the slow-moving black ones with yellow highlights that you find in North Carolina hardwood forests. They're pretty, and as long as you don't pick them up, they're harmless.

When I was a kid, we'd pick up the little rust-colored ones that we'd find beneath rocks. I never got bit by them, so I never learned to dislike them.

Of course, I once did see a nasty long-legged fast-crawling centipede in my grandparents' house when I was a kid, and it totally freaked me out.

The bug I could live without? No question: chiggers [scratch scratch dammit!]

Daniel

[lauramarlane]

The best way to get them (because if you go after them they just run away and they're fast little fuckers) is to spray them with hairspray first. It makes their legs/wings/whatever the hell they got, stick together long enough for you to go in for the kill--then you can do the stomp once, flush twice routine. I know it doesn't sound very humane, but I don't recall any mention of AquaNet in the Geneva Convention.

[red_dragon60]

Worst. Insects. EVER!

Anything with more than eight legs deserves to die.

[ivylass]

When I was a girl, we screened in our pool, and then my parents cut out some of the deck to plant flowers. Somehow this attracted centipedes (little ones, but still) that could survive in the pool! So these things are crawling all underwater along the sides of the pool and then they get into the house.

I was sitting on the floor one day, with my book on the seat of the living room chair, and while I'm engrossed in Laura Ingalls and Nellie Olsen, I'm idly crumpling up what I think is a dead leaf...guess again!!

[ivylass]

Originally posted by red_dragon60
Worst. Insects. EVER!

Anything with more than eight legs deserves to die.

Cockroaches have six legs.

Slugs have none.

I must kill those as well.

[capybara]

Man, centipedes creep me out viscerally-- they're like primordial horrible Old Ones or something. That many legs sort of undulating in wave form. . . (shudder) In Hawaii we had great big orange ones that would crunch sickeningly when you ran over them on your bike (sometimes there would be many out on the road).
Ok, I'll bite-- what the hell is a vingaroon? It sounds like an angry marsupial candy covered in sweet coconut.

[elf6c]

Fleas-- ugh! Worst. Pest. Ever.

:mad:

I'll bite-- what the hell is a vingaroon? It sounds like an angry marsupial candy covered in sweet coconut.

:D

[Amp]

Originally posted by pkbites



Uh,......? You mean my wife?


Sorry pkbites, I was responding to lauramarlane's post above mine.

[Opengrave]

If the centipede was radioactive you may want to post any new special powers you develop in this (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=114010) thread.

[Velma]

Ivylass , your story about the pool reminded me of my second-most hated insect: earwigs. Growing up, my friend had a pool that I was always torn about entering...love to swim, hate the earwigs milling about and on the bottom. Tried to continually tread water.

"mustn't touch bottom...mustn't touch bottom..."

Troy McClure: "earwigs, ewww!"

On the other hand, a co-worker was telling me the other day that he had to call an exterminator because his house was infested with...

ladybugs.

Somehow, I don't see a big problem with that (of course, I guess too many of anything would be annoying), but ladybugs are just so...harmless . And not scary, or crawly, or bitey. It would be kind of like having an infestation of butterflies.

"Honey, call the exterminator again! Damn butterflies are everywhere!"

Whycan't I have ladybugs and butterflies in the house instead of spiders, anyway?

[RickJay]

There is no creature on this earth more vile, more disgusting, more repulsive, or more horrifying than the centipede.

My old place on King and Earl in Kingston was rife with centipedes. They were huge. I mean, I think some of those things were wearing flea collars. They liked to come out at night and scurry around the bathroom, so when I went it to take a pee three or four would be eyeballing me. I'd smash them with a shoe but the next night they'd rally and more would come out.

Sometimes I'd go to brush my teeth or something, and what would I find in the sink but a big, hideous centipede. This obligated another smashing and a full cleanout of the sink.

My attempts to wipe the centipedes out proved fruitless, because of course the dirty bastards were coming through the pipes, not through the floorboards, so treating my apartment with bug killer never kept them out (I never saw a roach, though.)

Finally I just up and moved to a higher apartment. I can't take centipedes. If they ever infest my house I'm going to give the exterminators ONE chance to kill them all, and if it doesn't work, I'll burn the damned house down.

[The Wrong Girl]

Ugh. I agree--centipedes are truly awful. And, Boscibo, be careful if you choose to sic your kitty on them. We had one in our kitchen once and my cat Dante immediately ran over, determined to protect the house, only to howl, and skulk away after the centipede stung her on the nose. :mad:

I really enjoyed stomping that one, and Dante never goes near them now.

[Tiburon]

Jesus, this thread is creeping me the hell out.

As for the hairspray treatment - I've used that on other insects. Spray and if particularly demonic that day, light insect on fire. If very gracious feeling, then I would wrap tape, sticky side out, around a pencil and tap the pencil on the back of the insect where it would stick, legs flying around before flinging the pencil into the great blue yonder.

Tibs.

Oh,...found this: http://www.midwiferytoday.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1962

[Velma]

Quote: Background: Centipedes have an elongated, segmented body with each segment bearing a pair of legs. The name inaccurately implies one hundred legs when, in fact, the number of legs varies between 20 and more than 100. They range in length from 1 to 9 inches. end quote

::whimper:: 9 inches? ::whimper::

[tomndebb]

I was bitten by a fucking centipede! Well, if you interrupted its fucking, I suspect that it was irritated.

[Cervaise]

This thread reminded me of something I posted on the subject almost two years ago.
______________

Welfy: Tub-monster: My old tub used to make a funny gurgle noise when the water flowed down

Troubleagain: I used to live in an old house out in the country where the bathroom was INFESTED with frogs

I used to live in a house that had a strange gurgling tub, too. One morning, I went in for my early shower (this was my freshman year in high school), and there were at least two dozen squirming larvae in the tub. Greyish-brown, maybe an inch to an inch and a half long, thin and wormy with a hard shiny exoskeleton, like small millipedes.

It was weird, but I'm not creeped out by bugs, so I washed 'em down the drain and showered. Next morning, they were back again. Clearly, they're living in the plumbing or under the house or something, and coming up the drain during the night. I washed 'em down again and poured bleach into the drain. That should fix 'em, I thought.

For a while, it seemed to have done the trick. But then maybe a week later, I found even more of the little squirmers waiting for me first thing in the morning. At that point, what was making my skin crawl was not so much the general thought of the bugs, but what would happen if someone didn't look into the bathtub before stepping in, and crunched the little guys with bare feet.

That's not the worst part, though. The worst part is that a couple of weeks later, after washing the bugs down the drain had become a routine, the tub developed a strange gurgle. First time, it happened to someone else, but it kept doing it afterward, so we all got to experience this lovely moment. You'd be in the shower, the drain would start to slow down, and you'd hear heavy burbling and clanking from the pipes.

And then the squirming millipedes would come back up the drain and swirl around your feet.

All together now: Ewwww.

We had a guy go into the crawlspace and take stuff apart, and after that, no more wormies. I have no idea what he found down there, but, at least at that time, I didn't want to know.

Sorry if I gave any of you entomophobes additional nightmare material, but I just had to share.

(link to old thread (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32626))

[Jadis]

For those of you who missed it when it was discussed in this thread (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=117874&highlight=centipede), here's a link (http://www.saddleworth.net/gedspage/scol.htm) to a webpage that has a picture of the more enormous and disgusting centipede ever. For those of you who will have nightmares, be forewarned...this thing is at least a foot long.

Urk.

[Lightnin']

Several years ago, I went with a friend and his family canoeing down the Rio Grande. Our first campsite was about a hundred feet above the river, in the high desert.

There were a few centipedes there.

Okay, a fucking million or so. I mean literally one of those black-and-orange, six-inch spawns of hell every square foot, for as far as the eye could see. I'd never seen them before, and had to be told what they were. They must've been swarming. *shrug*

Well, we had to spend the night there- it was too dark to go on by that time. So we went to the shelter we were spending the night in, swept them out, and set up our sleeping bags. The shelter only had two walls and a roof, and we knew the fuckers would just start coming back in... so we built a big roaring fire and then spread the coals in a line to cover the two missing walls.

All night long I could hear them swarming over the sand and rocks.

I didn't sleep much that night. :eek:

[lissener]

I am SO glad I moved to Seattle: we have no bugs out here.

[bristlesage]

capybara, a vinegaroon is like a little scorpion. Instead of having a venemous tail, they have a vinegar-ous one. The problem with them is that, unlike scorps, vinegaroons have figured out we people leave a lot of food around. So they come into houses much more often than scorpions.

Centipedes are freaky, but I have to say that it's always pretty exciting to think that a bug is a centipede and then discover it's a millepede. At least in that case you know it won't bite you as you dispose of it.

[Hanna]

The Wrong Girl , I'm thinking that might be the reason Bo ignored it...he's probably tangled with them before. The wimp.

Velma , The Asian variety of ladybugs do indeed bite. I was surprised too, but the little bitches do bite, and it hurts! They were supposedly brought here to take care of the aphids, but are causing some unpleasant effects, such as their tendancy to swarm, and bite!

[Feynn]

For as much as centipedes are bothersome they are not prone to stalking and attacking humans. They are fascinating, from a distance and there are many worse critters out there.

Let's take the South American Kissing Beetle or "Vinchura", it will come to you in the night, feed off your blood and leave you a little present in the form of a parasite called Trypanosoma Cruzi. The parasite is not injected but rather, is delivered when the bug defecates to make more room for all that yummy blood it's sucking up.

The Western Conenose which lives in the U.S. looks like this (http://www.sdnhm.org/fieldguide/inverts/tria-pro.html) and it's southern cousin has a similar appearance.

Anyways, once that parasite makes it into your bloodstream you may develop something called Chagas disease. This disease may take 10-20 years to reach a chronic state and will reduce your lifespan by an average of nine years. Very few people develop any immediate acute symtoms and there are no symptoms during the intermediate phase. I should point out that there is no treatment for this disease once it hits the chronic phase.

From the CDC: (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/chagasdisease/factsht_chagas_disease.htm)

"Ten to 20 years after infection, people may develop the most serious symptoms of Chagas disease. Cardiac problems, including an enlarged heart, altered heart rate or rhythm, heart failure, or cardiac arrest are symptoms of chronic disease. Chagas disease can also lead to enlargement of parts of the digestive tract, which result in severe constipation or problems with swallowing. In persons who are immune compromised, including persons with HIV/AIDS, Chagas disease can be severe. Not everyone will develop the chronic symptoms of Chagas disease."

Gimme the centipedes any day.

[ratty]

Every fall, my house gets infested with ladybugs. I find them literally everywhere, clinging to curtains, windows, doorjambs, in the laundry, in the bathroom, in the beds....but I don't care. I like them. You just get used to sweeping, shaking, or brushing everything before you eat it, sit on it, etc. This goes on for about two months, and then one day, they all disappear. Over the winter you find a few dessicated little ladybugs corpses locked in death grip to some piece of furniture, but's that all- they just sort of vanish. It's like some portal opens from an alternate ladybug universe, they come for vacation, they leave again, and the portal closes.

On a somewhat more horrifying note, I found a brown recluse in my garage one day. Ignoring the Indian with the lone tear who popped up on my shoulder, I smushed the bastard lest he kill us all.

[Tiburon]

Everything was fine this morning, when I bit into my breakfast burrito, covered in salsa, from McDonald's...until I read the bit about the larva in the shower. And looked at the picture of the centipede on the guy's arm.

But now I'm afraid to throw up in case that happens to attract centipedes.

Tibs.

[sidle]

"Honey, call the exterminator again! Damn butterflies are everywhere!"
:D
Velma, oddly enough, I am scared of butterflies! They completely gross me out. They flit and hover too much, and ever looked at their nasty little bodies without the wings? Yuck!

Centipedes. I don't think we have them in SC/Ga. I've never seen one outside of pictures.
However, if I did, I am fairly sure that I would FREAK THE FUCK OUT!
Especially since they *bite*.
Yeeow.
I don't know how you guys do it...

[Velma]

I guess you're right, Sidle . It is weird that people are afraid of some bugs and not others. While thinking about this, it occurred to me that the more legs a bug has, the more people are going to be creeped out by it.

Bugs that bite/sting are different. It makes sense that people don't want them around, but why do we discriminate based on the bug's looks?

Oh, I see how it is! We only want the "pretty" bugs around! Well, what about the not-so-attractive ones? Must they be squished solely for not being born a butterfly?

::Waking up one day and looking out my window::

"There's a tiny picket line marching around our house! And I've been served with a summons?"

SO: "what's going on?"

"It's the centipedes, spiders, and silverfish! They're protesting unfair ejection from the house. Descrimination based on species. they claim we are prejudiced towards "crawly" bugs."

There is only one thing to do. I get in my car and run over the picket line. They are too gross to live.

[Tiburon]

Do you want my hairspray and lighter, Velma?

:D

Tibs.

[Lissla Lissar]

I am going to buy some hairspray. Good for you, Velma

[Spoonbender]

Wow, this is like a support group. I thought I was the only one. Centipedes are the most vile, disgusting creatures on the planet, and they should all be exterminated. Thank you.

[Osbie]

I played with lots of bugs all the time as a kid, but my tolerance for the critters diminishes as I age. I didn't know centipedes were venomous until a few years ago when I moved to a state that had the wretched beasts. (We're talking about the critters with the long, feathery legs that travel at mach one, right?)

I had one in my apartment about a week ago - it hauled ass across my kitchen floor and ducked under the fridge before I could stomp it. But I was clever. Oh yes. I waited for it. And about five minutes later, when it streaked back across my floor, I was ready for it - me and Mr. Boot. I try not to kill bugs - unless I know they're venomous or they're tropical-sized (or they're the colony of ants that have decided to take up residence in my kitchen).

I don't mind all the centipede's legs - but there's something about their speed that just creeps me out. Give me a nice, fuzzy wooly-worm ambling across the floor anyday.

[Lissla Lissar]

Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. Must remember to buy hairspray.