# Insect identification **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 7, 2020, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-identification/853328 "2020-05-07T13:49:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-identification/853328/1 "2020-05-07T13:49:51Z")
Okay, I know this is likely to be hopeless, as I don’t have a photo. Last night, we’re watching something on the tube, when the cat starts getting very agitated by something under the couch. At first I thought she was trying to get to a toy, but then realized that she was in “hunt mode”. I grabbed a flashlight, thinking “spider”, and shined it in that direction, when out marches a bug I’ve never seen before. It was probably two inches long, very skinny, with a body that almost looked segmented. It had long feelers and was moving along pretty well. I couldn’t tell how many legs it had, but it was pretty low to the ground. I bopped it with a shoe and flushed it. Wish I’d taken a photo. I first thought perhaps it was some variation of a silverfish, but it was the wrong shape and seemed too long. Any clues? ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-identification/853328/2 "2020-05-07T13:53:49Z")
Centipede? ---
**Author:** ![PAjoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pajoe/32/58_2.png) [@PAjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PAjoe)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-identification/853328/3 "2020-05-07T13:57:28Z")
maybe the type they call “house centipede” [https://www.westernexterminator.com/occasional-invaders/understanding-the-house-centipede/](https://www.westernexterminator.com/occasional-invaders/understanding-the-house-centipede/) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-identification/853328/4 "2020-05-07T14:07:41Z")
> [@PAjoe](#): > > maybe the type they call “house centipede” [https://www.westernexterminator.com/occasional-invaders/understanding-the-house-centipede/](https://www.westernexterminator.com/occasional-invaders/understanding-the-house-centipede/) I think you nailed it. The photo looks like what we saw. Glad to read that it’s not particularly dangerous for humans, but it’s a pretty wild looking critter. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-identification/853328/5 "2020-05-07T15:36:34Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I think you nailed it. The photo looks like what we saw. Glad to read that it’s not particularly dangerous for humans, but it’s a pretty wild looking critter. Thanks. These are super common in Chicago (especially older apartments). We call them thousand-leggers. They are creepy looking and scary to see (good size for a bug) and I certainly kill them if I see them but, overall, I am told they are a net benefit to have in a building since they hunt other bugs you wouldn’t like (dunno if that is true). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-identification/853328/6 "2020-05-07T15:39:05Z")
It’s always a house centipede. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-identification/853328/7 "2020-05-07T16:08:12Z")
Yeah, we get those occasionally as well. I do not kill them, because I believe they are little predators for other things (which may mean we have other problems). Most bugs and spiders I find in the house get trapped alive and released outside. Mosquitoes are the general exception to this rule. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-identification/853328/8 "2020-05-07T16:31:05Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > It’s always a house centipede. Yup. It’s the lupus of insect sightings, except it’s always the right answer. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-identification/853328/9 "2020-05-07T16:31:34Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Yeah, we get those occasionally as well. I do not kill them, because I believe they are little predators for other things (which may mean we have other problems). Most bugs and spiders I find in the house get trapped alive and released outside. Mosquitoes are the general exception to this rule. If they stick to the crawl space or the attic, they can live out their little buggy lives and retire to Miami, for all I care. But if they happen to venture into the living space, all bets are off. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-identification/853328/10 "2020-05-08T09:43:13Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Yup. It’s the lupus of insect sightings, except it’s always the right answer. House Centipede: Did you try the medicine drug? Chase Centipede: I did try the medicine drug! ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-identification/853328/11 "2020-05-08T14:14:12Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > It’s always a house centipede. I miss the good ol’ days when it was always a Dermestid beetle. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-identification/853328/12 "2020-05-08T17:55:24Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > I miss the good ol’ days when it was always a Dermestid beetle. > > CMC fnord! Dermestids eat your carpets. House centipedes eat your roaches. I’ll take the centipedes. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-identification/853328/13 "2020-05-08T18:22:39Z")
Consider yourself lucky that you have made it to your age w/o ever seeing one of these guys before. They always creep me out. As a kid, I remember seeing them occasionally in the bathroom - including in the freaking glass when i went to take a drink! :eek: One positive I remember hearing is that these creepy crawlies eat other bugs, including cockroaches. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-identification/853328/14 "2020-05-08T18:34:07Z")
House centipedes and I have an agreement. If I see you in the basement, I’mma mind my business. If I see you upstairs, you get the shoe. It generally works out well for all parties. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-identification/853328/15 "2020-05-08T18:41:26Z")
Ewwwww! Hate those things. The Siamese cats really get an afternoon of fun if they find one. Unless I get there first. Then it dies.