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Somebody has to answer this please - scientists?

by Patrician
21 replies
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I live on a bluff on the side of the bay. The bugs and creatures have lived here a lot longer. ok i get that.

They have the attitude that this complex was erected on THEIR territory.

There are these centipede like creatures - huge with millions of legs. UGLY as sin.

HOW DO THEY KNOW to come in here screen door and all and make a beeline for the sink in the bathroom, bathtub or kitchen sink to drink water?

WHAT INSTINCT could they possibly have that tells them that the place to drink water is in my apartment?

Please - I need to know...

Who told them? Can they smell water in the pipes?

(i'm serious this really bothers me albeit not as much as a few years ago when bats were coming in through a vent in the back of the fireplace - now that was really fun.)
  • Profile picture of the author Killer Joe
    Patrician,

    Those little buggers lay down a trail of Pheromones that act like the crumbs Hanzel and Gretel laid down to find their way back.

    These are very powerful 'scents' that they relay on for all kinds of things.

    Certain moths can smell other moths from 30 miles away if the wind is right.

    Once they find a food source they can replicate the path and so can other bugs that rely on the same Pheromones.

    It's a lot like when I walk by a bar and I get a whiff of Georgio...

    KJ
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  • Profile picture of the author Patrician
    LOL - ok - Thank you KJoe - so it is smell and not instinct - I can get my head around that easier because I just can't conceive of an instinct that would tell them this apartment is a wet bar.:rolleyes:

    Georgio?! one of my favorite scents - funny you should mention it - was just realizing last night I haven't had any in a while - since I started using cocoa vanilla botanical perfume a year or two ago.

    stay away from those bars...
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  • Profile picture of the author gareth
    What about lobsters / crayfish then - they cant smell on the ocean & migrate thousands of miles
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    • Profile picture of the author Killer Joe
      Originally Posted by gareth View Post

      What about lobsters / crayfish then - they cant smell on the ocean & migrate thousands of miles
      Well, we do call lobsters 'bugs', but that's just a slang term for them.

      Pat was talking about real bugs.

      What you are talking about use the earth's magnetic influence for direction.

      And I think you're mistaken about them not smelling...after a few days they can downright stink the place up.

      KJ
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      • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
        Originally Posted by Patrician View Post

        I live on a bluff on the side of the bay. The bugs and creatures have lived here a lot longer. ok i get that.

        They have the attitude that this complex was erected on THEIR territory.

        There are these centipede like creatures - huge with millions of legs. UGLY as sin.

        HOW DO THEY KNOW to come in here screen door and all and make a beeline for the sink in the bathroom, bathtub or kitchen sink to drink water?
        Do you mean House Centipedes? If so, while they do prefer a damp environment, they're not necessarily attracted to the water. Instead, they're attracted to prey, which includes bedbugs, ants, cockroaches, silverfish and even termites.

        House centipedes are not a problem. You should be glad they're there helping to clean up the place. They may not be coming in from outdoors and, in many cases, probably have spent their whole life inside your home, hiding out in the basement, in the walls, around the bathrooms, etc.

        Their presence could be a sign you have something worse in your house, something that may be doing real damage or even spreading disease.

        If you want to get rid of house centipedes, you need to make sure all areas of the house are clean and dry. Moisture attracts pests and those pests attract centipedes. Also, make sure any cracks anywhere are sealed. You also need to make sure to get rid of any infestations, such as any of the previously listed pests.

        Originally Posted by Killer Joe View Post

        Well, we do call lobsters 'bugs', but that's just a slang term for them.

        Pat was talking about real bugs.
        Not real or true bugs. True bugs only have six legs. Only a small group of insects are actually classified as bugs.

        So, Pat wasn't talking about real bugs. She was talking about bugs in the slang or loose sense of the word.
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        • Profile picture of the author Killer Joe
          Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert View Post

          So, Pat wasn't talking about real bugs. She was talking about bugs in the slang or loose sense of the word.
          So she was talking about lobsters :p

          Well Pat, eat those bad boys. Don't let them go to waste, for cryin' out loud.

          And if you've got lobsters, you've got cockroaches...

          KJ
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    Did you hear of the couple that recently stayed at a place on the beach? They broke federal law, and left some lights on over night, during the wrong part of the year! They didn't know! Don't worry, they believe them, and feel it was just a dumb accident, soo they aren't being charged.

    So WHAT was wrong!?!?!? WHY the law? Well, it turns out turtles search for the water by reflected light. The nests are ON LAND. A nest of about 60 turtles hatched, saw the lights, and headed the WRONG way! They circled the lights, and some crabs ate them!

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Patrician
    Oh for God's sake. This is worse now already.

    I know there are no cockroaches or ants - I do see a silverfish now and then and always kill them. what else? termites. possible.

    I am glad I just bought a handy new steamer and I am going to sterilize this whole place (there is no basement). (dustimites and God help me if there are bed bugs but I doubt it).

    Steam cleaners are real cool because they clean behind baseboards and in places you can't get to with a vacuum. This one has a solution that is supposed to kill most germs, etc.

    The building does have almost no insultation, however it is in a wind tunnel of sorts (where 2 straits meet the bay) and we get heavy winds most of the time -- so I think that would help with any moisture hopefully.

    Well thanks a lot - anybody know how I will ever sleep again now that I know I possibly have HOUSE centipedes. Who would have known?

    Oh man...

    ' we are not alone'.
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    • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
      Originally Posted by Patrician View Post

      Well thanks a lot - anybody know how I will ever sleep again now that I know I possibly have HOUSE centipedes. Who would have known?
      Sleep well. House centipedes are nocturnal. So, while you're sleeping, they're busy eating silverfish, termites, spiders and whatever else you may have scurrying about.
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  • Profile picture of the author Patrician
    eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwww.


    p.s. I am going to have this place fumigated next week just on general purposes.

    I have been trying to ignore spideys for some odd reason - i think because they eat mosquitoes - maybe just guilt.

    i will never sleep again.
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  • Profile picture of the author Patrician
    ,,, thanks Dan, very comforting.

    Too bad they are just soooooo ugly.
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    • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
      Originally Posted by Patrician View Post

      ,,, thanks Dan, very comforting.

      Too bad they are just soooooo ugly.
      They're not that bad. But, they do have good personalities, so they've got that going for them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Patrician
    OK well maybe they are not 'house' pedes then Dan - I see them when I am awake - usually in the day time.

    Let's talk about what if they are coming from the outside? For water since that is where they always head or are discovered.

    I don't like spraying them because then they get really ugly when their rear end currls up like a scorpion's claw(?) and their legs all fall off when you try to pick up the body with a paper towel.

    ewwwww i need a shower now just talking about this!

    LOL.

    I guess I could try to get along with them now that they have references (from you)...
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    • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
      Originally Posted by Patrician View Post

      OK well maybe they are not 'house' pedes then Dan - I see them when I am awake - usually in the day time.

      Let's talk about what if they are coming from the outside? For water since that is where they always head or are discovered.

      I don't like spraying them because then they get really ugly when their rear end currls up like a scorpion's claw(?) and their legs all fall off when you try to pick up the body with a paper towel.

      ewwwww i need a shower now just talking about this!

      LOL.

      I guess I could try to get along with them now that they have references (from you)...
      Sounds like house centipedes. They can be seen in daytime too; it's just that they prefer night hours. Do they look like this? Scutigera coleoptrata - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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      • Profile picture of the author Patrician
        Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert View Post

        Sounds like house centipedes. They can be seen in daytime too; it's just that they prefer night hours. Do they look like this? Scutigera coleoptrata - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
        eeeeewwwwwwwwW.

        yes, almost exactly - except no dark stripes on the bod - and a little fatter. omigod mine are well fed.

        Exterminator scheduled for next Wednesday. That will get them and whatever they eat out of here.

        Still not as bad as when the bats came (3 times). I was able to get them all out without killing them although one had to have a glue trap which he escaped once outside.

        One I merely rolled outside hiding in a chair. Slammed the door. Opened it about 10 minutes later. He was hanging out there waiting for me to say goodbye and then flew off. He was the cute one.

        Thank you Dan, very much...
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  • Profile picture of the author gareth
    Patrician I have heard these centipedes are partial to human nasal cavities during their nocturnal activities.
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    • Profile picture of the author Patrician
      Originally Posted by gareth View Post

      Patrician I have heard these centipedes are partial to human nasal cavities during their nocturnal activities.


      U R 2 mean, Gareth. lol.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Motley
    probably wouldnt be having the problem if you had not run off the bat

    get some lizards, we have tons of them here in fl, if you like i'll send you a box of them. sprinkle them around the yard and your centiped problem will go away
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    • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
      Originally Posted by Michael Motley View Post

      probably wouldnt be having the problem if you had not run off the bat

      get some lizards, we have tons of them here in fl, if you like i'll send you a box of them. sprinkle them around the yard and your centiped problem will go away
      What's she going to do about her new lizard problem?

      Owls?

      And then how will she get rid of the owls?

      Cut down all the trees?

      Then how will she get rid of the stumps?

      Termites?

      Then how will she get rid of the termites?

      House centipedes?

      And then she's back to square one...
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      • Profile picture of the author Patrician
        Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert View Post

        What's she going to do about her new lizard problem?

        Owls?

        And then how will she get rid of the owls?

        Cut down all the trees?

        Then how will she get rid of the stumps?

        Termites?

        Then how will she get rid of the termites?

        House centipedes?

        And then she's back to square one...

        well one good thing this conversation has exhilarated my spring cleaning schedule. Bedroom, bathroom, office, living room are steamed and sterilized as of today. phew. next will be kitchen and dining room. Then insects and bugs will be executed Wednesday, October 7. Rest in Pieces.
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  • Profile picture of the author Patrician
    Michael Motley
    probably wouldnt be having the problem if you had not run off the bat

    get some lizards, we have tons of them here in fl, if you like i'll send you a box of them. sprinkle them around the yard and your centiped problem will go away
    Well thanks Michael but I have no yard - I have a deck. Lizards are pretty cool (next to insects) but I don't think my apartment is big enough for all of us.

    My skin is crawling from this conversation!

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