things that go bump in the night

I have these 20 legged bugs that live in my apartment.

I know there could be worse things in the world but anything with that many legs is just disgusting.

So I just found my fourth one by the sink. They're are soo fast and so gross and I had to learn about what they are, what they do and what harm, if any, they caused.

They are called house centipedes. They like cool, dark, moist places. They arrived here in Pennsylvania around the 1800s and exist in other places in the Northeast.

The good news is that they are the most beneficial of all house pests. They eat roaches, bedbugs, spiders, etc. However, just as I suspected, they bite. Most websites said that they're fangs were not strong enough to break human skin but if they do it's similar to a bee sting. Plus they're venom can cause serious allergic reactions.

Well this is fun.

When I moved in there was a huge can of roach spray on the corner. I took that as a sign of adventures to come.

I'm not so grossed out by them anymore and I'm fine with letting them hang around if they're going to eat roaches. Or maybe the mouse will eat them, the venom will kill the mouse and then all my pest problems will be solved.

Here's a picture of one I found in the fireplace. I didn't mean to kill it, I don't like killing things. But I was trying to count it's legs ( I know, I'm weird) and it got caught in the tile.

Now I've got a huge case of the heeby jeebies.