centipedes

If I remember correctly, you moved to cotton Valley. Centipedes are rampant in much of CV. We bought a house there 3+ years ago, and couldn't believe the difference from what we were used to a short distance away. Weather has an effect too. We cleared around the house outside, and have Terminex spray monthly. The number inside has decreased this winter from last, still there but many fewer, but we still have to look under everything we pick up outside to check for bugs. We used the granular products around the perimeter.

I went to Gallows Bay Garden Center - next to the hardware. They have this stuff called BENGEL GOLD. They swear it kills (and keeps away) all crawlers - centipedes, ants, roaches. Guarenteed. Lasts for 6 months they say. Ought to - costs $15.00/can.

Good luck!

Consider yourself lucky, 5 inches is nothing. I live in the rainforest where they can grow up to 8-10 inches. Anyways, you need to make sure you seal EVERY and I do mean EVERY possible hole they can use to enter the house. Maybe buy something that blocks up space underneath the door. Like beaches says, use granular products. Also, you should have Oliver Exterminator or Terminix come and spray the house, but you will see more centipedes the first day or two after the spraying, before it starts to take effect. The people at Gallows Bay Hardware are very helpful when recommending good products for pests.

Thanks so much everyone for your suggestions. I'm off to Gallows Bay to find ANOTHER poison. The granular poison isn't doing anything. They are crawling right through it. We are only getting 1-2 a night, so maybe this is normal? I'm just not used to those disgusting creatures. EWWWW!!!
I wonder why Cotton Valley has them worse when it's dryer here. I heard they gravitate towards moisture.

Maybe GOD doesn't want you to be in complete paradise. LOL

Yeah, no one said that paradise is perfect!

One or two a night? Damn that sounds extreme, even for a house on St. Croix. Are you sure you aren't talking about millipedes (gongolos) ? Those are way more common than centipedes. You seem to have a very unfortunate situation if you're killing one or two a day. That is just ridiculous, how do you put up with it?

Um...I'm moving to Raphune hill in June...does that area of St. THomas have a lot of those bugs?

Yeah, I'm sure it isn't millipedes. I have those dead outside. The poison works on those. I've done the research and it is centipedes. The small ones don't bother me as much, it's those HUGE ones that get to me. I don't sleep much at night because I keep thinking i'm going to wake up with a centipede on me since I found one on my bed. I don't even have vegitation around the house at ALL, so I don't know why they are so bad.

hi Shelly

Here's another tip: If you don't have a cat, get one from the Animal Shelter and let it live indoors with you. My kitty has killed at least a dozen centipedes in the past couple of years and I'm supremely confident that she will sniff out and kill each and every one that gets in the house! She's killed some pretty big ones too. Amazingly, the tiny blue headed baby centipedes are harder for her to kill since they are so small. But she's killed lots of medium sized and pretty big ones!

Does anyone have pictures of either (centi or milli) or know of a website that does?

JW

http://www.smilinglizard.com/

Here's some pix from Texas A & M - close enough - but it shows the difference between the centipede and millipede...no pictures of the gongolas, though...or however it's spelled!

http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/cimg379.html

Here's another good website. Although these aren't photos, the drawings clearly describe the difference between centipedes and millipedes. By the way, gongolas are the same thing as millipedes! That's what the locals call them!

http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/b1088-w.html

Another great site with lots of ICKY photos of big centipedes and also millipedes:
http://whatsthatbug.com/cent.html

Ok, so two questions about these centipedes:

Are the bites really going to send you to the hospital?

If you have cats, and they are bitten, what happens to them?

I have never heard of anyone going to the hospital, but I guess if you are superallergic to bug bites you might need to. Also guess it depends on the duration of the bite ie. how much venom gets in you.

I have seen my cat get bitten by the really small centipedes, and she's been fine. (of course I killed the centiped straightaway!) She just kept licking her paws but I didn't see any swelling. However, she's an island kitty so she might have a natural immunity! A stateside cat might have more of a reaction to a bite.

I have never had a severe problem with either centipedes or millipedes, however my downstairs did have some, and as you said, especially when the weather was very dry.

This is not from a book, but came from living in South Carolina for five years where the palmetto bugs where everywhere. I just did what the local people did. Srayed the door entrances/any other area, even if screened, that the might find a way in with the long lasting roach spray. Then I put mothballs around the same areas.

Since then,the only centipedes I have seen have been outdoors and pretty far away from the house.

As I have no evidence (i.e. from a book or other resource) I can only give a 'case study' of what I did and how it worked. Except for those very tiny ants that seem to come in when it is very dry, I haven't seen any insects at all.

Just an idea,and it is rather inexpensive. Again, it worked so I not always keep both on hand. I treat perhaps once every four to six weeks with the spray, and just replace the mothballs when they dissipate.

Best wishes,

Dan

I was bitten twice - emergency room once.
it all depends on the size of the critter, the duration of the bite and where you are bitten.
The pain is caused by the accumulating fluid response to the bite - it displaces tissue. If you are bitten on a bony part and the swelling is fast and considerable - I was bitten on the thumb and the swelling quickly included my hand and wrist - all bony and full of nerve endings - the pain is severe and antihistamine and pain relief is needed.
Terminix or Olivers will spray for centipedes etc monthly or you can buy the product and sprayer and DIY.