• Gerudo@lemm.ee
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    9 days ago

    I don’t have a phobia of bugs, but centipedes really do make my skin crawl.

      • nomy@lemmy.zip
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        9 days ago

        I have a strong dislike of centipedes as well. One time years ago I had a terrible dream that a large centipede (one of those big jungle ones) was crawling all over my body. As it raced down my arm I slapped at it, with a jolt of pain my arm went instantly numb as it bit me.

        I startled myself awake to realize I was laying on my arm and it had gone completely asleep and was numb. Still one of the scariest dreams I’ve ever had haha.

      • flora_explora@beehaw.org
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        9 days ago

        What? Why would it be? I think humans are scared of anything that surprises them or that they cannot immediately understand what it’ll do. But why centipedes in general? I’ve never had any fear of them, unlike other arthropods that moved more erratically and faster.

    • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      Centipedes are scary because they have so many legs and they scurry very fast with incredible agility. In general I think we feel a revulsion to small critters with that kind of speed and agility. But if they’re too small (fly sized or smaller) then it’s more annoyance than revulsion.

      The many legs thing is a real mystery though! I think it might be some kind of proxy for venomous critters, as spiders and centipedes have more legs than insects and also tend to be more venomous (apart from some Hymenopterans).

      • monotremata@lemmy.ca
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        9 days ago

        I dunno, silverfish are smaller than flies, but they still give me that revulsion response.

          • monotremata@lemmy.ca
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            9 days ago

            I think they move too smoothly. I think it’s maybe a combination of the “ew, tiny things are parasites” and the “ew, smooth-moving things are snakes” responses, even though neither of those is appropriate for the silverfish itself. I think that’s part of what happens with the house millipedes, too.

  • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works
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    9 days ago

    I used to live in an apartment they sometimes showed up in and if I went to take a shower and one of them was in the tub, I would leave. The bathroom was occupied.

    • tetris11@lemmy.ml
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      9 days ago

      A locust flew into my bedroom one summer night. Large, brown, scuttling winged thing with the mass of a tennis ball (exaggeration).

      I quietly exited the room and slept in the bathtub. I carefully went one-by-one through my things during the day but I could never locate it, only hear it buzzing somewhere.

      I slept in the bathtub for three nights before I my roommate came and flushed it out. By then I was ready to move out.

  • ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    I said this the last time this was posted and I’m saying it again

    “THEN MAYBE DON’T MOVE SO FUCKING FAST IT ACTIVATES MY FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE!!!”

  • FreakinSteve@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    In a related story: I met with my new housecleaning service a few days ago and told them I had one very special request: DO NOT DISTURB THE SPIDERS IN OUR BEDROOM!! They are my mosquito-munching pets; just mop the floor under them.

  • Limitless_screaming@kbin.earth
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    9 days ago

    I honestly wouldn’t care if it stayed at one or two of them, but I know if I leave these things and treat them as pets I will get an infestation in no time.

    And with each new one the chances of me feeling one of them walk on my arm increases, and I am not letting that happen.

    • socsa@piefed.social
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      9 days ago

      They are also territorial and won’t actually eliminate a roach infestation because they will kill each other long before they reach sufficient density to make a difference.

      • Limitless_screaming@kbin.earth
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        9 days ago

        Meh, don’t need them to end an infestation. Just killing the few roaches that might exist somewhere around is enough to pay their rent.

        If I find one close to my face on the other hand, the place it considered territory would be wiped off the map. It would become an endangered species.

  • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    They are fascinating little creatures. They have a bunch of stripes on them, even across their legs. They eat dangerous house pests. They are venomous, but their “bites” are less irritating than a mosquito bite. They also don’t technically bite, they envenomate using two modified legs.

  • ERROR: Earth.exe has crashed@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    9 days ago

    Step 1: Obtain Cat

    Step 2: Show the cat your roach infestation

    Step 3: ???

    Step 4: Profit? MEOW?

    (Good for getting rid of mice, doesn’t do much against roaches… 🤷‍♂️ At least the cat is warm to hold when I’m sad)

  • ditty@lemm.ee
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    9 days ago

    I will catch and release spiders outside but centipedes all get the boot. They are just too fast

    • AsheHole@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      When I found out that these guys ate spiders as a kid I was super upset I needed to pick sides in the bug war. I chose spiders specifically because I didn’t trust anything that ran away from me that fast. The spiders didn’t have anything to hide.

  • muhyb@programming.dev
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    9 days ago

    I got stung by one of these once when I was staying at my high-school dormitory which was in the woods and away from city. Apparently it crawled into my slippers while I was sleeping so I had not idea this was going to happen. I wore my slippers and felt a certain pain afterwards. I still remember the hole it put into my foot.

    It was not a house centipede but a regular wild one though.

    • unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz
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      9 days ago

      my slovenly ass picked up my dirty t-shirt off the floor in Hawaii and some 30-cm monster came flying out and disappeared underneath the china cabinet, not sure why there was a china cabinet. took me awhile and some soothing from my unflappable lover to decide if I should be really freaking out.

        • unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz
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          8 days ago

          no idea but probably just a common million-footed monster that will absolutely spicy bite. we got em in the U.S. midwest, but not quite so big. Ohio people are terrified of sprickets, giant harmless crickets, and they are just part of the dank basement ecosystem