Identify this creepy crawlie

almostthere · #1 10/01/04, 08:18 AM

I'd send a pic if dh hadn't squashed it already. It was huge and hairy, walking almost grasshopper like but resembeled a cintipede. I'm in so IN, and where it came in the house in the bathroom, under that part of the house is a crawl space, and the very next room is a slab. Thats also where the ants come in, when they invade. Come to think of it, I haven't seen the ants in a while. Its also cold at night right now, we've been here since '95 and never seen one of these things. We were up looking for it for a couple hours. Its not on the Terminex website. So, any thoughts? TIA!!!

suzyhomemaker09 · #2 10/01/04, 08:23 AM

maybe you could describe it in more detail?...not much to go on there...
how large was it?..color..and such

almostthere · #3 10/01/04, 08:34 AM

I'd say about as big as my middle finger, and it was more of a brown, but not solid...the hair was standing straight up like an angry dog. It was walking slowly, its not a silverfish...weve had those before and I'm certian thats not it. If we get another we'll get out the camera before we squish it. Honestly, the best description I can give is a cross b/t a grashopper(walking) and a centipede, but brownish and hairy. Did i mention it was hairy?

lacyj · #4 10/01/04, 09:05 AM

I don't know what they are called, but I think we had one that hung out in our tub over flow hole. Did it have really long antenna and sparce fuzzy hairs that were much longer than a regular caterpillar? I thought it looked cool...

almostthere · #5 10/01/04, 09:13 AM

that sounds close.....

suzyhomemaker09 · #6 10/01/04, 09:49 AM

sounds vaguely like what is commonly called a Mormon cricket.. 'cept they aren't really hairy ...they are really freaky looking

Cyngbaeld · #7 10/01/04, 11:01 AM

Mormon crickets are ugly as sin, but they aren't hairy, just gross.

Cyngbaeld · #8 10/01/04, 11:14 AM

eastern tent caterpillar
http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entom...rees/ef423.htm

buck moth caterpillar
http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/en...tals/2-11.jpeg

What part of the country are you in? That makes rather a bit of diff.

MichelleWI · #9 10/01/04, 11:56 AM

Go to Google Image Search and type in "centipede" to see if any of the pictures match. There's quite a variety of centipedes.

Ick. Identify this creepy crawlie - Homesteading Questions

Identify this creepy crawlie - Homesteading Questions

Michelle in WI

BCR · #10 10/01/04, 12:40 PM

Try bugguide.net as well. Lots of photos there.

almostthere · #11 10/01/04, 01:14 PM

Ok i found it... its called the "House Centipede"....thanks for the links guys....I never thought about using Google images, coulda saved me half a day of searching. The info states that it eats small insects and crickets...which could explain the disapearence of our crickets recently...and the spiders we usually deal with...I wonder if they eat ants? Looks like they like moist enviroments, which means weve got that to deal with too. A blessing in disguise I guess, at least now we know we have a moisture problem. I wonder why I didnt see them on the terminex web site? maybe i just missed it. Anyhoo, thanks again. I knew someone on here would know where to look.

And it was quite funny, btw, seeing my big construction worker dh running to the kitchen to get something heavy to kill a bug. I personally would have pi**ed down my leg trying to get away from it, LOL.

MichelleWI · #12 10/01/04, 08:01 PM

I looked up "house centipede" and, as I figured, it is exactly what we have in our house. *shudder* I thought your description sounded familiar.

The good news is that you need nothing heavy to kill them. They're actually very delicate and easy to smoosh. However, they're FAST!!! They are living at the top of my basement stairs and in the sandstone walls of our basement.

Ick! Identify this creepy crawlie - Homesteading Questions

Did I mention ICK?!

gobug · #13 10/01/04, 08:43 PM

You might check for a clogged gutter near the house. They like the leafy wet debris that accumulates in a rain gutter, but also like the dark spaces. Clear the debris away from the edges of the house. Sometimes people bury down spouts and over time they are forgotten. The moisture and debris that gradually accumulate create the perfect space for them. Look at the outside around the slab you mentioned. If there is a deck or porch, it could be hiding the favorable conditions. Save the next one you see as a pet. Keep it in an aquarium. You can feed it bugs and it will live a long time, maybe even a few years.

almostthere · #14 10/01/04, 10:15 PM

The slab used to be a porch, now its a room. Hubby has made plans to get into the crawl space and check for moisture. we havent had much rain lately...but thats right under the bathroom so we might(and probably do) have problems with that. Whilest the kids and I are out tomorrow I'll be sure to clean up around the outside of the house. Thats usually his job, I mow.. he weed eats but its been a busy month. Gotta get this cleaned up before the cold sets in good or it will be a lot worse, I would imagine. I don't know about keeping one as a pet...I'm not real crazy 'bout that idea but my sil likes those kinds of things, maybe she will get an early christmas present.

Cyngbaeld · #15 10/01/04, 10:24 PM

Go to cooking and crafts forum and check out crafty diva's post on bug necklaces 'turn your pests into crafts' . Maybe you've got a way to earn some bucks? :haha: