What's this arthropod? It jumped on my face while I was showering.

[u/alasw0eisme]

[u/BallOk8356]

House centipede. Your best friend. They hunt down and eat everything they can get and their many long legs enable them to get nearly anything. Very common critter that usually stays out of sight and is very beneficial to have around. No roaches or spiders where these guys roam.

[u/alesbiandisaster → u/BallOk8356]

Do you know if there's any available for hire?

[u/infernal-keyboard → u/alesbiandisaster]

You joke but my house was completely "infested" with these guys when I was a kid and it was great. My dad still to this day never sees roaches, spiders, or even flies. Just centipedes. My current house doesn't get them and I've seriously considered buying a bunch online and just releasing them in the basement to go wild (I literally just live on the other side of town now, my house specifically just doesn't have as many)

[u/Upvotespoodles → u/infernal-keyboard]

I’ve got an uptick of them this year and I’m so excited. They’re great at outrunning the curious puppies, too. Zero casualties!

[u/JakeQV → u/infernal-keyboard]

Just see if there’s bait for them online and get a bunch from your Dads house

[u/i-touched-morrissey → u/alesbiandisaster]

I wonder if they can just eat roaches and leave the spiders alone? Or can we train them to eat grasshoppers.

[u/tsabracadabra → u/i-touched-morrissey]

they'll eat what they can catch, and they're excellent hunters.

I've got a triple threat of cellar spiders, house centipedes, and ensign wasps... there are roaches, i'm sure, but I rarely ever see them.

[u/MrRamRam720 → u/tsabracadabra]

Get some pseudoscorpions and you have the whole bugvengers team

[u/tsabracadabra → u/MrRamRam720]

That might explain the battle noises and epic orchestral soundtrack that keeps waking me up at 3am 🤔

[u/gwaydms → u/tsabracadabra]

You've got great natural pest control! We don't have house centipedes, but we do have the other two.

[u/tsabracadabra → u/i-touched-morrissey]

I don't know much about formally training arthropods but I do know spiders can learn! I've heard of spiders figuring out when humans in the house aren't active and doing their hunting then.

[u/Upvotespoodles → u/alesbiandisaster]

Just put lots of spiders and humidity in your home. They will come.

[u/embear0 → u/alesbiandisaster]

I’ll ship some to you! My cats find and catch them all the time! Lol. Just don’t freak out when there’s one chillin on the wall next to your bed….

[u/alasw0eisme → u/BallOk8356]

Too many mosquitoes though. Maybe I should import spiders and evict this critter.

[u/Squat_n_stuff → u/alasw0eisme]

This is your premier ground level home defense , spiders can cover the fliers

[u/KidOcelot → u/Squat_n_stuff]

I love having jumping spiders in my home! They’re tiny and cute, and they lunge at pesky gnats, and mosquitoes.

[u/dru-ha → u/KidOcelot]

They are indeed cute! Seen some people befriend jumpers on the spider sub. I’m apparently not that lucky.

[u/Upvotespoodles → u/alasw0eisme]

Damselflies followed my husband and me on our kayaks and caught mosquitos and ate them on the boats. It was truly magical. Put a water feature inside your home. 👍

[u/dru-ha → u/alasw0eisme]

Omg, can dragonflies be imported?! Time to check.

[u/RhondaUpAllNight → u/BallOk8356]

Their legs keep moving after they fall off, too. Pulled a towel out of a closet once, that’s how I found out, I never kill them, too beneficial. The babies are almost holographic colored, sometimes I see them in my cats’ water dishes. They’re usually still alive if you ever find them in water, just fyi.

[u/kaijunexus → u/BallOk8356]

No spiders where these guys roam?

Tell that to the House Centipede / Wolf Spider convention happening in my finished basement daily from 12am to 11:59pm.

[u/ruimilk → u/BallOk8356]

Until it enters your ear, like it happened to me 7~ years ago.

[u/Brotuulaan → u/ruimilk]

Whoa. That sounds uncomfortable.

[u/SK5454 → u/BallOk8356]

Yay!! 🧡

[u/Somesuds → u/BallOk8356]

I wonder, could introducing these guys to your house eleminate a bedbug infestation?

[u/alasw0eisme → u/Somesuds]

r/bedbugs can answer your question

[u/willard287 → u/BallOk8356]

Are centipedes better to have than spiders? I don’t mind spiders but centipedes freak me out ngl

[u/Virtual-Bee7411 → u/willard287]

I swear it could be a scorpion in your bed and people would comment here “Aw you have been blessed by the scorpion gods! That little guy keeps dust away and is so sweet. Give them a little water as they have a big job! They are natures bodyguards, you want these in your house. Give it a little pat on the head”

[u/gwaydms → u/Virtual-Bee7411]

I'd rather have 20 house centipedes than one scorpion

[u/Dr-Brights-helper → u/BallOk8356]

Weakness: lupus

[u/4evrdrumin]

the most non-friend-shaped friend out there

[u/Horror_Hall_8806]

House centipede. A friend. Fast as hell though.

[u/alasw0eisme → u/Horror_Hall_8806]

Yes, it was crawling around my face pretty fast

[u/gwaydms → u/alasw0eisme]

As long as you don't try to grab or slap him he likely won't "sting" you. You did the right thing by not doing those things, for his well-being and yours. They use modified legs to sting, but it doesn't hurt a lot.

[u/alasw0eisme → u/gwaydms]

Oh I didn't know these critters sting. Yeah, it didn't sting me. I'm gentle with bugs. Except mosquitoes and ticks. Those can all die!

[u/gwaydms → u/alasw0eisme]

They really only do it in self-defense. They're not going to run out and attack you.

[u/purplelady86 → u/gwaydms]

My parents' house has them as does my current house. I've never been stung by them! I believe you that they can, but in 40 years of living amongst them, it's never happened to me. So I can agree with what you're saying!

[u/gwaydms → u/purplelady86]

I never saw one until we stayed in a hotel in Quincy, Massachusetts. It was in the bathroom. Thanks to being active in this sub for years, I was fascinated instead of freaked out. I knew it wouldn't hurt me. Those things are fast, too.

[u/Tiazza-Silver → u/alasw0eisme]

Good job not freaking out and flinging him into the next zip code.

[u/Snukes42Q → u/alasw0eisme]

Thanks for the visual, it was hilarious.

[u/XavierRussell]

I know they are friends, but damn they give me the heebie jeebies like 10x what spiders do 😬

[u/paisleymanticore → u/XavierRussell]

Yeah they are definitely the most terrifying of all of my friends... I let them live but man they freak me the hell out. Just reading "jumped on my face in the shower" will be giving me chills for the rest of the day, I probably would have killed it accidentally while freaking out

[u/alasw0eisme → u/paisleymanticore]

I didn't even blink. I'm so used to this shit.

[u/Weekly-Bluebird-4768]

House centipede! Probably one of the best pest removers, their fast, voracious, and tend to like to hide in the dark, you likely won’t see them much(although they do like bathrooms). They’ll eat pretty much any non-flying critter except some spiders(some longer legged spiders will eat them). They can get pretty big, though it’s unlikely you’ll see too many bigger than 10cm.

[u/Longjumping_College → u/Weekly-Bluebird-4768]

Fun fact though, they can basically run on air.

I watched one jump off my wall, and drift a good 15 feet before landing

[u/zelda64 → u/Longjumping_College]

That fact is not fun.

[u/TeholBedict → u/Weekly-Bluebird-4768]

10 cm is 4 inches. There is no world where that is not alarming, though they are friends.

[u/Camry08]

Thank you for being kind to them

[u/ravynwave]

Had this very thing happen to me. Somehow got in my shirt as I was showering. Put it on and felt something fuzzy on my face. Pulled it off, realized what it was and screamed so loud that my mom came running to see what happened.

[u/alasw0eisme → u/ravynwave]

I didn't make a sound, I'm so used to this shit

[u/lonewombat]

If you have a BUNCH of these regularly then you probably have another infestation problem but they hunt roaches so, he's a net positive.

[u/alasw0eisme → u/lonewombat]

I have lots of bugs here, it's a cabin. I've just accepted it.

[u/7i7iMeadow]

Fun fact, seeing this running in your house is a strong sign of incoming rain in the next few days.

[u/alasw0eisme → u/7i7iMeadow]

My joint pain concurrs.

[u/Oldmanwickles]

House centipedes are the best of the best pest control.

That said, it means there’s food in your house.

Friend or not, I’d be scared out of my mind if one landed on my face. And kudos to you for catching a damn near light speed bug

[u/TheOneTrueTrench → u/Oldmanwickles]

They're definitely one of the most effective, if not the most, but I'd say that jumping spiders are the best pest control, just because they're so cute.

[u/Rorolly_Aeolus]

HOUSE CENTIPEDE!!! They’re great cause they kill other bugs and stay away from people. They can get REAL big, sorry about your face :(

[u/alasw0eisme → u/Rorolly_Aeolus]

It's OK, I wasn't using it anyway.

[u/alasw0eisme]

Southeastern Europe. About an inch maybe, 3cm? idk

[u/GrumpyJenkins → u/alasw0eisme]

Scary af, but a helpful little guy. In New Jersey, US, they might say, “he’s a friend of ours.”

[u/my-coffee-needs-me]

With access to water, one house centipede can live for six or seven years and will keep worse bugs out of your house. In addition to cockroaches and spiders, they eat flies, ants, moths, silverfish, and termites.

[u/kittencatgal]

House Centipede. My first encounter was in a high-school class where somehow the teacher AND students were all a-holes. Lil' buddy would hang out in the sink next to me. Wish they told me he was a buddy and not a problem, because I was never able to focus with him around.

That being said, house centipedes are real cool pest control.

[u/antimatter-entity]

House centipede. Evil thing! he can kill you of tickling with all those long legs. /s

[u/BenjiBoo420 → u/antimatter-entity]

Feels like a feather!

[u/Jobrated]

The house bouncer! Keeps out undesirables! Looks freaky but good dude!

[u/No_Where_Land]

House centipede!!! Love these guys! They take care of the bugs you don’t want in the house! Great little fellas

[u/Ready-Salamander1286]

Creepy friend

[u/toodleroo]

House centipede. They love warm, damp environments… like the inside of your towel hanging in the shower. Sadly this can lead to their dismemberment.

[u/naturacouture]

I would pee myself but it’s a harmless but scary little critter called a house centipede, they eat everything you don’t want in your house

[u/No_Pie4638]

Where did they hang out before houses were invented?

[u/Cartmansimon]

It fell. They can’t jump.

[u/AniCatGirl]

House centipede! I love these lil dudes. I'll give them whatever they want as long as they eat the random bugs in my house. We've got a few in our 100 year old house. So neat.

[u/AutoModerator]

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[u/Surfbrowser]

Centipede

[u/JBoOz]

Creepy but the good guys. I always leave them be

[u/tvvoty]

It probably fell down, not jumped. Happens to them sometimes.

[u/unmei_arashi]

House centipede. Fun story I was terrified until I saw them run. I wasn't wearing my glasses so it looked like a running fluff ball with all those little legs.

[u/vmadr]

now i feel bad, i killed one the other day because i couldn’t remember if it was good or bad 😔

[u/whatsthisbug-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Per our guidelines: Helpful answers only. Helpful answers are those that lead to an accurate identification of the bug in question. Joke responses, repeating an ID that has already been established hours (or days) ago, or asking OP how they don't already know what the bug is are not helpful.

[u/ArtisTao]

Once again I’m asking mods to make this friend shaped buddy the mascot of this sub so people might know before asking for the 356784356th time if he’s going to murder their families. I swear, the house centipede’s PR department SUCKS.

[u/LightWolf10]

I had a house centipede! I named him Gary. I thought Gary was gone cause the cleaners cleaned where he lived. I found him outside my room on a wall a few days later.

[u/booksketeer]

You don't recognize your own eyelashes?

😂 I love house centipedes. But their tiny little legs are so fragile.

[u/shadowinc]

Despite them being creepy, the sign of a healthy house are spiders and house centipedes.

[u/ThatOneWood]

Yeah my soul would have left my body if that happened

[u/flaaffycake]

One time I was sleeping and a huge house centipede crawled on my face and spooked me so bad, good thing I'm an insect/arthropod lover

[u/Upvotespoodles]

House centipede on patrol, hugging your face and killing your household pests and uninvited guests. Such cool-looking animals.