To go back to a previous post, I wonder if anyone knows where these foul creatures thrive best. As I mentioned, I have never seen one in Tai Peng in two years, and wonder if someone is keeping them away. I have noticed white powder sprinkled in the drains from time to time, but have never found out who puts it there or what it is.

Where are the centipede hotspots? Are they near the coast? Near water? Near drains? Are they immobilised by the cold weather? Any natural history folklore welcome.

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<img src="http://www.compunicate.com/Lamma/31/Centipede-1642.jpg" border=1>

Photo from yesterday morning, on my bathroom carpet, 2.5 inch body length w/o legs & feelers, almost 10 inches w/legs & feelers. This photo was taken after the little horror story below:

Early morning yesterday in my bathroom, still sleepy & drowsy, I took my shirt off a hook and started putting it on. I noticed something crawling on my naked skin under my left armpit, spotting it in the mirror. Spooked, I instantly brushed it off with my left hand. It ran off hiding under some stuff in the bathroom corner.

Closing the bathroom door to avoid it escaping, I grabbed the Raid (TM) bug spray. I sprayed under the stuff, carefully removing it, till the aggravated centipede came out running quickly towards me. I sprayed some more bug spray on it, but it didn't slow down much. So I used the edge of the spray can bottom as a weapon, decapitating it! Not sleepy at all anymore, I was wide awake at that point!

Several legs of the centipede continued twitching for at least half an hour. It's a specimen in a jar now, the first centipede ever in our flat in 2.5 years. It can be viewed and examined by the public on special request, for a modest fee of more effective bug spray...

Maybe in a few more days, or weeks, or months, Lamma-Por might enter the bathroom again...maybe...

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Gung, now the reloaded pedes are reloaded again! The fellowship of the pedes, perhaps?

At least your ordeal didn't happen when you're dead tired at 1:30am and about to go to bed! Nightmares guaranteed... <touch wood>

To ease your nightmares, I think this is the less harmful one, see

http://www.ngensis.com/myriapod.htm

I realise it is not pleasant having such beasties crawling around your person, but I gather that this species is not so dangerous as the thicker fatter variety.

In Tai Peng I see a lot of white powder around the drains and the houses. I have tried askeing people what it is, but my Cantonese is not good enough. I wonder if this is the Boric Acid mentioned earlier, and if someone can find out from Chinese friends. I have never seen a centipede around the houses and drains that are surrounded with this powder.

and does anybody know where you can buy this boric acid/white powder?

You have never seen one in Tai Peng? I see them quite often on the path to TP, particularly near the drain where the path goes uphill, and on top of the hill near the Refuse Collection Point and the "Five Chairs". Not to mention a few of them at my front verandah as well as inside my house last year (each of them cost me about 1/3 of a can of bug spray, by the way).

The local folks near my place say:
(1) the pedes thrives best at warm & humid conditions, e.g. in a valley like Yung Shue Long, which explains why there are less sighting at hill-top Tai Peng.
(2) they have no idea why this is, but the pedes seem to come out to the ground surface and be more active on hotter days.
(3) the white powder you mentioned, Zep, do apparently deter the pedes. I did ask my landlord last year what the powder is, he just said it keeps bugs away.

And one intriguing question from me: where do centipedes live? Assuming that they don't craw around to scare the bejesus out of other creatures 24/7 and that they must eventually rest...

I think the powder you refer to Gargoyle, is yellow and it’s sulfur powder, well that what the bloke in the hardware shop said. Never tried it as I thought it might be a bit dodgy with the nipper about.

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Yellow powder? should be sulphur? commonly used to keep snakes away in camping sites.

BTW, is the chance to spot a centipede inside the flat is higher if you're living in G/F?

Pak Kok is definitely the worst for these buggers. You regularly used to see the big orange and greeny-black ones (7 or 8 ins) there and they really are hell to kill.
Even when cut in half they wriggle around, and when set fire to (last resort idea at 2 am) they burn with a blue flame -- bloody lethal.
How to get rid of them? They don't like the smell of fire apparently -- Grandpa Chan advised smearing BBQ ash round the edge of the house twice a year -- messy but it was effective.

By the spoonful? If you'd tell that to a doctor nowadays they'd be surely horrified!

But this explains the sulphur-coloured hair of your Avatar... Did it turn your skin yellowish as well?

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Apparently so - the G/F flat is a lot closer to the ground... I guess.

It was certainly a case of "if you build it, it will come" - last night I stomped to death the 1st indoor centipede in my house for the year! Only a baby-pede about 1.5 inches long, but I wasn't taking any chances!

I hate the fuckers. must be the season as had 2 babies in my bathroom last night. needless to say they are no more but where's the rest of their family one asks ones self.........

This one about 23cm from tip to toe - trouble is they always come in pairs - one more to find!!

Ooo, you are all very brave. I do not like bugs or creepy crawlies. These centipedes are very ugly and remind me of snakes with legs on. Did you know centi means 100 so I think a centipede is supposed to have 100 legs. I think this is very strange because these bugs do not seem to have that many. Does anyone know if they shed some of their legs as they get older?

I managed to murder one of these insects from the bowels of Satan itself with "Toilet Duck" I squirted it all over and it went a funny shade of blue, curled up and died, It was the easiest way I have found to kill these foul creatures ( a lot easier than chasing it around with a hammer I can tell you ) I would have taken a photo but some lousy " Ninja pikey b'stard " burgled us and nicked the camera.

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there you have it. toilet duck, the answer to all lamma's problems. victor, do not pass go, do not collect $200

Here, here! Victor is a strange person who seems to have limited intelligence!

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If toilet duct works, then so what! Give it a chance, it worked on my Chalfonts!

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