Update on Exorcising My Apartment (Or at Least Shower) of Demons
I discovered a little bit more about the taxonomy of my nemesis. It turns out the dastard is a house centipede Scutigera coleoptrata. This is a "common" household pest in the southern United States. Apparently it is nicknamed "swifty" for its frightening running abilities. It can bite, and although the bite is venomous, it is not poisonous and causes irritation like a bee sting. Some people are allergic and can have more serious reactions. On the plus side, the hell beast eats other bugs, does not get into food and does not do structural damage to the house. On the downside, it breeds like a rabbit on speed, increasing its brood six-fold per year. As each live between three to seven years, this means that given a base of twenty-four centipedes, assuming each lives the minimum of three years, in three years there will be 864 of these things terrorizing the Earth... I mean my house. In case you are still wondering why I am unwilling to share my house with these spawn of Mephistopheles, I urge you to take a look at this picture:
I doubt very strongly that anyone wants nigh on to 1,000 of these anywhere near them, certainly not in a two-bedroom English basement.
Apparently the Japanese keep these as pets and call them gejigeji. I try to keep an open mind about other cultures but I feel that the author of this post: http://living.in-japan.jp/2007/04/tale_of_gejigeji.html approximately summed up what the appropriate reaction of any rational person to this monster is. In fact, I can now imagine Godzilla fighting a massive gejigeji (maybe one two or three times its normal size, after that it is too frightening to think about). Perhaps this obsession with the house centipede is unhealthy, or perhaps it is a door to a new calling. I can see a new career in this "Aaron Blaschke Rowden: Gejigeji Slayer". Not if I could just stop shuddering when I see these things.
P.S. I wanted to thank some readers:
My Roomate (uncleamos), who has been good enough not to ask too many questions about my use of our apartment in pursuit of blogging topics. Way to establish plausible deniability!
Embersofsummer for a favorable comparison to Stephen Fry, general supportiveness and pushing me to make my blog more photographic.
Theropod for sending me a reply to a post that, upon receiving it this morning caused me to jump-start my day as I was suddenly face to face with another very nasty bug that gave me a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart. I appreciate the enthusiasm and I will make sure to have my coffee before reading comments from now on.
I doubt very strongly that anyone wants nigh on to 1,000 of these anywhere near them, certainly not in a two-bedroom English basement.
Apparently the Japanese keep these as pets and call them gejigeji. I try to keep an open mind about other cultures but I feel that the author of this post: http://living.in-japan.jp/2007/04/tale_of_gejigeji.html approximately summed up what the appropriate reaction of any rational person to this monster is. In fact, I can now imagine Godzilla fighting a massive gejigeji (maybe one two or three times its normal size, after that it is too frightening to think about). Perhaps this obsession with the house centipede is unhealthy, or perhaps it is a door to a new calling. I can see a new career in this "Aaron Blaschke Rowden: Gejigeji Slayer". Not if I could just stop shuddering when I see these things.
P.S. I wanted to thank some readers:
My Roomate (uncleamos), who has been good enough not to ask too many questions about my use of our apartment in pursuit of blogging topics. Way to establish plausible deniability!
Embersofsummer for a favorable comparison to Stephen Fry, general supportiveness and pushing me to make my blog more photographic.
Theropod for sending me a reply to a post that, upon receiving it this morning caused me to jump-start my day as I was suddenly face to face with another very nasty bug that gave me a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart. I appreciate the enthusiasm and I will make sure to have my coffee before reading comments from now on.