Help with identifying crawlie

[hyphenate]

Creature on my bed tonight. I'm deathly afraid of crawlies, so having something unknown on my ned, crawling toward me, was terrifying.

It killed easily enough with one form of Raid, so I known it's nothing I can't get rid of. (Unlike the stink bug I had about 5 years ago, on which I used almost half a can of insecticide.)

Wiki thought it was a centipede. I've had centipedes, very aggressive ones, in the bathroom, and they were darker. This was only about an inch in length, and grey.

I am still feeling rather edgy--some people laugh when I tell them I've got a major fear of anything that crawls, but as we all know, most fears are irrational, and that's okay with me.

I'll continue to look around, but thought someone here might be far more knowledgeable about these things, and could enlighten me, rather than be amused at my distress. ;)

[betharina]

1. silverfish?

[HopeHoops]

4. Those can carry far more bacteria than cockroaches. Nasty fuckers, but pretty.

I've seen some silverfish that were absolutely huge and mysteriously graceful. But they're still filthy little fuckers.

[Kali]

12. I have never heard that claim.

Silverfish and firebrats eat starch like books and paper or lint in the laundry room, they don't really inhabit places where garbage or bacteria that would make one sick is found.

They are kind of interesting - very ancient, primitive creatures. I always think of them as animated moth dust, because when you smash one there is almost no moisture, just a smear of fine scales that look like dust.

[HopeHoops]

31. "animated moth dust"

:rofl: My wife will LOVE that term. It fits perfectly!

[idiotgardener]

2. I realize fears can be irrational

and roaches give me that same feeling... but you sprayed Raid on your bed?

That will do a lot more to you than that crawlie would have. Just scoop them into something and put them outside.

[Kali]

9. or smash it with a shoe

[idiotgardener]

14. Right.

Killing is the answer to every problem.

[Kali]

16. no, but if the option is half a can of poison on your bed vs a shoe

I'd use that.

Killing is certainly a good option for pests in the house - trying to capture and release some things can get you injured:

[hyphenate]

18. Strangely, I can look at scorpions

because I've never met one, and I don't think of them as "bugs." :shrug:

[idiotgardener]

22. I see more than 2 options

And as far as we know this wasn't something potentially deadly.

[Kali]

27. if a person is irrationally afraid of insects

they don't need to be guilted about killing an insect pest in their house, especially one on their bed

in fact nobody should feel the least bit of guilt about ridding their living space of pests

if you want to catch and release that is fine but most of the time it results in the same outcome so you are really just feeling superior while fooling yourself

[hyphenate]

25. The half can of spray didn't get used this time

just two sprays. When I used the half can, it was not on the bed, and it was for a stink bug (also in this case known as a shield bug) that refused to die. An exterminator told me the stink bug is very hard to kill. This is what took half a can to kill:

[hyphenate]

17. Damned right when it's my sanity at stake

The fact is, I'm totally and completely terrified at bugs. I even hate when a fly lands on me, or a carpenter ant is on me. If I don't sqeamish out, I would be paralyzed with fear.

Again, it's NOT RATIONAL. But it's a real phobia, and I have to deal with it.

[Lionel Mandrake]

3. Here's a great big crawlie.

But this one is not too scary.

[raccoon]

5. Isn't that sweet? nt

[hyphenate]

6. I fought back revulsion

and counted the corpse's legs, and came to 10 legs. All insects. I believe, have 6, and arachnids have 8. At 10, it most likely was a centipede, though one a lot smaller than the ones I've seen previously.

If it could be anything else, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please, though, I really do have a fear of bugs, so I would appreciate no teasing, because it really bothers me.

[yellowcanine]

8. Sounds like a centipede. Can you get a picture?

[hyphenate]

23. I tried to take a picture

but my fancy camera, with all the bells and whistles, and macro, couldn't get close enough to take it. Perhaps it's because it's in a large baggie, and I won't take it out of it. ;)

But I rechecked, and yes, it's got many legs, and it's kind of curled up, on its back in the bag, and it's got brownish antennae, and what actually looks like a stinger on its backside. I did think at first that it was a silverfish, as I have some books with bored holes in them, but I have also seen larder beetles, and their larval stage is as drawn to book glue as many other "bookworms" out there. In the larder beetle case, the beetles are disgusting, but the larval or grub stage makes me shudder.

It's not like I don't know the basics about bugs, because I do. But even knowledge isn't all power when it comes to emotional and irrational fears.

[surrealAmerican]

7. Was it a pill bug?

They are grey and have an unusual number of legs.
If so, they're actually pretty harmless creatures: not that I'd want them in my bed ...

You could always just tell your "ned" there's a bug on him, and let him handle it.

[hyphenate]

20. I'm familiar

with those guys. They curl up when they panic. No, this was not one of those.

[mikeytherat]

10. A House Centipede? Looks like this:

mikey_the_rat

[Taverner]

13. GAH!!!

that freaks ME out

[hifiguy]

15. Me too.

Those get whacked as hard as possible with the biggest thing I can find on short notice. I used to leave the spiders in the basement alone though. They eat far creepier bugs.

[hyphenate]

19. That's what I had in the bathroom

and man, they were huge, too. I have covered the tub drain so they can't come up through the plumbing anymore, but I used the power setting on the shower hose to get rid of the ones in the past. This guy was much smaller. I'm going to try a picture of it.

[Kali]

11. size? color? wings? how many?

of your 10 legs mentioned below, were any of them feelers or antennae? Some animals (especially arachnids) have really large mouthparts that look like legs as well.

as to centipedes there are many kinds. House centipedes are commonly found inside (duh) they look less like the long ones and more like a many-legged spider (google images for house centipede)

there are BRAZILIONS of kinds of arthropods, trying to figure out what you have without more details or a photo is pretty much impossible.

edit: read more carefully, Kali - they said grey and inch in the OP!:spank:

[GoCubsGo]

21. earwigs?

[hyphenate]

24. Mmmmmm, no

This was really easy to kill for the most part. And it didn't have the pinchers, just a single thing which to me looked like a stinger.

[Kali]

26. silverfish or firebrat?

Common Name: Silverfish, firebrat
Scientific Name: Lespisma sacchrina (Linnaeus)
Insect Order: Thysanura

Description: Silverfish are always wingless and are silvery to brown in color because their bodies are covered with fine scales. They are generally soft bodied. Adults are up to 3/4 inch long, flattened from top to bottom, elongated and oval in shape, have three long tail projections and two long antennae.

The firebrat, Thermobia domestica (Packard), is quite similar in habits but is generally darker in color. The firebrat prefers temperatures over 90 degrees F but has a similar high humidity requirement. It is common near heating pipes, fire places, ovens and other heat sources.

[hyphenate]

29. This thread has become repulsive!

It makes me a little more leery of it everytime I look! Intellectually, I know they're only digital photographs, but the connotations with it are a little overwhelming!

[Amerigo Vespucci]

28. I also fear having something unknown on my ned

Sorry...couldn't resist, and DUers do it to me all the time when I misspell a word. This is the first time I got to be the WISEACRE!

:-)

[Lionel Mandrake]

30. This one might scare you.

It's a Jerusalem cricket. It's not venomous. It can bite, but it won't bother you if you don't bother it.

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_cricket