We really lucked out. This is only the second centipede sighting in our apartment, the first one being while R was off-island. Some friends see them regularly.
Prior to moving here R picked up Culture Shock: Hawaii and proceeded to be completely freaked out by the potential bug situation in our future living space. Centipedes in particular, she read, like to SNUGGLE IN BED. And while she was fine playing with a millipede at summer camp the centipedes in Hawaii sting and the bites are reportedly very painful.
We had been advised to kill a centipede by chopping it in half. Perhaps that's why the previous residents had left behind a knife with a long handle? After this incident an exterminator told us to cut off the centipede's head with scissors and flush it down the toilet, letting the rest of the body wander around until it dies. Creepy! The challenge is keeping the centipede from folding up at the head to try to reach you with its long pinchers. One friend has a patented four-step approach to centipede killing: 1) sweep it in the kitchen with a long broom, 2) immobilize it by blasting it with bug spray, 3) drop a dumbbell on it, 4) throw it away and bleach the floor.
This centipede visited us the same day KMLP was staying the night. As you'll hear in the video, much shrieking ensued on the part of both girls. Then KMLP refused to sleep on the air mattress, preferring to be a few inches higher off the floor on the sofa.
Oh, and if you're wondering, the number two reason for not wanting to move to Hawaii was the flying cockroaches.
We have seen about 3-4 of these in our house over in Ewa when we first moved in. I have since started using http://www.scotts.com/smg/catalog/productTemplate.jsp?proId=prod70030&itemId=cat50088&tabs=general every 2 months (you can get it for like $8 at home depot) and putting it around the base of the house, as well as keeping the grass right next to the foundation very short. This has really helped us keep them at bay (havn't seen one now for 6 months).
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