I saw a private post circulate today on Facebook about how the person posting repeatedly killed this creature before finding out that she’s….actually kind of awesome.
I’m just as guilty. I lived in a basement the summer before my senior year in college and encountered one of these babies, approximately 6 inches in length. I kid you not. I saw it on the ceiling and, horrified, grabbed a can of Raid and started spraying. The poor fellow put up quite a fight, running down the entire length of the stairs, down the wall, and into the bathroom, where it finally slowed down and I watched its legs start to fall off. I actually did feel really bad, despite my terror. Since then, I never hesitate to squash these guys, disregarding my “kill only if necessary” bug policy in favor of alleviatingthe herbicides jellies.
Now I know better, and will let them live, and perhaps even name them! They might be around for 5 years or so!