Evening star., 1944-11-01
This and That
By Charles Z. TrdceDeH.
QUE STREET.

&oG1 OA INEE
Dear Sir:
Recently q most charming small
spider came to join our home for the
cold weather. have grown very fond
OF 1t. but my wife says 1t will do nothing
but draw centipedes.
She wants me to destroy it, but am
holding off until I hear from you. II
there Is any real reason for killing it.
/ will do SO, but 1t seems to be minding
its own business. and am getting real
entertainment out Of it. Even nv wife
likes 1t, but she is afraid of centipedes
and swears all this spider will do is act
as bait and draw them to the living
room
Since reading your recent article
about the thousand leggers. she has
become more afraid of them than ever.
and unless you come to the rescue of
the spider, I am afraid I will have to
make away with him
Sincerely yours, H. G."
1t is with regret that we answer that
spiders are centipede bait and will most
certainly attract them
The centipede itself, of course. is a
most interesting creature, If one is able
to stand it,
Many persons are not, and we feel
that there is very good reason for
this. The centipede comes about as
near as anything alive to resembling
those terrible before flood creatures
whose ''restorations" furnish lively
Nightmares to imaginative visitors to
museums
All one has to do is imagine a cent?
pede growing up to feet long to have
fine mental picture of monster right
out of the Pliocene Age.
1t is said that in homes where there
are few centipedes at large there will
never be any of the small insects such
as come to many homes, no matter how
efficient the housekeeping.
Even in the spotless home there will
be few small spiders, such as the latest
pet of our correspondent. These wise
insects come indoors at the first frost,
and undoubtedly aim to spend their
winter in the warmer climate.
Mostly they are small, in many in
stances white, living on thread dan
Cling from the lid of the radio or inside
the bridge lamp, or from corner of
the mantel. What they eat is a mys-
terry, but it is probably some smaller
form of life practically invisible.
1t is possible for nature loving per-
sons to work up quite an interest in
one of these spiders, and even go to
the extent of giving it pet name
There Is no doubt, however. that
centipedes will come cunning for it,
Often they catch them in their webs
in upper corners of a room Then en-
sues grim battle. with the odds heavily
on the side of the thousand logger"
In response to several questions, it may
be stated that the term Thousand
logger" is not scientific, but merely a
part OF the language based on the
well known habit of exaggeration.
Neither the centipede nor millipede has
thousand legs, or anywhere near that
number. Thousand logger" in popular
parlance, is applied to either centipede
or millipede.
Although the house centipede is strict
ly nocturnal animal, lights at night
will not keep it away from upper stories.
Leaving lights on in bedrooms is a
waste OF electricity, but soothing to
some temperaments.
Pale pink wallpaper is attractive to
them. Perhaps they have artistic
minds
Keeping the vacuum cleaner hitched
up IN room is good centipede pre-
ventfon. Then, at the first sign of one,
the long snakelike attachment can
be hoisted aloft, and the creature swept
into oblivion Oet us hope.
Although authorities swear there is
no control of them possible, our in
vestigations show that something may
be done with roach and ant poisons.
As these are highly poisonous, they
should be used very carefully, in the
basement only, and there only under
small boxes or dishes lifted on a small
piece OF wood. Centipedes like to crawl
under such covers. The action of these
poisons is to attenuate the centipedes
and reduce them to skeletons.