So I am pretty thoroughly creeped out by spiders. Eight long spindly legs is at least four legs too many. But I have now seen worse, and I have conquered.
Hawaii boasts that it has no snakes. However, our particular brand of venomous horror comes in the form of the dreaded Centipede. I've heard of them plenty. I've even seen one, out in the wild (where he sort of looked like he belonged, ergo was not altogether unsettling). I've heard they occasionally come inside.
Well, I'm here to tell you - yes, yes they do.
Right here in Kihei. Right in my kitchen. Perilously close to my bare foot.
Luckily, my kama'aina senses were instantly on alert when I saw the 3" worm-like form writhing slowly across my floor. My first instinct was slug. Yuck. Inconvenient, slimy, high gross factor. But then, faster than you can say "but Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore", I realized "WHOA - CENTIPEDE!"
Instantly herded dogs out of kitchen (not an easy task, as I had just announced it was time for breakfast). Grabbed first available centipede-deterrent I could find. Turns out an old beat up rubber Local (flip flop) is not entirely up to the task, but will suffice in a pinch. It took 4-5 good hard (how hard can you hit with a half-dead flip flop?) smacks to subdue the beast. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't easy. But I was victorious.
The spoils of war (and a little eviscertated gut) are thus:
Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "Pinschers Up".
I'm not sure how to spell this, but... glliklleeschklachk.
An acrid, musty reek filled the air. It grew stonger, and thicker, until the smell seemed to coat their skin like oil.
ReplyDelete"Thats venom" Peter said.
"What kind, Peter?" Karen asked sharply.
Peter tried to summon from his memory the odors of different venoms. He didn't recognize it. "I don't know what ---"
A very large, heavy animal began rushing toward them, making crashing sounds.
"Lights!" Peter shouted.
Several headlamps came on, and the beams crisscrossed over a vast centipede, rippling toward them. It had a blood-red head studded with four eyes. Under its head, a pair of red fangs with black tips were held open around a complicated mouth. The centipede traveled on forty legs moving in waves, and its body was encased in segmented armor the color of mahogany. It was a Hawaiian giant centepede, a Sclolpendra, one of the largest centipedes on earth.
From Micro, A Novel by Michael Crichton(still dead) and Richard Preston
By the way - Nice job with the flip flop!!!!