What the tar is this?

Ok you southerners or any entomologist out there, this is for you...
What the heck is this thing?
Mr James caught it and put it in this bag. I made Carlos get out of bed once to kill one I found in the bathroom. What is it?

Comments

[Amy Storms]

I have no idea but YIKES. Come back to SoCal. :)

[natalie]

it's a house centipede...and they're gross :) they give me the shivers each time i see them...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_centipede

[Cynthia]

It's kind of hard to see, but it looks like it may be a house centipede.

Look here to see if that's what it is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_centipede

[jnt.]

first of all, it's disgusting. it's a house centipede. GROSS.
i had to look online for myself last year. they're fast as all get out! good LUCK!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_centipede

[clowe]

i'm not an entomologist, nor do i like bugs, but this one is a good one -- its a house centipede i think...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_centipede

[clowe]

excellent use of southern vernacular by the way "what the tar"...

[Lisa]

Thats a centipede. Welcome to the south.

Have you encountered the palmetto bug yet?

It is like a roach on steriods.

[Nikki]

Oh that is terrible! I have lived in the south my whole life I can not recall one that big (and I really don't think I could forget that!). On the good side - at least they eat roaches :) Nik

[amanda]

ugghhhh GOOD QUESTION! a few months ago, i was getting a glass out of the cabinet so i could get some water... and i found one of those. IN THE GLASS! ever since then, i can't use any of my glasses without giving them a quickie wash in the sink first.

[Lita aka Grandma]

I am so impress by your readers knowledge!!! They all knew what it is or was. Wow!!!

[Sara]

GROSS! I've lived in the south all my life, and I have NEVER seen one of those.

[Davis]

yeh. nasty. but thanks for sharing. :)

[Brandi]

Oh that is SO NOT OK

[Christa]

I see an exterminator in your future!!! That is just Nasty!!

[debbie d.]

honestly, I don't want a house full of them...but I find them amazingly interesting and proof positive that God had a dandy time creating animals and bugs and whatnot...

[juliepersinger]

Yuck. (shivers)

[~abi~]

eeeewwwwwww!

:)

ps i luv reading your blog!

[Micah Foster]

Nasty!

[Natalie]

Creepy and it looks like that tracking device bug from the Matrix. I would freak if I saw one of those.

[cathi]

sad that you have to choose between earthquakes and bugs "on steroids" like Lisa said above...sad.

I also had to take a second look at the second picture...I deduced that it was Carlos' arm and not yours, and felt much better after that deduction. Brilliant, I know.

[beccity98]

They don't just live in the South. I found an even bigger one in my house in Los Angeles. I, too, had to look it up on the internet, and I posted a blog about it.

Really gross, but I think they eat the other bugs in the house.

[Kelly @ Love Well]

I've lived in The North or SoCal my whole life.

Thus, I think that bug is one of the aliens from "Men in Black."

[Gretchen]

Umm, if those things eat other bugs, (like roaches, etc) that are already in the house, well, it looks like this guy has had a lot of nutrition....just sayin'...

[jen]

the words "house" and "centipede" do not belong in the same bug definition. the sickest bug I had in my house in GA was what I called a jumping shrimp....or camel crickets. Hate em.

[amyh]

UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of my students found one of these in my classroom the other day and UGH!!!!!!!! It's a house centipede, for sure, but until last week I didn't know. And they live all over the country because we're in CT. Yuck-o.

[Dana]

ew...that's SO gross! I hate bugs...

[erin]

yuck i was born and raised here and that is a 1st for me. however i am very familiar with palmetto bugs. if you come across a mystery again you can try this website (if your peeps dont know of course) http://www.whatsthatbug.com/

[tam]

lurker droppin in....

I never saw one that big either when I lived in the south.

wow.

that is one creepy fella!

[Cari]

Man, it looks HUGE in the picture. I really hope it wasn't that big in real life.

[Renee Garcia]

I'll never forget the first time I saw one of those things about a month after we moved here. YUCK!!!!! I never knew what it was so I'm glad you asked! :)

[metromom]

I miss the no crazy bug thing of so cal too!!!
When we lived in OK, the locust freaked me out, but now in the desert I've been bit by a scorpion TWICE!!!!!

Creepy.
I'm going back to Cali- maybe that's why its $600 a square foot to live!!!

[Trisha]

I get them in my basement laundry room during the Summer months. We call them Silverfish here. That is a giant one! They are attracted to moisture mostly and will hang out in your linen closet too. All that being said, I am no bug expert but that's what it looks like to me.

[Kickboxing Mama]

That is FREAKIN NASTY is what that is....

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK!!!!

I would seriously have a heart attack if I found that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Carrie]

I have never heard of a house centipede!! What? Why am I looking at this late at night before I go to bed?

[Molly]

Yup, we call them silver fish here too. they give me the creeps. They occassionally get stuck in the bathtub downstairs...no one has showered in that bathroom for months because they are scared one will walk up the drain...now I have the bug itch jitters!

[Kerry]

Wow, and according to that Wikipedia link, they lay an average of 63 eggs each spring...I wonder where his buddies are?!?

[Nancy]

It's a centipede for sure--welcome to the South! I got stung by one in my bathroom when I was a teenager (back in the 80's when ballet shoes were popular the last time around) by 3rd period my foot had swollen so big they called my parents to come and take me home. Nasty little things!!!! Don't get stung...it REALLY hurts--worse than a bee or wasp ever could!!!!

[Charlotte and Larry]

Welcome to our world here in the south.
My kids love all of the creepy crawly things we find. I on the other hand have lived here all my life and still HATE them all. I take out a lot of aggression on things such as those.
Sorry, I don't know names except "drive me crazy bugs"!!

[Sue]

yikes!!!!! I had one in Riverside like 15 years ago...and it was the only time I stood on a chair and declared "NO ONE is going to rest til that thing is caught!" I could not stomach that as Keith chased it down to capture it in a jar, that it was fast! and twisted and turned like a worm...ewwwwww! It was 6 inches long...the entomologist at UCR were not as impressed....

[Paloma]

that thing would make me float mid air for a few seconds i think...because the jumping and flailing would keep me up there!

I've always wanted to visit the South...it seems so charming. But then I read that comment that said something about a "jumping shrimp" aka "camel cricket"...and, maybe I'm alright here in San Diego...

ew. good luck!

[Crystal Renaud]

i'm reconsidering staying at your house... i kid, i kid - but ewwwww!!!!!!!

[Arelis]

They are scary looking but apparently harmless. I've seen quite a few up here in Kentucky. One day I walked in the bathroom at work and found one inside the toilet!!Scary!

[Pat Callahan]

I HATE BUGS!!!!! That is disgusting, no matter what it is. I am staying in California.

[Valerie]

We call them thousand leggers. They are gross and will make me scream. They like moisture, so wet towels are a haven. If you spray it with Raid it's legs will keep running, right of of its body. I've also found that aquanet has the same effect. Nasty and satisfying to watch all at the same time. Hope you don't have to look at any more.

[Rachel]

Oh my gosh!! I just had a mild heart attack looking at that....gahhh. Usually I'm one that's okay with squishing a bug, but THAT would send me screaming into the night. That nasty thing could have a role in Star Wars or something...man that gives me the heeby-jeebies.

[John Voelz]

Everyone is wrong. It is a demon.

[Amy I]

ewww and we don't have those in florida thank goodness!! At least none that I've seen.

[bnpositive]

You've got some good bugs there!