Hello Again. A question for Kihei residents: Is there anything of a centipede problem in Kihei? I ask because it would influence our decision of whether to rent an apartment/condo on the ground floor vs. an upper floor. (We are anticipating a year's lease.) Many thanks for any help you can give!

Sorry, but not only there are centipedes all over the island, they show up on the ceiling, and even in upstairs units. They are pure evil and for some reason tend to materialize out of thin air in my bathroom linen closet. How do they get there? Why are they there? These are two of the great mysteries of the universe.

Get yourself some boric acid, always look inside tennies before inserting your foot and let your husband sort the laundry, stick his hand into cardboard boxes and clean in dark corners.

Ahhhh Paradise!!!!!!!!!!!!

Add a third mystery - how does one suddenly materialize on your steering wheel when you're driving 70 MPH on
H-1?

Very distressing! But thank you for the info.

How many feet does a centipede have?

They travel in pairs too! Look for the mate.

Do centipedes bite and how big are these suckers ?

I hear they have more centipedes on Kauai.
Just another reason to stay from that totally overrated place!
-Bill

Message:

Do centipedes bite and how big are these suckers ?


YES! They bite and it hurts! Been bitten on the arm and the hand and both times the area bitten swelled up and was sore for a good 24 hours. The last one I saw which was in the garage last week was an easy 6 inches long and about the width of my baby finger.
Suckers are fast too. Some Hawaiians believe that if you find centipedes in your house, it means that someone is jealous of you!
But for Julian M, it's not so much that there is a 'centipede problem' per se. It's just that centipedes exist here...as do scorpions. I've had scorpions in the house but have been told they are more abundant in Kihei. Lucky you live Hawaii! LOL

We saw a few on Front Street in Lahaina! ::eek::

Grew up in the country on Kauai and needless to say, came across quite a few.

In Honolulu though, I've only seen one (in 30 years of living here).

I wouldn't be overly concerned. It's not like we have a plague here.

thanks for the perspective, travelinandgolfin! I'll be in Kihei in two weeks and I was getting a little freaked out! I've been two Hawaii several times, but never to Maui. I've never seen a centipede or a scorpion and I hope I never do!

While there may not be a centpede "problem" in Kihei, there is, however, a centipede problem in my linen closet. Someone must be very jealous of me! lol

But, hey, no snakes! That's got be worth something.

pdx, just enjoy your time on Maui. In no time at all, you'll be laughing at your concern over the critter.

Maui, here's my story with the ONE centipede I've seen in Honolulu. Was about 25 years ago when I was going to UH. It was crawling along our walk way. Thinking it stung from it's hind quarters, I carefully stepped on that portion (with slippers) to keep it from running away. Imagine my surprise when it turned around and bit me!! There I was shaking my foot with this centipede hanging on!! My roommates were cracking up!

so... when i come across one of these fine creatures (we'll be in Kihei next month), what should my reaction be? stomp on it? spray it? and if so, with what?
thanks!
d

Gypsy, I'd stomp on it wearing a shoe.

I wouldn't spray it. It won't die right away and will crawl off somewhere. Then you'll need to find it.

And if it is too big to step on, chop it in half. But, a half a centipede can move just as fast a whole one, so you need to then chop each half in half. But that still won't kill it. After you chop it into four sections, set it on fire, sprinkle them with boric acid and then drown it--that seems to work. The Chinese consider the centipede one of the five evils of the natural world.

Seriously though, I have found shrieking for my husband to the best way to deal with a centipede. Once you have his attention, be sure to follow up with a lot of "Don't squish that thing on my wall/carpet/lanai!"

But, there are still no snakes here!

gone2maui -
that's too funny! now we know why Hawaii no longer has human sacrifice ceremonies - they have centipede ceremonies! fire, water, knives and acid... sounds like my kind of fun.

really, thanks for the info on how to 'handle' these critters! as for 'no snakes', we deal with rattlesnakes occassionally, so some little worm is no bother (hee, hee).
d

Surely, I can Google this, but if you're still there, "What are the other 4 evils?" is my question...