FOR RELEASE THE WEEK OF DEC. 30, 2001:
This insect crawled over our bookkeeper’s foot at work and scared the stuffing out of her. We are hoping it is not dangerous. Would you have any idea what it is? It’s around 1 to 1 1/2 inches long, it appears to have 28 or maybe 30 legs and it is very fast. Thanks for any assistance you can give us. Woods Whittaker, Rowley, Mass.
Bob Stoltz, University of Idaho Extension entomologist, needed just one quick look at your digital photo to identify the intruder as a house centipede. Unlike common centipedes, which really can have 100 pairs of legs, house centipedes have only 15 pairs (good counting job!). But your house centipede’s yellow-and-black striped body can lock, so it can easily outrun its flat, slithery common cousin.
“House centipedes are one of those things that look scary but aren’t,” says Stoltz. “They like to run around in the shadowy spots of floors and they really freak people out.”
Common centipedes can inflict painful bites, but Stoltz says your house centipede “probably couldn’t bite you if it tried.” It feeds on flies and small insects and—if you wanted to be really open-minded—you might consider it beneficial. If you can’t bring yourself to coexist with it, dispatch it with a shoe or rolled-up newspaper. Better yet, toss it out.
“There’s no reason to get upset and spray,” says Stoltz. “It most likely will dry out and die inside anyway.”
I only eat cranberries at Thanksgiving, although I do like them. Are they considered a healthy food?
They’re definitely a food to be grateful for, says Martha Raidl, University of Idaho Extension nutrition specialist. One cup of cranberries provides 13 milligrams of vitamin C and 4 grams of fiber.
Better still, cranberries are rich in antioxidants, which may prevent development of urinary tract infections, heart disease and certain cancers.
Because some people find cranberries too tart to eat or drink, Raidl suggests dried cranberries—stirred into yogurt, blended into the doughs of muffins or other baked goods, or simply nibbled by the handful.
Would it be okay to leave those little white Christmas lights on our outside trees for a few more months? We love the way they look on winter nights.
Leaving the little white lights on the trees should be fine, says Yvonne Carree Barkley, University of Idaho Extension forestry associate. “These types of lights don’t generate enough heat to kill foliage,” she says. “They’re also too small to accumulate a lot of snow and ice, which can adversely affect trees, especially if there’s wind. I say enjoy them!”
Our well has nitrate levels of 15 milligrams per liter. Can we still use the drinking water if we boil it first? We don’t have any infants in the house.
Boiling water doesn’t remove nitrates—it actually concentrates them. Because your nitrate levels are above the 10 milligram-per-liter regulatory limit, you may want to consider treating your water, says Kristin Keith, University of Idaho Extension water quality educator. Contact the National Sanitation Foundation (http://www.nsf.org) for a list of certified water-treatment systems that can remove nitrates.
It’s true that pregnant women and infants under 6 months are at highest risk of nitrate-related problems, but some adults with severe health problems are also susceptible to methemoglobinemia, says Keith. Often called “Blue Baby Syndrome,” methemoglobinemia is the inability to absorb oxygen in the blood system.
Some research suggests that long-term exposure to high nitrate levels may be associated with reproductive and developmental problems, as well as cancer, but Keith says there’s no conclusive evidence at this time that nitrates can cause these adverse health effects.
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