Frogs, lizards, palmetto bugs and other critters are plentiful
and appear to be lying in wait for an invitation inside homes.
Simply opening an outside door that swings inside may bring in
some surprise visitors. This is traditionally the worst time of
the year as many critters have been forced out of their home by
frequent rains. Plus the multiplier effect kicks in as they have
been busy reproducing during the warm spring and summer months.
Based on phone calls to the office, millipedes and centipedes
seem to be topping the list as frequent visitors. Both are
nuisance pests and do not spread diseases that affect people.
Centipedes and millipedes are not insects, but are more closely
related to shrimp and crayfish. They are members of the
subphylum Myriapoda, which means many legs. Both have a head
with one pair of antennae with a long segmented body. Centipedes
are members of a group called chilopods and look like worms with
flattened bodies. They range in length from 1 to 6 inches, are
yellow to brown to re