Unfortunately, this morning I found one alive "crawling" on the floor. There is really nothing grosser than 'pedes. Giant centipedes live in Jamaica, the island of Trinidad, in South America, Australia. How many legs does a centipede have? One such example is the Scolopendra gigantea, a venomous, red-maroon centipede with forty-six yellow-tinted legs. Are there dangerous spiders in Jamaica? Search. Centipedes can have as few as 15 pairs of legs or as many as 177. The funny rule is that the centipedes always have an odd number of pairs of legs (they have 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 or 15 pairs of legs). Not only is the smell enough to keep them away from your home, but coming into contact with the oil burns them. It was dark and I did not know what bit me but the locals told me it was a centipede by the two bitee marks, which are 1/2 inch wide so im not sure how big this makes my bug, but it freaking hurt for a day. Posts about how to catch a centipede written by jamaicawtr. Strangely enough, I worked an outdoor job for three summers that often involved digging, and we'd encounter small, reddish ones on a regular basis. Centipedes always have an odd number of legs. Range Forests of Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Trinidad, Venezuela, Columbia, equatorial Brazil, and northern Chile. Centipedes can range in size from under 1 inch to 7 inches long. Anyone traveling near shoreline or riverways will want to keep their eyes peeled for those hulking American crocs! Especially the kind with the big cricket legs in the bag. All in all, the Puerto Rican Giant Centipede is a unique and uncommon centipede species that should be cared for with respect and consideration. They will retreat immediately! The main thing in centipedes is an exoskeleton, consisting of chitin, natural polymer, the most common biopolymer on the planet (a human needs chitin for shaping … The tropical climate of South America’s Amazon jungle has an unnaturally large number of such pockets, and consequently that region is home to unnaturally large specimens. Main menu. It moved like a centipede, not sure if it had legs or not, but it didn't appear to move like a worm. It drew blood and looked like fang marks. Centipedes of the United States, especially the larger ones such as the giant desert centipede (Scolopendra heros) and the banded desert centipede (Scolopendra polymorpha), can inflict an intensely painful, though rarely (if ever) fatal, bite, or more accurately, a pinch. Yes, dangerous spiders exist in Jamaica. I just got bit by one of these centipedes in Jamaica two days ago(dec 28th) in the grass. To apply, I use a dropper and apply peppermint essential oil directly to cracks in the floorboard, underneath the radiator and around windows. The world has many moist, warm, and dark cavities where phobia-inspiring organisms quietly lurk. If you’re hitting the trials and reggae-bopping towns of the Blue Mountains, be very wary of the forty leg centipedes and brown recluse spiders. Your Daily Dose of Paradise with Jamaica Michaels–A Maui Blog Sharing what it's really like to live on Maui, for those who love to visit and those who dream of living here. Spiders and centipedes HATE the smell of peppermint! Skip to primary content. When killed, it excreted a bright yellow substance. Although the Latin prefix centi-means “a hundred”, the species spread in the USA have 30-354 legs. ... My family is currently in Jamaica during August. Traveling near shoreline or riverways will want to keep their eyes peeled for those American. 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