These pests like damp conditions and can be a nuisance to your family.
Centipede: Class Chilopoda
Appearance: Flattened, with one pair of legs on most of their segments; segments number from 10 to 100; one to 1 - 1/2 inches long; various colors.
Habits: Usually live outdoors beneath damp accumulations of leaves, stones, boards, etc; occasionally find their way into homes, where they hide in moist basements, damp closets and bathrooms; when disturbed, they run swiftly.
Diet: Insects and spiders.
Life Span: Some species live as long as five to six years.
Other Information: Large jaws can bite humans, but the bite is seldom worse than a bee sting.
Silverfish: Order Thysanura
Appearance: About 1/4 inch - 1/2 inch long, somewhat "carrot-shaped" from above; gray or silver -colored; three filaments extend from rear.
Habits: Nocturnal; move swiftly, can jump; found where there is excessive humidity; are attracted to books, wallpaper and other paper products that have a high starch content.
Diet: Prefer starch, paste, glue; paper products of all kinds; starched textiles.
Reproduction: Two to three month reproductive cycle; lay about 50 eggs per batch; live two to 2 - 1/2 years.
Other Information: Thought to belong to one of the most primitive existing insect orders, more than 400 million years old.
Millipede: Class Diplopoda
Appearance: Brownish, one to 1 - 1/2 inches long; segmented, with a pair of legs per segment.
Habits: Nocturnal; normally live outdoors under objects located on damp soil; hordes will crawl into homes.
Diet: Damp and decaying wood and plant matter.
Reproduction: Eggs are deposited in the soil; most species reach sexual maturity in the second year, and live several years after that.
Other Information: There are occasions when thousands of millipedes will populate an area, sometimes carpeting the ground with their bodies.
Earwig: Order Dermaptera
Appearance: 5/8 inch long, dark reddish-brown, with yellow-brown legs; large forceps (cerci) on the end of the abdomen, which pose no threat to humans.
Habits: Found all over homes, particularly in cracks and crevices near or on the ground; active primarily at night.
Diet: Scavengers; will eat just about anything.
Reproduction: Up to 60 eggs are laid in burrows in the ground and guarded by the female; hatch in the spring.
Other Information: Many species have a gland which secretes a foul-smelling, yellowish-brown liquid when threatened.
Booklice: Family Psocidae
Appearance: Colorless to gray or light brown, ranging from 1/25 to 1/12 inch long.
Habits: Prefer to live in damp, warm areas; can be found outdoors in grass or leaves, and in areas where molds grow.
Diet: Microscopic molds and starchy materials such as paste and glues of book bindings and wallpaper.
Reproduction: Single female produces between 120 to 456 offspring; lifetime averages 24 to 110 days.
Other Information: Over 100 species in the U.S., with only a few species found indoors; may become abundant and cause damage to books.