Nose for News, By Sarah Stultz

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Tuesday.

I had my first centipede sighting  of the new year last week.

You know, those bugs a couple inches long with tons of spindly legs that move at the speed of lightning? I’m getting the heebie jeebies now just thinking about them.

I had rounded the corner from the hallway into our kitchen and was approaching the sink when I spotted it on the cabinet door below the sink. It was on the move.

I shouted out to my husband to come in from the other room and take care of it, but by the time he got in there, it had disappeared.

I was too afraid to open the cabinet door to keep an eye on it until he got in there, and our cabinet under the sink is filled with cleaning bottles and other supplies. I wasn’t about to take all of those bottles and items out to have it resurface again. So I have tried to pretend like it never existed.

The rest of the week, I slowly rounded the corner into the room, and took a quick scan of the kitchen to make sure it wasn’t out in the open again.

For a full 24 hours after the sighting, I stayed far away from the sink. That’s the last thing I’d want is to start washing the dishes and have it come crawling toward my hands.

To say those things scare me is an understatement.

The day after the sighting, I was scrolling through Facebook and as if it were reading my fear through my fingertips, I saw an article appear that talked about the benefits of centipedes. I was afraid to open up the article in case there was a picture of a giant centipede on it when it opened up.

I heard once that they’re supposedly a helpful bug to have around and that they help keep spiders under control. Even if that’s the case, I’d take a spider most any day over one of those.

With a house built pre-1900, the occasional bugs are something I’ve been forced to become accustomed to since we moved in there in 2011. One of my neighbors said he gets centipedes, too.

We spray the house for bugs every year, and needless to say, I think it’s time to spray the house again as we move into warmer weather — particularly during times when we get lots of rain.

I’ve always been under the impression that centipedes like moisture, so there seems to be more of them when it rains a lot.

My favorite time of year

On a lighter note, I’m getting antsy to get out in the garden. I was lucky enough to get some garden space at the Brookside community gardens this year, which I am super excited about. I’ve also considered them to be some of the best in town, and I’m hoping to get into the dirt in the next week or two. It all depends on what Mother Nature has in store for us.

I’m also getting a little antsy to get out and get my flowerbeds freshened up. It seems like every free day I have lately it has been raining. I’m hoping it will be a better weekend coming up for some of that stuff.

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” — Audrey Hepburn

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Tuesday.