Centipedes make Serangoon residents' skin crawl
A number of residents living in Block 517, Serangoon North Avenue 4, have reported centipedes appearing in their homes in recent weeks.
Ms Linda Lim, who lives on the 10th storey with her husband and two children aged five and nine, said she was bitten by one in her bedroom on Oct 3.
Centipedes bite with a pair of pincer-like hollow legs located at the front of their bodies.
The 43-year-old housewife felt a painful bite on her right hand, which was beneath her pillow. She turned over the pillow and saw something black scurry to the ground. Upon catching it, she realised it was a 2.5cm-long centipede.
Ms Lim had first spotted centipedes in her home in August last year, although they were smaller than the one she saw on Oct 3.
A check with residents in the 12-storey block last week found that they have seen centipedes in their flats sporadically.
IT manager Steven Long first saw centipedes in his home when his family moved into the unit in 2013. In the past month, they have seen about three centipedes in their two toilets every week.
"The worry of getting bitten is always there," said the 45-year-old, who lives in the fourth-storey flat with his wife and two sons aged six and eight.
An Ang Mo Kio Town Council spokesman said the council has received feedback about centipedes in Block 517 in 2015 and this year. A bin chute and sewer stack were identified as the source of the centipede infestation.
Pesticides were sprayed on the manholes in the first-storey common area, the block's main pipes and gully traps of the nine affected units early last week.
Town council staff are visiting the affected units this week and will continue routine bi-annual chemical treatment of the sewer lines and pipes from the roof.
Pest control firms said it is uncommon for centipedes, found in gardens, to appear in high-rise apartment blocks.
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