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They do seem a little scary with their wiggly bodies and many legs, but they can’t hurt you. Millipedes look a little like brown or gray worms with lots of tiny legs. They live in dark, wet places, like under an old log. They eat rotting leaves and wood and they’re not poisonous. Millipedes are shy and they don’t like light. 

• Millipedes sometimes come indoors when the weather gets cold. They can’t live in dry areas, though, and they usually die within a few days.

• Some millipedes have a sticky substance that can cause redness and itching.

Centipedes have fewer legs and they move more quickly. They eat bugs. Centipedes do have poisonous front claws, but their claws are too small to bite through human skin. Only the giant desert centipede is strong enough to bite a human. A bite from a giant centipede feels a little like a bee sting, but it won’t case any permanent damage.

• You might find centipedes stuck in the bathtub or in cupboards in the morning. They scurry away if you approach them.

• Centipedes and millipedes are related to insects, but they have more body parts.