you realize that centipedes are carnivores, right?

so, if you have a population of centipedes in your basement, that means they have a food source. if there's no food, they'll die off or otherwise leave. and, they won't eat food scraps or toothpaste or bits of hair - centipedes need to have a population of live insects to feed on.

this is even the reason that centipedes are considered "beneficial" - they eat other insects.

and, one of their favourite foods is roaches.

so, it is true that you should not kill the centipedes - but it is also true that if you see centipedes frequently, then that means you probably have roaches, too, because that's what they're eating.

the basement i'm in now is actually surprisingly bug free. i saw one of those....i can't even remember what they're called. i'd never seen one before. maple bugs. boxelder, that's right. i've seen one centipede. i've seen a couple of spiders. no roaches, no ants, no earwigs, no termites.

the previous basement had just about everything - spiders, ants, centipedes, oriental roaches, earwigs and i even think i saw a scorpion, at one point.

i'm not an entomologist, but i did take biology through high school (and both the 101/102 in university), and i'd even say i have an interest in it, as demonstrated by the posts here. and, i don't you think you need a specialized degree to identify a roach.

some people are just really dirty liars, that's all.