Is it lawful to kill centipedes on the Sabbath?

It was Sabbath morning, the birds were singing, a few clouds hung lazily in the morning sky reflecting the gold of the morning sun. Breakfast was over, and I was sitting out on the veranda having quiet time with God until it was time for church. It was completely peaceful, and I felt blessed to be alive.

Suddenly my solitude was broken by screams coming from inside the girls dorm. “Miss Liz! Come quick! AHH!!!” Thinking that perhaps one of my girls had lost a limb, or worse, I jumped up and raced into the dorm and into the room. I saw a cluster of 5 girls screaming and pointing up to the rafters, “there’s a centipede up there, quick you have to kill it.”

In order to truly appreciate their fears, I must describe this jungle menace to you. A more accurate name for this insect would be giant centipedes. They are usually about 6-12 inches, can run very fast, and if you are unlucky enough to be bitten by one you will enjoy a nice black and blue mark for many days that aches unbearably (that part I have only heard first hand from other victims, I have not yet felt it for myself).

I looked above me, and sure enough, there was a reddish-brown centipede on one of the rafters about 12 feet above me. Since I have been deemed the girls “centipede killer” after killing the last one that was found in Audrea’s bead, the task falls upon me to devise a way to get it down or to kill it while still up in the ceiling. A broom is the weapon of choice, but I am quickly told that it was taken to the cafeteria, so I must use other means to procure the vile beast. After searching around the girls’ room, I settle on a small tennis racket, and decide that the only way to reach the insect would be to climb up into the rafters myself; no easy feat. Using the window, I am high enough to get a hold of a board that I can use to pull myself upward. Thankfully, on this side of the dorm, there are rafters that protrude down and offer an easy balance beam, if I can reach them. For part of the way I am forced to shimmy upside-down, much like a sloth, hanging on with my hands and legs thrown around the board until there is enough space for me to crawl to the top of the board. As I near the object of interest he suddenly begins to race away, further toward the peak of the roof, so I keep crawling. Finally I reach him, thankful that he didn’t go any farther since the rafters that I could climb on abruptly ended.

Quickly, before he could scurry further out of reach, I attempted to smash him, but only succeeded in knocking him to the ground where the girls were crowded around watching my valiant attempts at conquering the beast. Almost in unison a harsh scream erupted from all the vocal cords present (except mine) and they began to chase the centipede and stomp on it before it escaped. As I made my way back down from the rafters, which proved to be harder than getting up, the girls loudly voiced their disgust at our house guest.

I was also given the privilege of disposing of the body, after I took a picture. Pleased that my mission was accomplished, complete with a few pictures to chronicle the adventures of the morning, I headed back to my quiet time. I decided against informing my girls of the bats I saw in the rafters while I was climbing around up there, best let it remain a mystery so as to keep peace.