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This venom paralyzes smaller insects when they are captured, rendering them helpless as a potential meal. Some consider house centipedes beneficial organisms, as they actively prey upon various household pests. They hunt spiders, bed bugs, termites, cockroaches, silverfish, and other common arthropods. House centipedes feed on spiders, bed bugs, termites, cockroaches, silverfish, ants, and other household arthropods.
What Are House Centipedes?
Outdoor centipedes are a food source for larger animals, like birds, shrews and toads. Indoor pets might be curious and even eat a centipede, though here’s where centipedes might fight back and sting. If your pet has been stung by a centipede, consult a veterinarian to treat the sting; however, your pet should be fine. You might see one in a garden or hanging out under a pile of wet leaves.
How to Repel and Control Centipede Infestations
House centipedes are more interested in feasting on other, smaller insects than they are in engaging with humans. House centipedes are not only unsettling but can also reproduce quickly and turn into a challenging infestation. In this guide, I’ll help you identify these pests and discuss a range of natural and chemical solutions to defeat them. Lora Novak meticulously proofreads and edits all commercial content for Today’s Homeowner to guarantee that it contains the most up-to-date information. Lora brings over 12 years of writing, editing, and digital marketing expertise.
How to Identify Centipedes Centipede Facts
While creepy, centipedes pose little danger to people or a home. Depending on the size and species, some centipedes may hunt small animals like lizards, snakes, birds, and frogs. As generalist carnivores, they will attack any soft-bodied creature they feel capable of killing and eating. Centipedes can have a few dozen pairs of legs to a few hundred, which is how they got their name. In Latin, “centi” refers to 100, and “ped” or “pedis” mean feet.
Unlike the moths that eat wool and grain, termites that infest wood, and silverfish that destroy clothing fibers, glue, and paper, there is no real damage caused by house centipedes. So there are worse bugs to have in your home, even if they do tend to startle people when they zoom across the floor. Centipedes are great at finding hiding spaces, attracted to the dark and damp spots such as a pile of wet towels or hard-to-get-to crawl spaces in the attic. If there are enough of these hospitable environments, plus other pests as a plentiful food source, you can quickly find yourself with a centipede infestation. If you’re already facing a pest infestation with the likes of cockroaches, termites, and spiders in your house, the chance of having house centipedes is higher.
These are not part of their mandibles, so strictly speaking they sting rather than bite. Despite their developed eyes, they seem to rely mostly on their antennae when hunting. Their antennae are sensitive to both smells and tactile information. They use both their mandibles and their legs for holding prey. This way they can deal with several small insects at the same time. To capture prey they either jump onto it or use their legs in a technique described as "lassoing".
Giant Desert Centipede
Understanding where house centipedes prefer to settle is crucial in managing them. These arthropods are believed to have originated in the Mediterranean, but they’ve now made homes in various parts of the United States. While they thrive in warm, tropical, and humid climates, house centipedes are remarkably adaptable and can survive in a wide range of environments. House centipedes are mysterious, speedy creatures that can give anyone a startle when encountered in their homes. As an ex-professional pest control technician and DIY pest control expert, I understand the unease these arthropods can bring. Similar to silverfish, preventing the presence of house centipedes begins with lowering the level of humidity in your home.
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Both arthropods have segmented bodies, but centipedes have just one pair of legs per segment while millipedes have two. You can see the eyes and mouthparts of centipedes, as well as their forcipules, the pincers that inject poison into their insect prey so they can feast. The typical house centipedes have 15 pairs of legs and can travel 1.3 feet-per-second, which is much faster than it sounds for a little thing like that.
What do centipedes eat?
This doesn’t bode well for folks who can’t stand bugs, of course. We back up our pest control recommendations with a detailed rating methodology that we use to objectively score each provider. Below, we’ll offer some details on centipedes to give you a better understanding of these creatures, and outline a few options for getting rid of centipedes in your home. There are six larval instars or molts, and four post-larval instars before the centipedes reach maturity. Females have been known to survive for several years and produce up to 150 young.
They undergo four post-larval instars before reaching maturity. The typical response to a house centipede probably involves a shoe to squash the bug. But like almost every other critter out there, this particular bug does have a purpose.
This is called a “lassoing” technique where they jump on their prey and wrap them up with the rest of their legs. All centipedes have very poor eyesight and track their prey through the use of touch and smell. In actuality, arthropods commonly known as wood eating centipedes are millipedes. While millipedes do closely resemble centipedes, millipedes are herbivores and detritivores, surviving on dead and decaying plant material, including wood or cellulose material. Although they can look disgusting to some, they don’t harm humans. On the contrary, they help you by preying on other common household pests such as cockroaches, silverfish, firebrats, carpet beetle larvae, spiders, termites, bed bugs, and other small arthropods.
The pests lurk in dark, hidden areas and may bite people or pets if they appear to pose a threat. They have intelligent hunting methods, going after dangerous other pests. Their venom is only toxic to other bugs and poses no fatal threat to humans or other animals. Calling a professional exterminator to get rid of centipedes likely means that there will be some type of chemical spray treatment involved. Again, while it is possible to get rid of centipedes with more natural methods, a centipede infestation could mean you have another insect infestation. If this is the case, chemical sprays around your home’s exterior and foundation might be necessary to eradicate the problem.
It’s seldom found in houses because conditions are too dry, but you could come across one outdoors in compost or a woodpile. As you might expect from the fiery coloration, this centipede is venomous with a painful bite. A house centipede can sting a wasp and outrun it while the venom takes effect.
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These monitors (and the service for identifying the specimens) can be obtained through a pest control company. House centipedes can actually be beneficial as they prey on other common household pests like spiders, termites, bed bugs, and cockroaches. However, if their presence is unsettling to you, or if you have a severe infestation, you may consider taking preventive measures.
You can step on it, and it will wriggle away as if nothing happened. The best way to prevent centipedes from entering your home is to seal up cracks and openings that would permit them to enter in the first place. If you are dealing with another insect problem, like spiders or cockroaches, take care of that situation quickly; otherwise, centipedes will be first in line at the buffet. If these natural remedies don’t work, or it seems as though the centipedes are increasing, call an exterminator. There might be another pest problem that is inviting your centipede visitors to overstay their welcome. Unlike other insects that leave droppings or destruction in their wake, you’re more likely actually to see a centipede.
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