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Their bodies are divided into 15 segments, each with a pair of long legs. Other species of centipedes have more legs, but they always have an odd number of pairs of legs. House centipedes not only display impressive speed but are also skilled predators. Their diet consists of common household pests such as moths.
What Are House Centipedes?
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. Whenever this insect is around your home, its speed and legs can be a discomforting sight. Unlike its shorter-legged but much larger tropical cousins, the house centipede can live its entire life inside a building. Centipedes typically overwinter outdoors in protected situations and lay their eggs during the summer, usually in or on the soil.
Centipede, millipede or silverfish? Here's how to get them out of your house - AOL
Centipede, millipede or silverfish? Here's how to get them out of your house.
Posted: Thu, 01 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Pesticides
House centipedes feed on silverfish, firebrats, carpet beetle larvae, cockroaches, spiders, and other small arthropods. If house centipedes are seen frequently, this indicates that some prey arthropod is in abundance, and may signify a greater problem than the presence of the centipedes (Figure 3). Centipedes are sometimes called house centipedes or "hundred-leggers" because of their many pairs of legs. They are widely distributed throughout most of United States and the world.
How to kill centipedes
The house centipedes venom is too weak to cause any serious harm to larger pets such as cats and dogs. Harborage reduction is the second most important management tactic. With appropriate fillers, fill or seal cracks and crevices in concrete slabs and block walls. Install window screen in basement floor drains to prevent centipedes from entering from dry sumps. Centipedes are nocturnal creatures that hide in dark, damp, and cool places during the daytime and venture out in the dark to hunt.
For example, while hunting, house centipedes use their long legs to trap their prey and inject venom to paralyze them. House centipedes feed on bedbugs, termites, cockroaches, silverfish, spiders and other household pests. They kill their prey by injecting venom through their fangs and then eating the dead prey. Adult house centipedes have 15 pair of legs with the last pair (on adult females) nearly twice the length of the body, which is one to one and one-half inches in length (Figure 1). This gives the centipede an overall appearance of being from three to four inches in length (including legs and antennae). The legs are banded light and dark, and the body is a dirty yellow with three longitudinal, dark stripes.
They don’t leave much of a trail, so you often have to see them to get rid of them. But if you come across one, there are numerous natural remedies for centipedes, along with using chemicals. While creepy, centipedes pose little danger to people or a home. Sprays or dusts should be applied to sites where centipedes are suspected such as cracks and crevices in concrete slabs, block walls, etc. House centipedes do not survive winters outdoors in Pennsylvania, but readily reproduce in heated structures.
Their long legs allow them to run fast as they chase their prey, pounce on them, and wrap their long spindly legs around them, preventing them from escaping. This helps in maintaining a balance in the ecosystem inside your home. Additionally, their presence might indicate a more significant pest issue, which could be worth addressing. House centipedes feed on spiders, bed bugs, termites, cockroaches, silverfish, ants, and other household arthropods. These are not part of their mandibles, so strictly speaking they sting rather than bite.
House centipedes, although they may look frightening, are generally considered to be harmless to humans. They have the ability to bite, but it is quite rare and usually happens only when they feel threatened. In most cases, their bites cause mild pain and swelling similar to a bee sting. People who are sensitive or allergic might experience more severe reactions. While centipedes do have venom and will poison their prey, they typically will only be aggressive towards something they can actually eat.
Solved! Should You Really Kill House Centipedes?
One of the first signs of a centipede infestation is seeing them regularly in your home. But this could signify the presence of other arthropods or pests that are prey for the house centipede–a sign of a bigger problem. House centipedes have three life stages — egg, larva, and adult. Female house centipedes prefer the soil, where they can lay up to 35 eggs over a few days.
This means eliminating roaches, silverfish, flies, moths and the other tasty insects that house centipedes love to snack on. Sticky traps, vinegar, cedarwood spray, salt and/or baking soda sprinkled on thresholds and in corners, and the aforementioned diatomaceous earth are all safe methods for eliminating these pests. The most common is the Scutigera coleoptrata, otherwise known as the house centipede. This yellowish-grey centipede will typically be a few inches long with more than 15 pairs of legs, making it among the fastest in the centipede family.
It is especially important to repair plumbing leaks and keep basement and attic spaces dry. 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. Most live outside, primarily under large rocks, piles of wood and especially in compost piles. House centipedes are common inhabitants of homes and other buildings.
While they are fast and have long legs, which may frighten some people, they are harmless. House centipedes feed on small arthropods, including pest insects, so their presence in large numbers may indicate another underlying pest issue. The most effective way to prevent a centipede infestation is to reduce areas of moisture in and around your home.
If a common household centipede gets scared and bites you, you might feel a slight pinch. This critter is a common household pest, seeking out a moist environment and solid food source in the comforts of your home. While not overly dangerous to people, a centipede might not be a welcomed guest. The average centipede lays around 63 eggs and a maximum of around 151 eggs.
