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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. She’s worked on thousands of articles related to heating, air conditioning, ventilation, roofing, plumbing, lawn/garden, pest control, insurance, and other general homeownership topics. Don’t be afraid of the bugs with lots of legs, but learn what it takes to keep centipedes out of the house (or why they might not be bad). They are classified with Insects in the phyllum Arthropoda.
Causes of House Centipede Infestations
In fact, they actually make your home safer because they are carnivores that will eat other insects that can cause damage to your home. Aside from food, they go to your house for warmth and shelter. House centipedes are natives of the Mediterranean and never adapted to frigid climates after accidentally emigrating from their home region.
Potential Harm to Humans
For people who tend to be startled or frightened by insects, these leggy prehistoric-looking creatures are the stuff of nightmares. The average centipede lays around 63 eggs and a maximum of around 151 eggs. They have as few as four pairs of legs when they are hatched.
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They live anywhere from 3 to 7 years, depending on the environment. Although you may not like the sight of house centipedes, they can be helpful in controlling more concerning pests. Getting rid of other pests from your house will go a long way toward reducing the number of house centipedes you see.
How to Get Rid of House Centipedes and Why You Shouldn’t Kill Them
If you are already dealing with an insect or fly infestation, centipedes will likely invade to help. 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.
They actively flee light, sometimes stopping mid-flight and waiting and watching. They aren’t aggressive towards humans, choosing flight over fight. This high sensitivity means you probably won’t see them out and about much during the day, and it’s also why they cause such a fright at night. House centipedes are found all across North America and can live their whole lives within a singular structure. Their long legs and high speeds often alarm people, causing them to be crushed or sprayed.
These forcipules are equipped with sharp fangs, which inject venom into the centipede’s prey. This venom helps to paralyze or subdue prey, making it easier for the centipede to feed. Dear Paige, Though it was found in a cave, we believe this is a member of the order Scutigeromorpha, the members of which are commonly called House Centipedes. By eliminating their food sources, you make your home less attractive to these unwanted guests.
My Traumatizing Encounter With House Centipedes - Odyssey
My Traumatizing Encounter With House Centipedes.
Posted: Sun, 23 Oct 2016 07:00:00 GMT [source]
House centipedes are known for killing the most unwelcome pests in your house — cockroaches, moths, flies, silverfish and termites. You should not squish a house centipede because it’s a prolific pest control ally. Enough of them can eradicate bugs that can harm your family and ruin your house. Centipedes enter homes in fall to escape the cold and hunt for food.
There’s no denying that house centipedes can make your stomach turn, but there’s more to them than meets the eye. Besides a little discomfort, most dogs are unaffected by eating centipedes or receiving a bite. The two animals often come into conflict outdoors when dogs sniff around thick brush or clutter. Pests like ticks and fleas pose a much greater threat to dogs. Centipedes are arthropods, not insects, and not all have 100 legs.
House centipede control consists of drying up and cleaning, as much as possible, the areas that serve as habitat and food source for centipedes. For more information on insecticides please see this article. Centipedes discovered outdoors should not be controlled. However, these locations are not where they normally originate. Centipedes prefer to live in damp portions of basements, closets, bathrooms, unexcavated areas under the house and beneath the bark of firewood stored indoors.
Whether you prefer natural or chemical methods, here are some effective solutions that get rid of a house centipede infestation. To eliminate house centipedes, block entry points, hiding places, and excess moisture in your home. Then, use traps, insecticides, or natural repellents to drive them out. House centipedes not only display impressive speed but are also skilled predators.
They are harmless, though they often startle people when they run across a floor at night. They are very fast, but will kill and eat spiders and cockroaches and other undesireable household intruders. In this article, we will explore the characteristics, behavior, and natural role of these intriguing crawlers, shedding light on their place within our indoor ecosystems. The house centipede moves very quickly and always seem to dart out in front of you when you're vulnerable, like when you're just out of the shower or carrying something fragile.
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. Since they are both predators and prey, this helps out a lot.
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