The House Centipede: Everything You Should Know

January 14, 2025

We’ve all had that moment of alarm when a fast-moving, long-legged creature darts across the floor. Meet the house centipede, a surprisingly beneficial yet misunderstood guest in our homes. With their yellowish-brown bodies, 15 pairs of banded legs, and remarkable speed, these arthropods may seem intimidating, but they play an important role in controlling household pests.

House centipedes are natural predators, feeding on cockroaches, spiders, silverfish, and other common insects. While their presence might suggest an underlying pest issue, they’re actually helping to manage it. Despite their venomous fangs, which they use to subdue prey, house centipedes pose no real threat to humans.

Understanding these creatures can help us appreciate their role in maintaining a balanced indoor ecosystem. However, at Alta Pest Control, we believe you shouldn’t have to share your home with any pests—whether it’s house centipedes or the pests they prey on. Our job is to provide complete home pest control solutions, creating a comfortable, pest-free environment for your family.

House centipede i

What Is A House Centipede?

House centipedes, scientifically identified as Scutigera coleoptrata, are slender insects with a unique appearance and fascinating traits. Adults usually measure 1–1.5 inches in body length but appear much larger due to their 15 pairs of long, banded legs, with the final pair on females nearly double the body length. Their dirty yellow bodies feature three dark longitudinal stripes, giving them a distinctive look.

These centipedes are fast movers, often darting across walls or floors in search of prey or safety. Their legs, equipped with barbs, efficiently secure their targets. While startling at first glance, house centipedes primarily feed on arthropods such as cockroaches, bed bugs, spiders, and silverfish—many of which are household nuisances. This predatory role makes them valuable natural pest controllers in indoor spaces.

Larvae begin life with only four pairs of legs, gaining additional pairs as they grow through molting. This progression continues until they reach maturity. Introduced from the Mediterranean, house centipedes thrive in North America and beyond, commonly residing in homes and other structures.

Unlike most centipedes, house centipedes lack the flattened appearance and can run exceptionally quickly. Though venomous to their prey, these creatures pose little threat to humans. On rare occasions, their bites, which are hard to deliver due to their small fangs, cause mild irritation comparable to a bee sting. Their presence, often alarming at first, may indicate the existence of other pest infestations within a building.

picture of a house centipede

Physical Characteristics Of The House Centipede

The house centipede is equipped with remarkable adaptations that make it a highly effective hunter. With 15 pairs of long, slender legs featuring dark and light bands, the house centipede can move with incredible speed and agility. The barbed texture of its legs allows it to grip and subdue prey with precision. Female house centipedes have notably longer hind legs, which enhance their movement and hunting capabilities. Their lightweight, segmented bodies make it easy for house centipedes to navigate tight spaces, adding to their efficiency as predators.

The yellowish-brown body of a house centipede, marked by three distinct dark stripes, is slightly flattened but not as compressed as other centipedes. This unique body structure, combined with large, multifaceted eyes and long, segmented antennae, gives the house centipede an edge when detecting and capturing prey. Interestingly, the antennae of a house centipede resemble legs, which can confuse predators about its direction. Although the venomous fangs of house centipedes are lethal to the insects they hunt, they are harmless to humans.

Despite the helpful role the house centipede plays in reducing pest populations, no one wants to encounter these uninvited guests scurrying across their home. At Alta Pest Control, we understand that seeing house centipedes is often a sign of a larger pest issue. That’s why we focus on comprehensive pest management to eliminate not just house centipedes but also the pests that attract them. If you’re ready for a home free of all pests, we’re here to help.

house centipede on wall showing physical characteristics

Life Cycle And Behavior

House centipedes have fascinating life cycles and behaviors that make them effective at managing pest populations in homes. Understanding the development and habits of the house centipede sheds light on why they thrive in indoor environments and how their presence often signals a larger pest issue.

Reproduction and Development

House centipede reproduction typically occurs during the warmer months and involves intricate courtship rituals. Male house centipedes weave a silk pad containing sperm, known as a spermatophore, which the female collects during mating. This process is often preceded by a “dance” in which the male taps the female’s posterior legs with his antennae.

The development of a house centipede from egg to adult is a slow process, taking approximately three years for sexual maturity. Juvenile house centipedes resemble smaller versions of adults but start life with only four pairs of legs. They gain additional pairs with each molt until they reach the full 15 pairs in adulthood. House centipedes have an unusually long lifespan for arthropods, living between 3 to 7 years. This extended lifespan allows them to reproduce multiple times, ensuring their populations persist in favorable conditions.

Typical Behavior and Ecology

The house centipede thrives indoors, where it preys on a variety of unwanted pests, including cockroaches, spiders, bed bugs, and silverfish. Known for their speed and agility, house centipedes use their barbed legs to quickly capture and subdue prey. They are most active in dark, damp areas such as basements, bathrooms, or spaces under sinks—locations where their preferred prey is abundant.

During the colder winter months, house centipedes enter dormancy, seeking shelter in protected environments like beneath rocks or logs. Their activity resumes in the spring as temperatures rise, enabling them to hunt and reproduce actively. House centipedes are nocturnal and prefer to avoid human interaction, making their pest control efforts largely unseen.

Although house centipedes play a beneficial role in controlling pest populations, their presence in your home is often a sign of an underlying infestation. At Alta Pest Control, we don’t just manage house centipedes; we address the root causes, ensuring your home is free from all pests and creating a more comfortable living environment.

Why Are House Centipedes In Your Home?

House centipedes often enter homes seeking food, moisture, and warmth. Their presence highlights conditions that attract pests, making it important to address these factors to discourage infestations. While house centipedes are harmless to humans, their presence may indicate other pest activity that requires attention.

Common Causes and Habitats

House centipedes thrive in areas with high humidity and access to prey, such as basements, bathrooms, and spaces under sinks. Persistent water issues like leaky pipes or poorly sealed fixtures create damp environments where they can remain hidden and active.

Food availability is a major factor in attracting house centipedes. They prey on household pests like cockroaches, spiders, and silverfish. If these pests are present in your home, house centipedes are likely to follow. Their activity is often a sign of a broader pest issue that should be addressed.

House centipede eating a roach

During colder months, house centipedes move indoors to escape harsh weather. They seek warmth and moisture in dark, undisturbed spaces like crawl spaces, basements, and behind furniture.

How They Get Inside

House centipedes take advantage of structural vulnerabilities to enter homes. Cracks in walls, poorly sealed windows, gaps around doors, and openings near utility lines are common entry points. Plumbing issues, such as leaky fixtures or uncovered drains, not only provide access but also create the moist conditions centipedes favor.

What We Recommend

At Alta Pest Control, our focus is on providing effective treatments to eliminate pests and reduce house centipede activity. While we don’t seal entry points for house centipedes or eliminate food sources during our services, our technicians can offer recommendations to help prevent future infestations. Steps you can take include:

  • Sealing cracks and gaps around your home.
  • Addressing damp areas by repairing leaks or improving ventilation.
  • Eliminating pest activity through professional pest control services.

When you contact Alta Pest Control, we’ll set up your first treatment, during which our technician will spray your home to target pests. Regular quarterly treatments help maintain a pest-free environment. For specific needs, such as sealing entry points for rodents or crawl space encapsulation, we can provide additional services to ensure long-term protection.

Are House Centipedes Dangerous?

House centipedes are not dangerous to humans. While they possess venomous glands and fangs, their venom is designed to immobilize and digest small prey like insects and spiders, not to harm people. House centipede bites are extremely rare and usually happen only if the centipede feels cornered or threatened.

If a house centipede does bite, the effects are typically mild and localized. Symptoms may include slight pain, redness, swelling, or itching, similar to the reaction caused by a bee or wasp sting. Most individuals find that these symptoms subside within a few hours to a day, with no long-term effects. However, people with allergies to insect venom might experience greater discomfort.

Despite their alarming appearance, house centipedes are timid and actively avoid human interaction. They are much more likely to dart away than to bite. Their small fangs and weak jaws make it difficult for them to pierce human skin, particularly in smaller specimens.

House centipedes also do not carry diseases or cause damage to household items, making them more of a nuisance than a true threat. While they can help manage pest populations in your home, their presence often signals a larger pest issue. Alta Pest Control focuses on eliminating house centipedes and the pests they feed on, ensuring your home is free of all unwanted intruders.

Managing House Centipedes

Managing house centipedes involves reducing the conditions that attract them and addressing any existing pest activity that may be drawing them into your home. While house centipedes are harmless, their presence often indicates a larger pest issue.

How to Get Rid of House Centipedes

If you’re dealing with house centipedes in your home, it’s important to take action promptly, as their presence often indicates other pest activity. At Alta Pest Control, we specialize in effective pest control solutions that address not only house centipedes but the underlying pests that attract them.

Alta Pest Control technician spraying to get rid of house centipedes

Professional Solutions with Alta Pest Control

  • Thorough Treatments: Our trained technicians will spray your home with commercial-grade products designed to eliminate house centipedes and their prey, creating an inhospitable environment for pests.
  • Comprehensive Plans: We provide ongoing quarterly treatments to ensure long-term protection and peace of mind.
  • Targeted Recommendations: During your first treatment, our technicians can identify areas of concern, such as moisture issues or entry points, and offer tailored advice to improve your home’s defenses.

DIY Methods: A Temporary Fix

Some homeowners may try to address house centipedes on their own by:

  • Using sticky traps to capture centipedes.
  • Spraying over-the-counter insecticides around problem areas.
  • Sealing cracks and gaps to limit entry points.

While these methods might reduce sightings temporarily, they rarely address the root causes, like the other pests house centipedes prey on. DIY approaches can quickly become time-consuming and expensive, with little long-term success. For a truly effective solution, professional pest control is the best way to eliminate house centipedes and ensure they don’t return.

How to Prevent House Centipedes from Coming Back

Keeping house centipedes out of your home requires addressing the conditions that attract them and taking proactive measures to maintain a pest-free environment.

Steps You Can Take Yourself

  • Seal Entry Points: Use caulk or weather stripping to close gaps around windows, doors, and utility openings.
  • Reduce Humidity: Run dehumidifiers in damp areas like basements and crawl spaces. Fix leaks and ensure proper drainage to keep moisture levels low.
  • Declutter and Clean: Remove piles of clutter, cardboard, or other materials that create hiding spots. Vacuum cracks and crevices regularly.
  • Address Damp Areas: Improve ventilation in humid spaces like bathrooms, basements, and kitchens by using fans or opening windows.

Quarterly Pest Control as a Preventative Measure

Even with the best DIY efforts, house centipedes can find their way back into your home if the conditions are right. That’s where quarterly pest control comes in:

  • Proactive Protection: Regular treatments help keep your home’s pest population in check, eliminating food sources for house centipedes.
  • Expert Guidance: Our technicians provide ongoing assessments and recommendations to keep your home protected from all pests.
  • Long-Term Peace of Mind: With consistent pest control, you can prevent infestations before they start.

At Alta Pest Control, we combine effective treatments with expert advice to help you eliminate house centipedes and keep them from coming back. Contact us today to schedule your first treatment and start protecting your home.

Conclusion

House centipedes might not win any beauty contests, but their presence often signals a larger pest problem that needs attention. While they play a role in reducing other pest populations, no one wants these fast-moving creatures in their home. Addressing the conditions that attract house centipedes, such as moisture and pest activity, is key to keeping them out.

Preventive measures, combined with professional pest control services, provide the most effective solution. At Alta Pest Control, we focus on creating a pest-free environment by targeting not only house centipedes but also the underlying issues that bring them inside. With our quarterly treatments and expert advice, you can enjoy a comfortable, pest-free home year-round. Contact us today to start protecting your home and reclaim your space from house centipedes and other pests.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are house centipedes, and why are they found indoors?

House centipedes (Scutigera coleoptrata) are fast-moving arthropods often found indoors. They are drawn to dark, damp areas like basements, bathrooms, and crawl spaces in search of food, moisture, and warmth. Their presence usually indicates other pest activity, as they feed on insects such as cockroaches, bed bugs, spiders, and silverfish.

Are house centipedes dangerous to humans?

No, house centipedes are not dangerous to humans. While they have venom to immobilize their prey, their bites are rare and cause only mild irritation, similar to a bee sting. They do not carry diseases or cause damage to household items.

Why do house centipedes have so many legs?

House centipedes have 15 pairs of long, slender legs (30 in total) that help them move quickly and efficiently capture prey. Females have notably longer hind legs, which enhance their agility and hunting abilities.

Do house centipedes bite humans?

Bites from house centipedes are extremely rare and typically occur only if they feel cornered or threatened. If bitten, symptoms are mild, such as localized redness or itching, and resolve quickly without long-term effects.

How can I prevent house centipedes in my home?

Preventing house centipedes involves addressing the conditions that attract them:

  • Seal cracks and gaps around windows, doors, and utility openings.
  • Reduce moisture by using dehumidifiers and fixing leaks.
  • Keep spaces tidy and dry, especially in basements, bathrooms, and crawl spaces.
    While DIY methods can help, regular quarterly pest control is a reliable preventative measure to keep house centipedes and other pests from returning.

How long do house centipedes live?

House centipedes can live 3 to 7 years. They grow slowly, reaching maturity in about three years, and can reproduce multiple times during their lifespan.

What do house centipedes eat?

House centipedes are natural predators that feed on household pests such as cockroaches, spiders, silverfish, and bed bugs. Their diet makes them beneficial for managing other pest populations, but their presence often indicates a larger pest issue.

Can house centipedes climb walls or ceilings?

Yes, house centipedes are excellent climbers. Their long legs and lightweight bodies allow them to easily navigate walls, ceilings, and other surfaces in search of prey.

Why are house centipedes so fast?

House centipedes are built for speed to catch prey and evade predators. Their long, slender legs and lightweight, segmented bodies allow them to move quickly and with precision.

Should I kill house centipedes when I see them?

While house centipedes can be alarming to see, they are helpful in reducing pest populations. Rather than killing them, consider addressing the root causes of their presence, such as moisture issues or other pest activity. Professional pest control services can provide long-term solutions to eliminate house centipedes and the pests that attract them.

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