They’re small, they’re fast, and they have lots and lots of legs. They’re called house centipedes (scutigera coleoptrata), and they’re one of the most unnerving pests to find in your home. Not because they’re particularly dangerous, but because they look scary. If you’ve just encountered one, your next questions likely include, “What attracts house centipedes to my home?” and “Are they dangerous?”

Like most pests, house centipedes are driven by the survival instinct. That means they’re constantly seeking three things: food, moisture, and a safe place to shelter. If your home offers these creature comforts, don’t be surprised if these spiny critters show up.

Now let’s dive deeper and explore what exactly house centipedes are, where they come from, why they’re attracted to your house, and what you can do to eliminate them.

Why Are House Centipedes In My Home?

House centipedes might look like the stuff of nightmares, but in reality, they’re like any other pest. They come inside homes through openings like cracks and crevices in your exterior or foundation. They’re nocturnal, so they spend their days resting and nights hunting for resources they need for survival: food, water, and shelter.

Food Attracts House Centipedes into Your Home

Before house centipedes move inside, they live outdoors, often in backyards or gardens. When they hunt for food near your home’s exterior, they often find their way inside. House centipedes prefer soft-bodied creatures like worms and arthropods, but they’ll dine on almost any type of pest they can capture.

This is a good thing, right? Yes and no. While they are highly efficient at hunting pests, sighting a house centipede may indicate that you have a pest problem that’s worse than you thought. House centipedes are often considered a secondary pest infestation because they likely wouldn’t be there unless there were another type of infestation first.

House centipedes are attracted to your home by the availability of food, including pests like:

• Ants
• Bed bugs
• Cockroaches
• Crickets
• Earwigs
• Moths
• Silverfish
• Spiders
• Termites
• And many more

Prevent House Centipedes by Eliminating Excess Moisture

House centipedes are moisture pests. Outside, they favor dark and damp areas, and they don’t survive long in drought conditions. If your home has areas of dampness, you’re at increased risk of attracting house centipedes.

Here are some things you can do to keep this risk low:

• If you have a water spigot on the side of your home, make sure it’s always fully tightened and that neither it nor your hose leaks. Leaks lead to moisture. If you want fewer moisture pests, you need to eliminate leaks.
• When gutters break, it often leaves lots of moisture directly next to your exterior walls and foundation. Therefore, we recommend regular inspections to ensure your gutters are in good working condition, capturing water and allowing it to channel through your downspouts and away from your foundation walls.
• Clogged gutters can also create moisture issues. When leaves or other debris get into your gutters, water can flow over the side and down your walls, pooling near your foundation.
• When it rains, the soil around your home gets damp. If you have locations around your home that get a lot of shade, the moisture can sit for a long time and invite moisture pests. To prevent this, make sure to keep your landscaping tidy and don’t let vegetation become overgrown.

House Centipedes Find Shelter in Homes

How do you stop house centipedes from finding shelter in your home? This can be difficult, but there are two big things you can do: seal up access to your home and reduce clutter. If they’re going to get into your house, they have to be on your property first, and centipedes are more likely to be in your yard if it’s cluttered.

We recommend the following:

• Keep wood on your property organized and don’t let it linger too long. A woodpile is the perfect hiding place for a wide range of creatures, including house centipedes.
• Don’t leave stuff outside if you can help it. House centipedes won’t hesitate to move into or under construction materials, tools, appliances, and other objects used for home improvement or decorating.
• Bring in toys left outside. Toys left outside by your kids can be a temporary home for many pests. Any item that sits on your grass and prevents the sun from getting through can be a harborage for pests.
• Keep leaf piles and leaf litter raked. Pests love these. For house centipedes, they’re like an all-you-can-eat buffet.
• Weeds, tall grass, and other overgrowth are a playground for pests. Keep things neat to reduce pest populations.
• Seal up cracks, crevices, and holes in your home’s foundation. This is how many house centipedes get inside.
• Repair screens or gaps in windows or doors. It doesn’t take much space for a house centipede to get inside.

Where Do House Centipedes Come From?

House centipedes come from outside. Despite their name, they really do prefer to stay outdoors in moisture-rich environments like under rocks, in damp mulch or hay, under leaf piles, inside trash heaps, and their favorite place, inside rotten wood. They’re sensitive to light, so they seek out dark, damp areas to spend their time.

Often, the soil right along the edge of your foundation is shaded and moist, so centipedes will find their way to it. Once they’re that close to your house, it’s only a matter of time before they get inside. They might come in on a particularly hot or dry day.

If they make their way into your home, you will find them in areas that are similar to their outdoor habitat, damp basements, musty closets, or other dark, damp areas.

Here are some outdoor places where house centipedes are most likely to originate:

• Ornamental plants and other vegetation. Many bugs feed on plants, and centipedes feed on these plant-eating pests.
• Rocks and other hard objects used in landscape design. Have you ever flipped a rock over and found several kinds of bugs underneath. Most of those bugs are food for centipedes.
• Accessible trash in an exterior receptacle. When you have open trash in your yard, it not only attracts flies but also spiders. And, if you have more flies and spiders, you’ll have more centipedes.

Are House Centipedes Dangerous?

No, they’re not really dangerous to humans because they tend to retreat when they see us. They’ll never go out of their way to attack you.

Though they’re generally not dangerous, you should not attempt to handle a house centipede. All centipedes are venomous, and the house centipede is no exception. If you try to touch or pick up a house centipede, they may try to pinch you with their sharp front legs, which they then use to inject you with their venom. It will likely hurt – their pinches are painful on a level similar to bee stings – but the pain will subside in a matter of hours or days. Some people are allergic to the venom of a house centipede, so if you start noticing unusual symptoms like feeling sick or having trouble breathing, seek immediate medical attention.

While house centipedes are relatively harmless to adults, they can be dangerous to small children and pets, so make sure they keep their distance whenever possible.

What Are the Differences Between House Centipedes and Other Types of Centipedes?

• Leg Length: House centipedes have extremely long legs relative to their body size, giving them a spindly appearance.
• Number of Legs: House centipedes have only 15 pairs of legs, while most other centipede species typically have 21-23 pairs.
• Speed: They move with extraordinary speed (up to 1.3 feet per second) compared to many other centipede species, which are slow.
• Coloration: They have a yellowish-gray body with three dark stripes running down their back. Many other centipede species are colorful.
• Antennae: House centipedes have longer antennae relative to their body size than many other centipede species.
• Aggression Level: House centipedes are not aggressive and will typically run from you. Other centipedes are more fearless and/or aggressive.
• Venom Potency: House centipedes have less potent venom than larger centipede species

Get Rid of House Centipedes

If you’ve spotted house centipedes in your home, it’s a good idea to call a local pest control specialist. We can help you eliminate not just centipedes – but any other pests in or out of your home.

Give us a call today and schedule a home pest inspection. Our expert centipede exterminators will create a comprehensive pest control plan tailored for your home.