Centipedes don't usually do as much damage to homes as some other pests. But they sometimes have well over 100 pairs of legs, which has helped them earn the nickname "hundred leggers" over time. It has also helped them strike fear in the hearts of many Americans who can't believe their eyes when they see centipedes in their houses.
So, where do centipedes come from? What are some of the signs that'll show that you have centipedes? And how can you go about getting rid of centipedes?
We're going to answer each of these questions and shed more light on how you should react to a centipede infestation in your home. Continue reading to get the inside scoop on these creepy crawlers.
What Are Centipedes?
Before we get into answering the question, "Where do centipedes come from?", it's important for you to know what they are. It'll help you to identify centipedes in your home so that you can do something about them and make them go away for good.
Centipedes, or house centipedes as they're often called, are technically not insects. Instead, they're considered to be myriapods. They can be found all throughout the U.S. and other parts of the world.
Even if you have centipedes living in your home, you might not necessarily realize it right away because they tend to be nocturnal. They also use their legs to get around very quickly, which is why you might only see them out in the open for a few brief seconds.
The majority of centipedes will live for right around a year, though it isn't uncommon to see some of them stick around for five years or even longer. It's one of the many reasons why you should search for signs of a centipede infestation and do something about it.
What Do Centipedes Look Like?
As we alluded to earlier, it's going to be difficult to miss centipedes if you see them scurrying around in your home during the day. They can have anywhere from 15 pairs of legs to more than 100 pairs of them.
Centipedes also have some other distinguishing qualities that'll make it impossible to mistake them for other pests. Some of these qualities include:
- Long, worm-like bodies
- Yellow or dark brown colors, often with stripes and other markings thrown into the mix
- Noticeable antennae
Most centipedes aren't going to be very big at all. Some will be well under one inch long. But there are certain types of centipedes that can grow to be up to six inches in some cases.
Where Do Centipedes Come From?
You can find centipedes living in many different environments. But generally speaking, centipedes love living in places that have humidity levels that are on the higher side.
More often than not, you're going to find centipedes living in places like:
- In rotting logs
- In trash piles
- Under stones
- Behind loose tree bark
- In piles of leaves
If you have any of these things surrounding your home, it shouldn't take you too long to come up with an answer to the question, "Where do centipedes come from?" These will typically be the places where they'll be hiding out, and they might be tempted to work their way inside your home to see what they can find to eat.
What Do Centipedes Eat?
Many of the other pests that you might find in your home, like ants, cockroaches, and rodents, will be there to eat the food that you keep in your kitchen. You'll need to stop them from getting to these food sources to eliminate them from your home.
But centipedes are different. Unlike other pests, they aren't going to be on the hunt for the same food that you eat. They'll be on the prowl for things like flies, spiders, and even some plants.
Centipedes don't have the best eyesight in the world, so they have to rely on their senses of smell and touch to hunt down their prey. They also have one set of legs in the front of their bodies that they can use to inject poison into their prey so that they can kill and eat them.
How Can You Keep Centipedes Away From Your Home?
Since centipedes aren't going to be looking for the same food that other pests might eat in your home, you shouldn't have to worry too much about locking your food up tight to keep them away. But there are some other steps you can take to stop centipedes from getting too close to your home and working their way inside.
For starters, you should make it a point to keep your lawn cut and throw out any grass clippings you might collect rather than letting them pile up around your house. It'll prevent centipedes from setting up shop in these piles and eventually finding their way into your house.
There are also other steps you can take to stop centipedes from coming too close to your home. For example, you can:
- Remove dead trees and tree stumps from your property
- Avoid storing firewood directly on the ground
- Rake leaves, sticks, and other debris and remove them from your property
- Seal up any cracks, holes, etc. in your home so that centipedes and other pests can't get inside
You might also want to sign up for this DIY pest control subscription plan. It'll equip you with everything you'll need to keep centipedes away from your home if you suspect they might become a problem.
Where Might You Find Centipedes in Your House?
As long as you're willing to take the right steps, you should be able to keep centipedes at bay and stop them from getting into your home. But even if you are diligent about trying to prevent centipedes from gaining access to your house, they still might be able to get inside.
In this case, you'll need to know where they might gather so that you can go through the process of getting rid of centipedes. Here are a few places you might find them hiding:
- Basements
- Crawl spaces
- Bathrooms
- Potted plants
You should remember that centipedes tend to congregate in places where it's moist and dark. If you have other areas of your home that are on the damp side, you should keep an eye on them for any signs of centipedes.
These will usually be the places where you'll want to utilize DIY products that have been provided by one of the best pest control services around. You'll be able to benefit from using them almost right away.
What Are the Signs of a Centipede Infestation?
The tricky part about dealing with centipedes in your home is that you're not always going to see a ton of signs that suggest they've infiltrated it. Unlike other pests, centipedes aren't going to build nests in your home or leave any other signs behind that show they're in your house.
For this reason, you'll need to make sure you're always monitoring your home to see if you ever spot centipedes crawling around in it. This is going to be the only surefire sign that will indicate their presence.
Can Centipedes Do Damage to Your Home?
Because centipedes aren't going to be interested in building nests in your home, you won't have to worry about them doing too much damage to it. While other pests might chew through the wood that they find in your home, centipedes aren't going to do this in most cases.
This doesn't mean that you should allow centipedes to roam free. If you only have a couple of them in your home, it shouldn't be too much of a cause for concern. But if you let them stay in your home, they can start to lay eggs and reproduce at a fairly rapid rate.
You're also going to find that you won't usually feel all that comfortable living in a home with centipedes all over the place. They're some of the most spine-tingling creatures out there and will definitely have you shaking in your boots if you ever come face-to-face with one.
Do Centipedes Bite?
Most of the time, centipedes are going to be more scared of you than you are of them. As a result, they're going to run the other way and not look back when you appear in an area where they're at.
But if you ever try to take care of a centipede infestation in your home without the proper products, you might find yourself on the wrong end of a centipede bite. There are certain types of centipedes that will bite you if you aren't careful.
The good news is that a centipede bite isn't going to do too much damage to you. While centipedes do have venom that they use to kill their prey, this venom isn't going to hurt you.
But a centipede bite can cause pain and swelling to occur. It'll feel a whole lot like a bee sting when it happens.
There are also some larger centipedes that can do a little more damage when they bite you. You might get put in a position where you'll have no choice but to seek medical care for a centipede bite. This should serve as another reason why you should work to get them out of your home ASAP.
How Do You Get Rid of Indoor Centipedes?
If you have indoor centipedes running around in your home, you shouldn't hesitate to do something about them. The longer you wait to react to this situation, the more centipedes will be able to reproduce in your home.
So, what should you do to stop centipedes in their tracks? At first, you may be able to get away with simply pulling out your vacuum cleaner and getting rid of them that way. That might work for a little while when you only have a few centipedes here and there.
But as time goes on and you're still seeing centipedes in your home, you might have to take more drastic measures. For instance, you may want to explore how you can order a DIY pest control kit that will make your centipede problem a thing of the past.
Here's how it'll work:
- Find a pest control company like Remedy that specializes in selling DIY pest control kits
- Let Remedy know which type of pests you're dealing with and where your home is located so that they can identify the kind of pest problem you have
- Provide Remedy with information about your home, including its size and the number of floors in it
- Pick out the right DIY pest control subscription plan from Remedy
- Sit back and wait for Remedy to send the right DIY pest control products in your direction
Remedy can deliver the right pest control products to you so that you can get rid of the centipedes that are in your home and keep them away for good.
Let Us Help You Keep Centipedes Away From Your Home
Are you sick and tired of seeing centipedes scurrying around in your home every time you go down in your basement or walk into your bathroom? This problem isn't going to go away on its own.
Now that you know the answer to the question, "Where do centipedes come from?", take matters into your own hands by reaching out to Remedy for help. We can supply you with the DIY pest control kit that you'll need to eliminate centipedes from your home once and or all.
Contact us now to get more information on the subscription plans that we can offer you.