A long, multi-legged creature darting across the floor often causes concern about a potential infestation. Centipedes, which are arthropods, enter human dwellings for specific and predictable reasons: they are seeking shelter, moisture, or food. Understanding the environmental factors that draw them indoors is the first step toward effectively managing their presence.
Identifying the Common House Centipede
The house centipede, Scutigera coleoptrata, is an arthropod native to the Mediterranean region that has spread worldwide. This creature is recognizable by its yellowish-gray body, usually measuring between one and one-and-a-half inches long. Its most distinctive feature is 15 pairs of long, slender legs that increase in length toward the rear, contributing to its speed and appearance.
Despite its alarming look and rapid movement, the house centipede is generally harmless to people and pets. Unlike other household pests, they do not damage structures, fabrics, or stored food supplies. They are active predators, hunting down insects and arachnids within the home. While they possess venom, their modified front legs—called forcipules—rarely penetrate human skin, and a bite typically results in mild, localized pain comparable to a bee sting.
Environmental Factors Drawing Them Indoors
Centipedes are drawn into houses by conditions that mimic their preferred outdoor habitats, focusing on moisture and the availability of prey. They are highly dependent on high humidity to survive because their outer covering does not retain water efficiently. This need causes them to seek out damp areas like basements, crawl spaces, laundry rooms, and bathrooms, especially where ventilation is poor or plumbing leaks exist.
Centipedes are nocturnal and prefer dark, undisturbed, and cluttered spaces to hide during the day. Piles of stored items, boxes, or debris in a basement offer ideal daytime shelter. Extreme external weather conditions, such as prolonged drought or heavy rain, also push these creatures inside to find more stable environmental conditions.
The presence of a house centipede is a strong indication of an existing pest problem, as they are secondary invaders following a food source. They actively hunt a variety of common household pests, including silverfish, cockroaches, spiders, termites, and bed bugs. If prey populations are abundant, the centipede establishes a temporary residence until the food supply diminishes.
Strategies for Exclusion and Control
Effective control focuses on modifying the indoor environment to make it less hospitable by addressing moisture and food sources. The most immediate step is physical exclusion, which involves sealing potential entry points into the home. Homeowners should inspect the foundation, exterior walls, and areas where utility lines enter the house, sealing any cracks or gaps with caulk.
Installing weather stripping on doors and ensuring windows are tightly sealed blocks common access routes for centipedes and their prey. Because centipedes can enter through small openings, repairing tears in window screens or loose mortar reduces their ability to find a way inside. Outside, keeping mulch, leaf litter, and woodpiles away from the foundation eliminates outdoor hiding spots and reduces the chance of migration indoors.
Addressing the moisture problem is a powerful deterrent, as centipedes cannot survive in dry air. Running a dehumidifier in damp areas like basements or crawl spaces helps keep humidity levels low. Eliminating water sources requires several practical steps:
- Promptly repairing any leaky pipes.
- Ensuring gutters are clean and draining water away from the foundation.
- Improving ventilation in bathrooms.
Eliminating the centipede’s food source is the most effective control measure. Reducing the populations of other household pests removes the primary reason the centipede is in the house. Maintaining a clean environment, promptly cleaning up food debris, and managing existing infestations of spiders, silverfish, or cockroaches will cause the centipedes to move on.