House centipedes are multi-legged creepy crawlies that are unwelcome guests in your home. With 15 pairs of legs, these pests can get around your house quickly and be difficult to capture.
If you’ve spotted centipedes in your house, you might be feeling unsettled. The “look” of these creatures generally makes people uncomfortable. All of those legs are just a bit much!
While centipedes are not considered dangerous to humans, it’s really not a pest you want roaming about your house. After all, you deserve to feel rested and relaxed when spending time at home…not worrying about lurking bugs.
In this article, we’ll dive into some of the things you should know about centipedes in your house, including why they might be there in the first place and how you can get rid of them.
#1: Why Are There Centipedes in My House?
You’re probably not going to like the answer to this one. A key factor that tends to attract centipedes indoors is food…and their primary source of food is other home-invading pests like spiders, crickets, and silverfish.
While there are some people who would argue that you should leave centipedes alone so that they can feed on other pests, our argument would be to aim to get rid of all of these pests!
Like other pests, centipedes are also attracted to indoor living because of the warmth and safety of shelter. As the weather turns colder, pests are increasingly likely to come inside.
Once inside, centipedes in your house are most likely hanging around in hiding spots. You might find them in boxes, in cracks or gaps, along baseboards, or even in drains. Most of the time people spot a centipede scurrying by to its next hiding spot. They aren’t generally just staying out in the open.
#2: How Do Centipedes Get In Your House?
As we mentioned, centipedes are generally attracted to the indoors due to food and shelter. They’ll also likely come inside as the air starts to get drier. They prefer moist spaces and dry conditions will force them indoors.
As far as how they make their way inside, like other pests it’s generally through cracks in the foundation, poorly sealed windows or doors, and drains. Centipedes can squeeze their way through tiny holes.
Still, it does make sense to seal any cracks, gaps, or holes in your foundation, patch screens, seal up windows, and keep doors closed.
#3: Are Centipedes Dangerous?
While centipedes are not generally considered dangerous to humans, they can bite. Since centipedes do inject venom, a bite could be painful to people or pets.
That being said, centipedes don’t bite often. You’d basically have to pick a centipede up to get bit. In most cases, they are trying to get away from you as fast as possible and are very difficult to catch.
These pests are definitely looking to stay out of sight.
Your cat or dog is most likely to successfully chase and capture a centipede. If your pets do get bit, there aren’t known serious health threats (but it might hurt).
#4: How to Get Rid of House Centipedes
As we mentioned, sealing cracks and crevices and trying to close off outdoor entry points is one good way to deter pests from coming inside.
Since centipedes like moisture, you can also use a dehumidifier in your basement or other moist spaces. Eliminating areas of standing water around your home is also helpful.
But the best way to get rid of centipedes is by investing in perimeter pest control services.
This service is performed outside of the home as a proactive measure to prevent bugs from coming inside in the first place.
The best way for us to describe perimeter pest control is to use the analogy of a shield. When treating around the perimeter of your home with a pest control product, we are essentially creating a “shield” that keeps bugs away.
Perimeter pest control will also help eliminate a centipede’s food source since it works on other pests like spiders, ants, silverfish, and more. That means there will be fewer creepy crawlies lurking around your home.
Perimeter Pest Control in Cincinnati, Dayton, OH and Northern Kentucky
When it comes to getting all the benefits of perimeter pest control services, you want to choose an outdoor pest control company that you can trust.
At Oasis Turf & Tree, our program is thorough and effective and generally costs less than what others charge. That’s because we use some of the same high-quality products as those that exterminators utilize on a regular basis to treat the exterior of your home.
This means that you don’t have to let the pests win! By creating a shield around your home with perimeter pest control services, you can keep the bugs away and get back to enjoying life as usual.
If you’d like to learn more about perimeter pest control for your Cincinnati, Dayton, OH, or Northern Kentucky home, call us at 513-697-9090 or get your quote online and help us find the program that is best for you, then sit back and relax knowing these pests are being kept away.
Image Source: Centipede