It's easy to be startled by seeing a worm-like creature with countless legs darting across an open space in your yard, floor, or, even worse, across your foot. Centipedes are nocturnal, spending their days hiding in moist, dark places like rotten logs and rocks. They are much more common than we realize but usually are not seen by humans thanks to their knack for staying hidden and their ability to move with surprising speed.
While startling to come across, centipedes are basically harmless. Their pincers have a venom gland connected to them, but they will not bite unless handled roughly and the effect of the venom is no more than as if stung by a bee.
In nature, centipedes survive on insects, spiders, and sometimes plants and provide an effective addition to an insect control strategy in your house and yard. This perception changes rapidly when their population grows out of control or centipedes decide to make their home inside your house.
Let's look at what centipedes are, learn how to get rid of centipedes, how to keep centipedes away if they're infesting your house, and how to find quality pest control in Anaheim if the DIY approach fails.
What Are Centipedes?
The first step in an effective pest control strategy is to identify the pest problems in your house confidently.
Centipedes are anthropoids. They have a long, worm-like body with anywhere from 15 to 177 pairs of legs. Their bodies are usually yellowish to dark brown and range from 1/4 of an inch to 12 inches long.
Centipedes hunt by injecting venom into their prey and will bite if handled, but thankfully, most centipedes do not have jaws large enough to bite through human skin. Fortunately, the effect of the venom is not life-threatening. One of the few exceptions is the Florida blue which can bite through the skin and inject venom.
Why You Don't Want Centipedes Hanging Around Your Home
Sharing your home with uninvited guests rarely works out, and centipedes are not an exemption. While centipedes are beneficial, hunting down and eating cockroaches, silverfish, and other insects trying to make their home in your house, the thought of these hundred-legged creatures strolling across your bed as you sleep is enough to give most people nightmares.
The most common centipede you might encounter in your home is a common house centipede, Scutigera coleoptrata (Linnaeus), which is about 1 1/2 inches long with a yellow to a dark brown body and three black stripes running down its back. These little guys are not much of a threat, but a couple of their distant cousins grow big enough to be a problem. The North American giant centipede, the Sonoran Desert centipede, and the Texas redhead centipede are some of the largest centipedes in North America and can grow up to 12 inches long and deliver very painful bites.
But the biggest reason seeing centipedes hunting in your home should concern you is that they, like spiders, would not venture into a place that does not offer a food supply. Centipedes are carnivores whose prey consists of insects, spiders, and more. Seeing a centipede in your Anaheim home means there is a good chance it's there to hunt pests already infesting it.
Five No-Sweat Tips To Prevent Centipedes In Your Home
Centipedes sneak into your house looking for dark and moist places (they dry out and die very fast) and easy access to food.
To keep them out :
- Take care of leaks and drips to reduce moisture-high areas around your property.
- Clear out piles of leaves, grass clippings, and rocks around your home. Centipedes use them as a shelter from the drying sun and places to burrow in to overwinter.
- Seal up cracks and gaps in the walls and foundation of your house to keep centipedes from crawling in.
- Make sure window and door screens are in good shape and don't have holes.
- Cover vents with a fine mesh.
Centipedes can be challenging to get rid of, but thankfully they do not build nests in our homes, and seeing one centipede does not mean that there are nests close by in your home.
What's The Best Way To Get Rid Of Centipedes?
Faithfully following the above-mentioned preventative steps and a regular pest control service and inspection from an experienced pest control company is the best way to ensure centipedes and other pests stay outside the walls of your home.
A-1 Bonded Termite is a family business that has been taking care of pest infestations on behalf of Anaheim area residents for over 45 years.
If you're worried about centipedes running around your property, give us a call to schedule a free inspection and to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Anaheim.