With their jittery movements and frightening appearance, house centipedes (Scutigera coleoptrata) are known for surprising homeowners. Although they pose little to no risk to humans, their sudden presence can make even the bravest person uneasy. If one has recently dashed across your floor, you’re likely asking: how did it get inside, and why?
The answer is pretty straightforward: house centipedes are drawn to places where they can find food, moisture, and shelter. If your home offers all three, it quickly becomes an attractive hideout.
How These Pests Sneak Inside
House centipedes don’t need much of an opening to make their way into your home. They’re small, quick, and resourceful. Tiny cracks in the foundation, gaps around plumbing, open vents, loose siding, or worn window seals are all potential access points. Once they get in, they seek out cool, shadowy corners that offer both protection and prey.
Since they’re nocturnal, they often go unnoticed at first. By the time you see one, it may have already established a quiet hideaway in spots like crawl spaces, bathrooms, or under appliances.
They’re Looking for Their Next Meal
Before ever entering a house, centipedes typically live outside beneath mulch, garden stones, or damp leaf piles. When the bugs they feed on move closer to your home, or disappear from the yard, centipedes follow the trail. While they do help reduce populations of unwanted insects, repeated sightings means you likely have an unaddressed pest problem.
House centipedes feast on a wide range of household pests, including:
- Ants
- Bed bugs
- Cockroaches
- Crickets
- Earwigs
- Moths
- Silverfish
- Spiders
- Termites
- And many more
Humidity Keeps Them Around
Moisture is a big deal for centipedes. Outside, they gravitate to soggy mulch, compost bins, or rotting wood. Inside, they seek out steamy bathrooms, leaky basements, and stuffy laundry rooms. Reducing moisture is one of the most effective ways to make your home less appealing to these pests.
Here are a few ways to dry out their favorite areas:
- Fix dripping outdoor faucets and leaky hoses
- Clean out gutters and ensure water drains away from your foundation
- Trim dense shrubbery near your home to help keep the soil dry
- Run dehumidifiers in basements or crawl spaces
- Improve ventilation in humid rooms, especially bathrooms and laundry areas
Clutter Gives Them a Place to Hide
House centipedes avoid light and movement, so they’re naturally drawn to cluttered, quiet areas. Whether it’s garden debris piled in the corner or a messy storage room, these conditions provide the ideal daytime hiding spots.
To cut down on centipede activity, clear out potential shelters with these strategies:
- Stack firewood neatly and keep it raised off the ground
- Store outdoor gear, planters, and tools in enclosed bins or sheds
- Bring toys and outdoor items indoors when not in use
- Rake fallen leaves and remove plant debris before they collect moisture
- Mow the lawn regularly and trim overgrown plants
- Seal up small cracks around your foundation, doorframes, and windows
- Repair any torn screens or worn-out weather stripping
Most House Centipede Problems Start Outside
Though you may catch one darting across your bathroom floor or slipping into a sink drain, house centipedes don’t originate indoors. These creatures typically begin their lives outside, thriving in damp, shaded areas where they can stay hidden and hunt for food. They’re commonly found under piles of wet leaves, in garden mulch, decaying logs, or beneath landscaping stones.
One of their favorite outdoor zones is the damp soil around the base of your home. This strip of land tends to stay moist and cool, and it’s often filled with insects, making it the perfect hunting ground for centipedes. Once they’re living comfortably near your foundation, all it takes is a shift in weather or a drop in humidity to push them inside.
To limit their chances of moving indoors, inspect these frequent outdoor hiding places:
- Plant beds and flower borders: These attract insects like aphids and mites, easy targets for centipedes.
- Bricks, pavers, and patio stones: Shelter and insect activity are often concentrated beneath these surfaces.
- Trash bins without tight lids: The scent of decomposing waste attracts bugs, and those bugs attract centipedes.
If your yard is holding excess moisture or clutter, you could be drawing in not just insects, but the predators that feed on them too.
Should You Be Concerned If You See One?
With their many legs and startling speed, house centipedes can seem threatening, but they’re not aggressive and rarely pose a threat to people. Most of the time, they’re simply passing through in search of prey and will flee quickly when spotted.
Still, it’s best to avoid handling them. Though their venom is designed for subduing insects, a centipede that feels threatened may deliver a pinch using its front legs. This minor sting is generally short-lived, similar to a bee sting.
For individuals with sensitivities to insect venom, however, a centipede pinch may trigger more serious symptoms like swelling, dizziness, or shortness of breath. In such cases, seek medical help immediately.
In most situations, house centipedes are harmless, but to be safe, it’s wise to prevent kids and pets from interacting with them.
How to Distinguish House Centipedes
House centipedes have a unique look that makes them easy to distinguish from other pests. If you’re unsure what you saw, these features can help you confirm it:
- Legs: Thin and feathered, their legs spread outward, creating a wispy, spider-like silhouette.
- Number of legs: They have 15 pairs, which sounds like a lot, but many species of centipedes have even more.
- Speed: These pests are fast and can cover more than a foot in under a second.
- Color: Most are pale gray or yellowish, with three dark stripes running lengthwise down the body.
- Antennae: Long and delicate, used to detect vibrations in low-light environments.
- Behavior: Skittish and reclusive, they typically avoid human contact.
- Venom: Strong enough to immobilize insects, but rarely causes more than mild irritation in people.
One Centipede Could Signal a Bigger Issue
Seeing a single house centipede doesn’t necessarily mean you have an infestation. However, it often points to an underlying problem: a buffet of other pests. These predators won’t stick around unless there’s a consistent food source nearby. If they’ve chosen to move in, there’s a good chance another insect population is thriving inside your home.
Killing the centipede may bring momentary relief, but it won’t solve the root of the problem. To stop them from coming back, you need to address what’s attracting them in the first place.
At Arrow Exterminating, we go beyond the bugs you can see. Our experienced technicians will inspect your home and yard, identify hidden pest activity, and create a personalized plan to eliminate both centipedes and the insects that sustain them.
Schedule your inspection today and take the first step toward a more comfortable, pest-free home.
