Centipede Information

Centipedes are one of the freakiest of all pests. Seeing one of these long, flat creatures with a million legs scurry across the floor right in front of your very eyes can be frightening, like something out of a sci-fi movie. These insects almost look otherworldly and they creep out the vast majority of the population. Centipedes love to hang out in bathrooms, kitchens or laundry rooms where it’s moist and wet so chances are most of your scary encounters occur in these rooms. In their free time, they are actually fastidious groomers. After meals they clean and groom each and every leg with their mouth parts, curling up to reach each leg, which is why sometimes you find them in a curled shape. No matter where or how you find them, centipedes are not welcome in your home.

General Information

The name centipede literally means “100 legs,” but centipedes actually have anywhere from 15 to 177 pairs of legs. There are more than 3,300 species of centipedes and they are found on every continent except for Antarctica. They vary in size but the longest species is over 12 inches in length, though most species in America are only an 1 inch so long. But these guys are fast! They can run up to 16 inches per second so if you see a flash of legs on an icky, flat, snakelike body scurrying by, it’s time for some professional centipede control.

The Signs of an Infestation

The signs of a centipede infestation are often times the visual sightings of these pests themselves. Centipedes are drawn to your home for a few reasons:

Other pests: Centipedes need food and they mostly come out at night to hunt for other smaller insects such as termites, silverfish, ants, spiders and more. If your home is crawling with other insects, it is basically filled with centipede food. Overall pest control from your friendly, local pest control service will not only take care of centipedes, but the food they’re snacking on as well.
Warmth: Because these pests live for so long, when it gets cold outside, centipedes must find a warm place to stay over the winter and often that is your home.
The smell of “food”: Some pests produce a smell when they infest, such as cockroaches, bed bugs and ants. These pests produce a musty or greasy kind of smell. Roaches in search of other insects are attracted to your home if it is also infested with the food it likes to eat. These other pests are attracted to your home if it has a smell of garbage or food so keeping your home clean and tidy will also keep other pests and centipedes away.

No matter how clean your home is though, anyone can get a centipede infestation if there are areas of moisture, an opening to get inside and the warmth is calling them.

Treatment

Most centipedes are fairly harmless and it’s not often they sting humans but when they do, the pain is along the same level as a bee sting. Oh, we know bee stings hurt, but at least house centipedes are not lethal. If you are waiting for the centipedes in your house to just die off, be warned, they do not have short lifespans. They can live up 5 or 6 years. To keep centipedes away, you need professional pest control from Pointe Pest Control. Not only will it take care of centipedes but all other pests in your home. Call us today for a pest free home year round.