Are House Centipedes Dangerous? Should You Kill Them?

If you discover a centipede in your house, there is no reason to eliminate it. Centipedes are not hazardous to you or your property. In fact, they truly make your home safer because they are carnivores that will try to eat other insects that can lead to damage to your residence.

So, it’s greatest to depart the centipede by yourself, even however you may possibly be tempted to squash it on website. The only time you should kill centipedes is if you have a property centipede infestation, but this is exceptional.

Centipede Overview

Are House Centipedes Dangerous? Should You Kill Them?
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Scientific Name Scutigera coleoptrata
Common Name House centipede
Size 1–2 inches
Number of Legs 15 pairs of legs
Color Yellow/gray/brown with dark stripes
Lifespan 3–7 years
Habitat Moist, damp, and dark areas, such as in a bathroom, basement, and piles of wood

Are House Centipedes Harmful?

Centipedes are surely creepy crawly creatures that can induce a scream or remarkable response. Even so, property centipedes are not dangerous. They are not bloodsucking monsters that will feed on you or your family members users, and, they do not feed on wooden or material like termites and millipedes possibly.

Centipedes are not even known to transmit diseases to humans or crops or other mammals either. As a outcome, they are not dangerous to you, your household users, furry pals, or your house.

Alternatively, centipedes are fairly harmless creatures. Technically, they can chunk human beings, though this is uncommon. These creatures have jaws that inject their prey with venom just before consuming them. Centipedes can use this venom on people, but it is not harmful to us.

Even so, centipedes are much more probably to operate away and disguise if a human ways them. If you are managing the centipede, it might bite you to try out to escape. The chunk will truly feel like a gentle bee sting, but you don’t have to fret about poisoning or toxicity.

Are House Centipedes Dangerous? Should You Kill Them?
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Should I Kill a Centipede In My House?

In addition to getting harmless, centipedes really keep your home clean. In a way, centipedes are nature’s exterminators. They are carnivores that only feed on other bugs. This implies that they will eat cockroaches, millipedes, termites, and ants around your property.

Given that centipedes shield your home from other dangerous bugs, it’s properly wonderful to leave the centipede exactly where it is. It will not damage you, and it will make sure that your house is free of charge from other dangerous bugs that you surely want to get rid of.

Does Killing a Centipede Attract More?

If you kill a centipede, it is imperative to pick up the continues to be and dispose of the remains accurately. Flushing the centipede down the bathroom, for illustration, is a good way to dispose of the centipede.

The cause for this is that leaving the centipede continues to be in which it is might attract much more centipedes. Centipedes are carnivores that will try to eat the stays of useless centipedes. So, get rid of their continues to be so that you really do not have to worry about attracting more to your area.

Are House Centipedes Dangerous? Should You Kill Them?
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Why Are Centipedes In My House?

If you see 1 or two centipedes in your house, the centipedes most likely just received in through some variety of crack or tiny crevice. Centipedes are naturally drawn to dim, damp environments, this sort of as your rest room or basement. Furthermore, these places are inclined to other types of bugs, which makes it possible for the centipede to have a food source.

Just simply because you see 1 centipede does not suggest you’ll see more. House centipedes are mainly solitary. So, you probably do not have a lot more than a couple of centipedes at a time.

What If I Have a Centipede Problem?

Even even though residence centipedes are solitary creatures, you can have a centipede infestation. It isn’t a common event, but it is a single that demands to be dealt with. Centipede infestations generally come about when there is an insect infestation of another source.

If you have a mite, bed bug, roach, or ant infestation, centipedes will normally comply with the foodstuff resource. As a end result, centipedes will comply with the foodstuff resource if there is an abundance of it. The centipede infestation itself is more of a nuisance than a dilemma, but the other infestation is most likely unsafe.

Are House Centipedes Dangerous? Should You Kill Them?
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When To Call a Professional

If you believe you have a centipede infestation, it’s greatest to make contact with a pest control expert. As soon as yet again, a centipede infestation is generally a signal of a bigger dilemma. The professional will be capable to decide if you have an additional infestation and extensively eradicate both.

In contrast, there is no need to contact a expert if you only see 1 or two centipedes. More than likely, it is the identical centipede if you see two, and you are just looking at it in various areas. A one centipede is nothing to fear about. In simple fact, you can thank this carnivorous predator for maintaining your home totally free from other pests!

Are House Centipedes Dangerous? Should You Kill Them?
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Final Thoughts

If you have a home centipede, really don't fret about it. Despite the fact that they can chunk, their bite is harmless and really uncommon. You do not have to fret about the residence centipede eating away at your home and objects both. Instead, the house centipede eats absent at bugs you want to get rid of.

So, keep your centipede bodyguard but be on the lookout for others. If you start to see a lot of centipedes, you likely have an infestation, which is a sign of another insect infestation. Contact a professional if you suspect a centipede infestation is haunting your home.


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