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Are House Centipedes Harmful?
Are House Centipedes Harmful?. House centipedes, or Scutigera coleoptrata, bite if handled. These bites, although not lethal, may cause temporary pain. Larger adult house centipedes inflict bites people can feel. Bites can be prevented by not handling the centipedes or by wearing work gloves.
House centipedes, or Scutigera coleoptrata, bite if handled. These bites, although not lethal, may cause temporary pain. Larger adult house centipedes inflict bites people can feel. Bites can be prevented by not handling the centipedes or by wearing work gloves.
Identification
House centipedes grow bodies up to 1.5 inches long. But measured from antennae tips to the tips of the last pair of legs, it measures 3 to 4 inches. Although nicknamed "hundred leggers" they sport only 15 pairs of extremely thin legs. In females, the hind legs closest to the tail grow up to twice the length of the body. They sport sausage-shaped bodies often colored light tan with two dark stripes down the length of the body. Larvae have only eight legs, but each time they molt, they gain pair of legs until they reach maturity.
Bite Prevention
House centipedes prefer to live in dark, damp areas. They hide in these places during daylight hours and scurry away when disturbed. They live in basements, attics, crawl spaces, garden sheds, garbage cans, underneath rocks and concrete slabs, around wood piles, in or around piles of wood brush or garden clippings, and inside concrete blocks or cardboard boxes. When working around these places, always wear work gloves to prevent accidental contact with a centipede.
Fun Facts
The same venom that causes a painful bite also kills insects that house centipedes eat. Centipedes eat many home and garden pests, including cockroaches, silverfish, small spiders, the larvae of carpet beetles and firebrats. House centipedes also eat earwigs, flies, moths, crickets and bedbugs. Proficient hunters, house centipedes can carry dead insects while continuing to hunt.
Management
Pesticides that kill house centipedes include boric acid, diatomaceous earth and pyrethroids such as permethrin or cyfluthrin. But more house centipedes will replace dead ones if prey insects infest the home. Pesticides that kill centipedes may not kill prey insects such as bedbugs. Penn State entomologist Steve Jacobs recommends using a dehumidifier in damp rooms and repairing any leaks that cause the damp areas centipedes like to hide in.
