Why You Should Never Kill House Centipedes: Nature’s Pest Controllers

The Misunderstood House Centipede: A Hidden Ally in Your Home

Few household insects trigger as much immediate revulsion as the house centipede. With its numerous legs and lightning-fast movements, this creature often falls victim to a hastily wielded shoe or rolled-up magazine. However, before you squash another one of these multi-legged visitors, you might want to reconsider. Despite their somewhat unsettling appearance, house centipedes are actually working in your favor, providing valuable pest management services completely free of charge.

House centipedes (Scutigera coleoptrata) have been cohabiting with humans for centuries, yet they remain widely misunderstood. These nocturnal hunters are not interested in your food, your wood, or your clothing. Instead, they’re focused on something much more beneficial to you: eliminating the actual pests in your home.

What Exactly Are House Centipedes?

House centipedes belong to the class Chilopoda and are arthropods, not insects. They’re easily identified by their yellowish-brown color with dark stripes running down their bodies, and of course, their numerous legs. While the name ‘centipede’ suggests they have 100 legs, house centipedes typically have 15 pairs of legs – that’s 30 legs in total when fully mature.

These fascinating creatures have adapted specifically to indoor environments, which is why they’re commonly found in homes across North America, though they originally hailed from the Mediterranean region. Unlike their outdoor cousins, house centipedes have evolved to thrive in the artificial environment of human dwellings, making them a common sight in basements, bathrooms, and other damp areas of homes.

The Case for Keeping House Centipedes Around

Nature’s Pest Control Specialists

The most compelling reason to spare the house centipede is their remarkable appetite for household pests. These efficient predators feed on a variety of unwanted guests including:

• Cockroaches
• Silverfish
• Spiders (including potentially dangerous ones)
• Bed bugs
• Termites
• Ants
• Flies
• Moths

House centipedes are equipped with modified front legs that function as fangs, allowing them to inject venom into their prey. This venom is harmless to humans but deadly to the small pests they hunt. Think of them as a living, breathing, completely free pest control service working tirelessly throughout your home.

They’re Actually Harmless to Humans

Despite their somewhat menacing appearance, house centipedes pose virtually no threat to humans. While they technically can bite if handled roughly or threatened, such occurrences are extremely rare. Their mandibles are generally too weak to penetrate human skin, and even if they do manage a bite, the reaction is typically no worse than a mild bee sting – temporary pain and perhaps some redness.

Unlike many household pests, house centipedes:

• Don’t carry diseases
• Don’t damage your home’s structure
• Don’t contaminate food
• Don’t reproduce in overwhelming numbers

In fact, if you’re seeing house centipedes regularly, it’s actually a sign that you have other pest problems they’re helping to manage. They’re not the problem – they’re the solution!

Understanding House Centipede Behavior

Nocturnal Hunters

House centipedes are primarily nocturnal, which is why you might occasionally spot one scurrying across the bathroom floor during a midnight trip. They prefer to hunt in the dark, using their long antennae to sense prey and their impressive speed to catch it. This nocturnal behavior means they’re usually out of sight while you’re awake, quietly handling pest problems while you sleep.

Their Preferred Habitat

If you’re wondering why these creatures have chosen your home, the answer typically involves moisture. House centipedes require damp environments to thrive, which is why they’re commonly found in:

• Bathrooms
• Basements
• Crawl spaces
• Laundry rooms
• Kitchens

They’re attracted to these areas not only because of the humidity but also because these locations often harbor the small insects they prey upon. Understanding this connection between moisture, other pests, and house centipedes is key to managing their presence in your home.

Managing House Centipedes Without Killing Them

If the sight of house centipedes still makes you uncomfortable despite their benefits, there are humane ways to reduce their numbers without resorting to killing these helpful creatures.

Control Moisture in Your Home

Since house centipedes require damp environments, reducing excess moisture is the most effective way to make your home less attractive to them:

• Fix leaky pipes promptly
• Use dehumidifiers in damp basements
• Ensure bathrooms are well-ventilated
• Address any standing water issues
• Improve drainage around your home’s foundation

Seal Entry Points

Preventing house centipedes from entering your home in the first place is another humane approach to management:

• Seal cracks in your home’s foundation
• Caulk gaps around windows and doors
• Install screens on vents and drains
• Ensure weather stripping is in good condition

Reduce Their Food Source

Remember, house centipedes are in your home because there are other pests for them to eat. By addressing these primary pest issues, you’ll naturally reduce the centipede population:

• Keep food stored in airtight containers
• Clean up crumbs and spills promptly
• Take out garbage regularly
• Address any existing pest problems with appropriate methods

Humane Removal

If you simply cannot coexist with a house centipede you’ve spotted, consider catch-and-release instead of killing it:

• Gently trap it under a cup or container
• Slide a piece of paper underneath
• Release it outside, preferably in a sheltered, moist area like a compost pile or under landscaping stones

Frequently Asked Questions About House Centipedes

Q: Are house centipedes dangerous to pets?

A: No, house centipedes are not dangerous to cats, dogs, or other household pets. Most pets will either ignore them or may even hunt them, but the centipedes’ venom is not strong enough to harm larger animals.

Q: Why do I suddenly have house centipedes in my home?

A: A sudden increase in house centipedes usually indicates two things: increased moisture in your home and/or an increase in other pest populations that centipedes feed on. Address these underlying issues to naturally reduce centipede numbers.

Q: Do house centipedes lay eggs in human ears?

A: Absolutely not. This is a common myth with no basis in fact. House centipedes have no interest in humans as hosts and will actively avoid contact with people whenever possible.

Q: How long do house centipedes live?

A: House centipedes can live surprisingly long lives for arthropods – up to 5-7 years in ideal conditions. This is another reason they’re such effective long-term pest controllers in your home.

Q: Can house centipedes climb walls and ceilings?

A: Yes, their specialized legs allow them to climb vertical surfaces and even move across ceilings, which helps them access areas where other pests might be hiding.

The Ecological Role of House Centipedes

Beyond their practical benefits as pest controllers, house centipedes represent an important lesson in ecological balance. Every creature, even those we might find unsettling, has a role to play in the wider ecosystem. In the case of house centipedes, they help maintain a natural check on population levels of various household pests.

By allowing these beneficial predators to fulfill their ecological niche, you’re embracing a more natural and sustainable approach to pest management. Chemical pesticides often kill indiscriminately, eliminating both pests and beneficial creatures while potentially introducing toxins into your living environment. House centipedes, on the other hand, target only the unwanted pests and do so without any negative impact on your home’s environment.

Changing Our Perspective on ‘Creepy Crawlies’

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of coexisting with house centipedes is overcoming our instinctive aversion to multi-legged creatures. This fear, often called entomophobia when generalized to insects, is partly cultural and partly instinctive. However, education can go a long way toward changing these perspectives.

By understanding the beneficial role these creatures play, we can begin to see them not as disgusting pests but as helpful allies in maintaining a balanced home ecosystem. Children, in particular, can benefit from learning about the positive contributions of misunderstood creatures like house centipedes, potentially developing a more nuanced and ecologically-minded view of the natural world from an early age.

The next time you spot a house centipede scurrying across your floor, try to resist the urge to squash it. Instead, remind yourself that this little hunter is working hard to keep your home free of genuinely problematic pests. If you absolutely must remove it, opt for the humane catch-and-release method described earlier – both you and the centipede will be better off for it.

By making peace with these beneficial creatures, you’re not only ensuring more effective pest control in your home but also taking a small step toward a more harmonious relationship with the natural world – even those parts of it that happen to have a few too many legs for comfort.

Author

Shinta

 

Shinta is a biotechnologist turned writer. She holds a master's degree in Biotechnology from Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences and a PG Diploma in cellular and molecular diagnostics from Manipal University. Shinta realised her love for content while working as an editor for a scientific journal.

Read full bio of Shinta