Centipedes will usually live outdoors, but don’t be surprised if there are times when you find them inside your home. Centipedes live in damp areas like under leaf buildup, rock and pebble garden areas, loose moist boards, tree bark, pine needles, and other mulch areas. If your foundation has moisture or standing water issues, centipedes can make their way inside your home. Even though you can see centipedes during the day they are more active at night when they can hunt for food easily. That is another thing
Centipedes hunt other arthropods like:
- Spiders
- Termites
- Cockroaches
- Bed Bugs
- Silverfish
- Flies
- Moths
- Fleas Etc.
If your home has the issues of infestation it is likely that you will find centipedes in high bug populated areas. Getting rid of other bug issues will help reduce centipede population in and around your home.
How Do I Stop Centipede Infestations?
- Take Away Food Source – If you spray an insecticide in your home you can get rid of the other pests that centipedes eat. Like I mentioned above they will eat spiders, termites, cockroaches, bed bugs and many other arthropods.
- Remove Moisture – Crank up the A/C, use a dehumidifier to reduce moisture in your home.
- Seal Your Home – The thing to be sure of is to seal all windows and doors by making sure that the linings aren’t damaged, worn or missing. Next, you will want to seal all holes in walls, pipes, and electrical with either a
- silicone or a spray foam filler. Doing these things well will fix most of the issues with entry, however, centipedes can get into small places so try not to miss anything.
- Remove Debris – If your foundation is moist and has leaf piles, pine needles, bark, stones or mulch up against it, this can be a good hiding place for centipedes to live. Another thing is that you don’t want to have boards, tools or foliage leaning up against your home.
How Can I Get Rid Of Centipedes?
Control Methods:
Insecticide Spray- Talstar P is a very inexpensive commercial pesticide that can be applied all along the foundation of your home. The residual can last up to 30 days.
You can also apply this pesticide around:
- Windows
- Doors
- Eaves
- Soffits
- Down Spouts
- Fascia
- Gable Vents
Mix: Talstar P into a spray can to the precise mixture on the label (don’t put in extra… a dead bug is a dead bug and the toxicity level only needs to be that of the label’s direction). Fill: the rest of the gallon jug with water and replace the top of the sprayer and shake well. Pressurize: the sprayer and make even strides in your application 1-3’ up and 1-3’ out. Talstar P lasts between 21-30 days.
- Dust- Most people use dust very wrong so listen up. Get a bellows duster and apply the dust in voids that allow centipedes entry into your home.
- Glue Boards- Glue boards do awesome in catching centipedes when they do enter your home. Place glue boards in entryways and to the sides of exterior doors and windows. Glue boards are a great especially if you do not want to spray chemical inside your home.
- Aerosols- Talstar Aerosol is amazing for those areas you just can’t get to with a spray can, it has the same residual as Talstar P and can be applied indoors as well. Make sure to read all directions and adhere to the labels warnings and instructions of use.
It is unlawful to use a pesticide in any manner that is not consistent with its labeling!
Centipede Facts
- Centipedes have 1 pair of legs per body segment
- Centipedes get their name from the number of legs they have. Centipede means 100 legs. Depending on the species of centipede they can have as little as 15 and as much as 177 pairs of legs, however, they never have 100 legs ever.
- Centipedes can live a long time 5-6 years is a long time as far as bugs go.
- Centipedes are found on every continent except Antarctica
Centipede Appearance
- Body: Centipedes are elongated, with flush, segmented bodies that have a pair of legs on every singlesegment of their body.
- Size: Centipedes vary in size. They can be anywhere from 4 to 152 mm, this will depend on the species.
- Head: The centipede head has a pair of long delicate antennae.
- Legs: Centipedes can have anywhere from 15 to 177 pairs of legs
Summary
It is good to keep your home as dry and bug-free as possible, this will help ensure a healthy home and peace of mind.Moisture is the number one cause of most pest infestations. If you have centipedes in your home make sure to ask yourself have I taken care of all the other pests that inhabit my home? With a good seal and some proper pest control being centipede free is very possible.
Posts Of Interest
What Time Of Year Do Spiders Lay Eggs?
The brief answer is spider multiply all year. Even though they will appear less active in the winter and fall they will still mate, lay eggs and feed.
How Do Bald-Faced Hornets Make Their Nest?
Since most of the foragers die in the winter it is now up to the queen to make a nest after overwintering. The queen uses cellulose and saliva to make her paper nest chewing the cellulose from dead rotting trees and other wood. The process takes 2-3 weeks.
As a pest professional, I just wanted to let you all know I use these products on a regular basis and I can say that they all work well. If you want to do DIY Pest Control yourself commercial chemicals are the way to go and in the long run save you time and money compared to the money you will spend on a less effective product you can get from big box stores.
Make sure that it is lawful to use commercial chemicals in your city or state before you buy. Most states will allow you to use these chemicals on your own home.
