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Centipedes are arthropods with many body segments. Each segment has one pair of legs. Centipedes live in damp, dark places such as fallen logs, under rocks and in soil. Centipedes prey on insects and other small invertebrates.
Where Centipedes are Found
Centipedes usually live outside, but the House Centipede you can find inside as well. Centipedes usually live outdoors in damp areas such as under leaves, stones, boards, tree bark, or in mulch around outdoor plantings. If they are around the foundation of the house, they may wander inside. Most centipedes are active at night.
Centipede Identification
Centipedes(100 legs) are usually brownish, flattened, and elongate animals which have many body segments. Centipedes are flattened, with many different body segments. Centipedes have one pair of legs attached to most of these body segments, they can have up to 177 pairs of legs. Centipedes differ from millipedes; millipedes have two pairs of legs on most segments and bodies which are not flattened. Centipedes are between 1-6 inches, and the House Centipede is 1-1/12 inches.
How to Kill Centipedes
Centipedes can be prevented from gaining entry into buildings by sealing and caulking gaps around siding, windows, doors, pipes, wires and other structural voids. An easy to spray foam spray like Pur Black NF Foam has a closed cell foam that seals openings and voids from insects and rodents from entering buildings.
Removal of centipedes habitats including trash, rocks, boards, compost piles, and other hiding places around the structure would help reduce the population. The House Centipede will prefer to live in damp areas like basements, bathrooms, behind baseboards, or attics. House centipedes can be controlled indoors by eliminating their harborage areas where possible and using a vacuum to remove exposed centipedes.
Insecticide Sprays
Apply a residual concentrate with a hand pump sprayer.
- LambdaStar UltraCap and Cyper WSP may be applied inside or outside and are residual insecticides. These products are sprayed along cracks and crevices, entry points, and baseboards and discourage centipedes activity. These products should be applied as a 3- to 10-foot band around the perimeter of the structure, into harborage sites, and/or around potential entry points. Both products will give you long term residual-about 3 months, and is a good spray for all types of surfaces.
- Liquid applications can be introduced into cracks and crevices along baseboards and into other potential hiding places.
Cyper WSP, with Cypermethrin 40.0%.
Insecticide Aerosols
In addition to the recommended residual insecticides, Lambdastar UltraCap or Cyper WSP, you may also use an aerosol like Invader HPX , sprayed around doors and windows and other places where these pests may enter premises. This aerosol has a crack and crevice tip to apply in the very small cracks and crevices; locations where the liquid spray can not go.
Insecticide Dusts
As an extra measure, use a residual dust such as D-Fense Dust. Dust attic areas and under baseboards. A recommended dust for attic areas would be D Fense Dust with a hand duster or garden dusters.
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Centipede Damage and Bites
Larger centipedes can bite if they are injured, with a light swelling. A physician should be consulted if the bite has penetrated the skin. The centipede is beneficial, eating other insects. Centipedes do not damage food supplies or household furnishings.
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Centipede Biology
Centipedes typically overwinter outdoors; in the summer, centipedes lay 35 eggs or more in or on the soil. Newly hatched centipedes have four pairs of legs; during subsequent molts, the centipede progressively increases the number of legs until becoming adult. Adults of many species live a year and some as long as five to six years.
House Centipedes
The house centipede is a common pest in many parts of the United States. Unlike most other centipedes, the House Centipede lives its entire life inside a building.
The house centipede is grey-yellow with three stripes down the back and has very long legs banded with white. The largest centipedes are found in the Southwest. The body of this centipede is usually only 1 to 1 1/2 inches long at the most, but it's 15 pairs of legs make it seem much larger. The body is grayish-yellow with 3 dark stripes extending along the full length of the back.
The House Centipede will prefer to live in damp areas such as cellars, closets, bathrooms. They can also be found in attics during the warmer monthsand unexcavated areas under the house.
Eggs are laid in these same damp places, as well as behind baseboards or beneath bark on firewood.
*House Centipede Photo- Bruce Marlin via Wikimedia Commons
There's nothing more terrifying than finding one of these long, skittery pests hanging out in your basement. But before you screech at the top of your lungs while reaching for your shoe, you should know that house centipedes are far from being bad guys.While nobody likes creepy crawlies running around their home, these centipedes are actually on the lookout for even nastier pests, according to. House centipedes ( Scutigera coleoptrata) tend to lurk in the humid areas of homes looking for prey, including cockroaches, termites, spiders, and silverfish. By far, that list of insects combined is way creepier than any house centipede!How are they able to kill all these terrible bugs? These creatures might have 30 legs, so they can move fast, but that's not the only impressive thing about them. Their front two legs double as fangs that are filled with venom to inject their victims with. (Don't worry though: the fangs aren't strong enough to prick human skin.)Plus, their other legs allow the centipedes to attack and trap insects—cowboy style!—with a lassoing method.
They're very hungry insects, too, with a high metabolic rate, so expect them to do the job of clearing those pests out of your home for good in no time.So the next time you find a centipede in your tub, opt for a jar and take it outside, or better yet, caulk up the cracks and gaps in your home. This simple fix allows them to keep hunting in your walls all night long, and will put your mind (and your vocal chords) at e. Gang beast demo.
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