How to keep centipedes out of your house: 4 simple methods
Table Of Content
You may find them under your sink or in the bathtub occasionally, as those spots combine the damp and dark conditions they love so much. They tend to be fairly dormant in the winter (they prefer temperate climates) and begin to be more active in spring. Once temperatures begin to get colder in autumn they may want to find an indoor hiding place. If you see house centipedes emerging from various cracks or crawl spaces, try using a high-powered vacuum cleaner to suck them out.
Apply Centipede Pest Control Products
As long as you don’t pick one up, you really don’t have to worry about them biting you. So remove their food, from common houseplant pests to spider mites, and they will crawl their way elsewhere. Centipedes do not fly or jump and they cannot climb porcelain or glass, which is why house centipedes can sometimes be found in bathtubs.
Facts About Cockroaches You Won’t Want to Believe
Empty the vacuum cup or vacuum bag into a sealable plastic bag and dispose of it in an outdoor trash can. Keeping your basement neat also helps prevent the collection of damp spots around boxes and other items, which could attract these creatures. If centipedes keep getting in, you can use a natural or synthetic insecticide to create a barrier that the creatures will have to cross to get inside. There are chemical sprays and dusts that are approved for indoor use, but those will depend on your comfort level, particularly if you have children or pets around the home. Synthetic pesticides containing pyrethoids will kill centipedes on contact.
Signs of a Pill Bug Infestation
While most professional companies refute the claim that peppermint oil can repel spiders and insects, many homeowners swear by it. Peppermint oil may help repel house centipede and spiders alike as these insects do not like the smell of the peppermint, as well as the oil, can burn the exterior of house centipedes. Create a barrier in the inside of the home with the peppermint oil, along the walls in the rooms more prone to have house centipedes. For the outside of the home, as oil-based products will eventually wash away with the rain, plant some around the home to deter these pests from entering the premises. You can find many products such as Artizen Peppermint Essential Oil (100% natural undiluted oil). While there are various centipedes, only the house centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata) will reproduce indoors.
Depending on whether these items are in arms (or feet) reach, either spray them directly with bug spray or insect killer or suck them up with a vacuum hose. While you’re probably familiar with Googling, “Will hairspray kill spiders in my house? ” or making DIY moth repellent, this is likely your first time spotting a centipede in your residence. If you’ve seen one centipede in your home, there are more hiding around your house. If you see new centipedes daily, you may have a centipede infestation.
our company
The best way to kill a centipede is to take care of it right when it’s spotted. Amanda Rose Newton is a pest specialist and horticulture expert, reviewing pest control and gardening content for The Spruce's Cleaning and Gardening Review Board. Her passion for pest control and sustainable gardening allows her to review plant and pest content for best practices and accuracy. She is a board-certified entomologist and volunteers for USAIDs Farmer to Farmer program.
How to Check for Bed Bugs—and What to Do if You Find Them - Real Simple
How to Check for Bed Bugs—and What to Do if You Find Them.
Posted: Wed, 11 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Places You Never Knew Pests Were Hiding
As with bee stings, a centipede’s venomous sting can cause a severe allergic reaction in some individuals, but it won’t be fatal. The house centipede moves very quickly and always seem to dart out in front of you when you're vulnerable, like when you're just out of the shower or carrying something fragile. For people who tend to be startled or frightened by insects, these leggy prehistoric-looking creatures are the stuff of nightmares.
How to Prevent House Centipedes
Their jaws are weak, and if a bite does occur there is usually no more than slight swelling. Millie Hurst is a freelance lifestyle writer with over six years of experience in digital journalism. She has written and edited countless features on home organization, decluttering and interior design and always hopes to inspire readers with new ways to enjoy their homes. She lives in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, and loves to weave nature-inspired decor and nods to time spent in Italy into her own home. Forcipules are located just behind the centipede’s head and function as venomous appendages used to capture and immobilize prey.
If the patient has circulatory problems, decrease the time to prevent possible damage to the skin. Make your yard a friendly place for bats, and you’ll have fewer mosquitoes because bats eat them. You can attract bats by installing bat houses and growing native flowering species that they feed on.
The little stone centipedes (order Lithobiomorpha) are short-bodied. They, like the house centipedes, run with the body held straight and are the fastest moving centipedes. The female in some species stays with the young after they have hatched, guarding them until they are ready to leave. If disturbed the females tend to either abandon the eggs or young or to eat them. Many centipedes live in the soil and leaf litter, while those that hunt freely on the ground are strictly nocturnal and spend the day hiding under logs and stones where they can keep moist.
It can really help keep house centipedes, and many other bugs away. Insecticides and sprays are a great way to get rid of house centipedes without ever having to see them. One application provides a protective barrier that acts as a house centipede repellent for up to 12 months.
Getting rid of other pests from your house will go a long way toward reducing the number of house centipedes you see. While house centipedes themselves do not pose health risks, their presence indicates that there are other pests around. Centipedes are nocturnal creatures that hide in dark, damp, and cool places during the daytime and venture out in the dark to hunt.
The insect treatment works indoors and outdoors and also works for mosquitoes. In this guide, we will cover general information about house centipedes and remedies you can use to get rid of house centipedes for good. Much like silverfish and cockroaches, centipedes enter our homes for food and shelter and are most active at night, so a daytime sighting could indicate many more.
It is uncommon to have a full-blown infestation of house centipedes, as there are normally only a few in a household. However, it is possible with the right conditions to have a full-blown epidemic of these centipedes in your home. Ortho Home Defense indoor insect killer for indoor and perimeter use. All you have to do when you utilize spray house centipedes favorite hiding places.
A homemade spray is a natural centipede repellent and one that you don’t have to worry about harming your small children or pets if they come in contact with it. When the targeted bugs eat the acid, it poisons them and causes their digestive system to shut down. Boric acid also damages their exoskeletons, causing severe dehydration. If outdoor infestations are severe, you can apply a band of pesticide around the foundation to discourage these bugs from seeking entry into your home. A granular form of lambda-cyhalothrin or permethrin works well for this. While centipedes are not usually dangerous to humans, they can still be annoying.
Try to use chemical insecticides as sparingly as possible to maintain the quality of air in your home and be sure to keep children and pets away from areas where insecticide has been sprayed. Not sure if you need to contact a professional pest control service? Don’t be afraid to contact your local service provider to get a free, no-obligation quote. In the next section, we’ll introduce you to a few of our favorite nationwide, reputable providers of centipede removal services. If you have a house centipede problem, there are several pest control products that can help.
Comments
Post a Comment