HOUSE CENTIPEDES

Adult centipedes are yellowish to dark brown, often with dark markings and 1/8 to 6 inches long. The body is flattened with 15 to 177 body segments that typically have one pair of legs each. They have one pair of slender antennae. 

​

House centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata), prefer to live in moist environments. The house centipede can live indoors in damp basements, moist closets, and bathrooms and outdoors under stones, decaying firewood, objects on the ground, piles of leaves, mulch, etc. Most centipedes are active at night. The first pair of legs on centipedes has poison glands that are used to kill prey, such as insects and spiders. Centipedes can bite humans, but the bite is seldom worse than a bee sting.

​

House centipedes can be controlled indoors by eliminating their harborage areas where possible. A vacuum should be used to remove exposed centipedes. Liquid and dust applications can be introduced into wall voids, cracks and crevices along baseboards, and into other potential hiding places.