Centipedes Identification

Centipede Removal: The word centipede means 100 legs, although most of them don’t have 100 legs. House centipedes are about 3 to inches long. Most centipedes are brown to reddish in color. They have many body segments with one pair of legs attached to each segment. First segment of the body have jaw with venom.
Most centipedes have up to 177 legs. Centipedes belong to the class of Chilopoda. Centipedes have flattened body containing an extended antenna. The large number of legs help centipede to move faster. and make it difficult to be killed by its predators. Usually, they prefer to live in warm and moist place.

Centipede dig out small chambers in rotten wood lay out their eggs. When hatched, a young centipede resemble adult but smaller in size. Young centipedes molt several times reaching maturity. During each molt, centipedes get additional segments.

Where house centipedes are found

House centipedes prefer to live in warm damp places. Outside you may find them under the pile of wood or other decaying material. You may find them in the basement, bathroom, garage or some other dark corners of your house. Centipedes are nocturnal, you may find them in the dark and moist places of your house. Indoor centipedes are commonly seen during spring and summer. You may rarely see centipedes during winter months. Moreover, they gain access to your basements through cracks in the foundation. As their eyes are sensitive to light, they prefer to live in dark places.

Do Centipede bite ?

Centipede have stinger on the first segment of their body. They may bite you accidently step on it or pick it roughly. The bite happens by puncturing the skin with the stinger. Not all centipedes’ bite. Some of them do bite and in some cases I may be painful. Smaller centipede can not puncture human skin, but larger can. Even if bite happen, it may not cause any health issues. Larger centipedes do have venomous glands which they use to kill their prey. In human centipede bite may cause some itchy and burning sensation. Their stings can cause redness, swelling and sever pain in the area of bite. Symptoms may disappear in a few hours. Two small punctures may be found at the area of the bite. Centipede venom may contain a variety of chemical including histamine, serotonin and cardio depressant toxin. Centipedes bite can cause sever allergic reaction.

Symptoms may be more sever in the people who are more allergic to bees and wasp stings. In case of centipede sting, it is suggested to wash the affect area. Applying cold compression for a period of 15 minutes is even more helpful. People with sever allergic reaction to the centipede venom should seek medical advice. For most people the centipede bite symptom may be just for a few hours

Sign of Centipede infestation

Centipede Removal: Centipede infestation indicate the presence of other pests. They live in the drain floor and other hard to reach places inside houses. As they live on other insects this means if you see centipedes, this means you may have other insects like spiders and ants. In other word if you have spider or ants, it is wise to treat them quickly or be prepare for centipedes.

Centipede Control

Centipedes prefer to live in out of sight places. Since they may be sheltering under pile of rotting woods. Inside they may be found in the bathrooms or basement or any place with higher degree of humidity. They usually invade homes for spiders, cockroach, ants and silverfish etc. Consequently the presence of these insects indicates that soon you may have centipedes if you don’t already have them. Off course our technician would suggest upon inspection, any repair if needed. However, repairing cracks and controlling moisture or using dehumidifier help eliminate their presence. At mirak pest control, we are expert in controlling all pests including centipedes