Don’t Kill Centipedes in the House

There’s nothing quite as alarming as walking into your kitchen at night and seeing a centipede running across the floor when you turn the light on. Even people who can handle most bugs in Alaska might have a problem with centipedes. Unlike some of their bigger, stronger worm-like cousins, the house centipede has a relatively short body with about 30 creepy-crawly legs. They tend to live in cool, damp places, which means they love bathrooms. That can make for some unwanted intimate encounters, and prompt emergency calls to pest control.

While you should certainly call pest control if your Alaska home seems to have been overrun with centipedes, there is good reason not to kill house centipedes if you only see one occasionally.

House centipedes can’t hurt you

The average house centipede is not like its more lethal tropical family members. Aside from giving you a fright, house centipedes aren’t strong enough to bite a human being. They’re also cleaner than some other pests. Unlike houseflies and cockroaches, the house centipede doesn’t really carry diseases.

They eat other, nastier insects

House centipedes are famous for killing all kinds of unwanted pests. They will take out everything from flies, termites and moths to silverfish and roaches. While it can be hard to imagine a skinny centipede taking out a roach, they are creative killers. A centipede uses the two legs nearest its head to sting its kill. These legs actually carry venom. Then, the centipede will use its other legs to scoop up the bug. The whole process is called “lassoing,” in which the centipede jumps on its prey and wraps it up with its alarming supply of legs.

Centipedes are very active

Centipedes are known to be extremely active hunters and are always on the lookout for new prey to consume. Considering that they eat bugs that can do serious damage to your home like termites and bed bugs, this is great news for homeowners. Their energy is meanwhile not directed towards making unsightly nests or webs. Unlike spiders, you don’t have to constantly clean up after centipedes or walk through a disturbing nest before you see them.

Removing centipedes

If their many virtues are not enough to look past how terrifying it can be to be confronted by a scuttling centipede in your home, you might consider removing house centipedes rather than squashing them with your shoe. You can scoop them up in a can and place them in damp areas of your Alaska property, preferably with a lot of leaves and rocks.

To make sure they don’t come back, you can take steps to reduce the moisture in your home to make it less welcoming. Investing in a dehumidifier is an effective approach that can also provide other benefits. Eliminating other pests will also help, since that’s their food source.

For help getting rid of centipedes of other pests in your Alaska home, contact the experts at Pied Piper Pest Control today. We look forward to assisting you soon!

Categorised in: Pest Control

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