Centipedes rid us of harmful insects and feast on spiders, mosquitoes, cockroaches and cockroaches, and bed bugs.
What is a centipede?
There are more than 3500 species of centipedes in the world.
In France, it is the centipede (scutigera coleoptrata) that is most often encountered, and especially in the Mediterranean region.
This beetle (or arthropod, it is not an insect) is about 3 or 4 cm long, and has 15 legs in adulthood, allowing it to cover a distance of 40 centimeters in one second.
Very agile, he can also jump and quickly hide under furniture.
Beige-yellow in color, centipedes have fangs on their forelegs containing venom, which they use to defend themselves or attack their prey.
They can also give off a strong deterrent odor.
When they rarely sting a human, the human may be left with a redness similar to a wasp sting that fades within a few days.
Allergic reactions are rare: itching is more common.
Why do I have centipedes in my house?
Generally, the presence of centipedes in your home should alert you to the fact that you must have other insects in your home.
Indeed, centipedes feed on insects: cockroaches, spiders, cockroaches, fleas and aphids, bed bugs, mosquitoes, silverfish, flies, larvae, etc.
If you see a lot of them, it may indicate that you have an overgrowth of the insects they like in your home.
Read also5 natural ways to eliminate gnats at home
You can also see some in your pantry, but most often the proliferation takes place in more humid areas.
Indeed, outside, these little beasts tend to live in damp and dark places (under a pile of leaves, wood, vegetable waste, etc.)
How to avoid having centipedes at home?
Here are some prevention tips
:
Remove their food sources: remove spider webs and hunt for other insects present in your home that could attract centipedes.
Be sure to close your opened food packages (pasta, rice, flour) well, knowing that this can also attract other unwanted insects (ants, food moths, etc.).
Also check that you have no leaks where you saw them.
Ventilate your home well, especially wet or potentially damp rooms (bathroom, cellar, basement, etc.).
Install a dehumidifier if necessary.
You can also have your walls dried out if the humidity in your home is too high (above 65%).
Count between 30€ and 60€ per linear meter.
Patch any holes, cracks, and cracks in your walls or doors that could open up a passage for them.
Inspect your firewood (if it is a little damp, it becomes a good source of attraction for these myriapods).
How to get rid of it?
Centipedes are not harmful and do not cause much damage in your interior.
However, it is never pleasant to have a colony at home.
To get rid of it, there are several eradication solutions.
You can use :
Inside the house :
A powder or aerosol insecticide product on potential entry points for centipedes: doors, baseboards, cracks, crawl spaces, etc.
Sticky traps in the recesses of infested rooms.
Outside your home:
Spray all around the house with insecticide to create a barrier against centipedes (and other pests, at the same time).
Cut the climbing ivy on your walls if you have any: it is the ideal refuge for centipedes.
The ideal being despite everything not to kill the centipedes: they mean you no harm and get rid of harmful insects in the house (flying insects, crawling insects, etc.).
It is therefore a very effective natural pest control.
If they bother you, you can capture them with a jar or box and then release them outside.
It is always best to avoid spraying chemicals at home.
We hope these tips will help you rid your home of centipedes before infestation.