If you’ve ever come across a house centipede crawling across your basement floor or scurrying up a wall, your first instinct might be to grab the nearest shoe or paper towel and squash it. After all, with its many long, twitchy legs and fast, unpredictable movements, a house centipede doesn’t exactly scream “welcome guest.” But before you go on the attack, you might want to reconsider. As unsettling as these little creatures might appear, house centipedes can actually be beneficial to have around your home. Instead of rushing to kill one the next time you see it, you may want to scoop it up in a jar and release it back outside—or better yet, let it continue doing its job inside.
House centipedes are natural predators, and their favorite meals are the very pests most of us don’t want anywhere near our homes. They feed on a variety of unwelcome house guests, including ants, spiders, silverfish, termites, cockroaches, and even bed bugs. While you may not like the idea of sharing space with a centipede, it’s worth considering that they’re actually helping to control these other, often more problematic, pests. These fast-moving hunters track down their prey using their highly sensitive antennae, and they can move quickly to snatch up bugs that we’d rather not see crawling around. Essentially, house centipedes are like having a free pest control service operating in the background. And despite their creepy appearance, house centipedes aren’t dangerous to humans or pets. They don’t spread disease, and their venom is only effective against their insect prey. So you don’t have to worry about getting hurt if you leave one alone.
That said, no one wants to live in a home full of bugs—centipedes included. If you find one wandering around in broad daylight, it’s probably a sign that your home has more pest activity than you realize. House centipedes prefer dark, damp environments like basements, bathrooms, closets, and other places where moisture levels are high. They’re nocturnal by nature, which means they typically stay out of sight during the day and come out to hunt at night. You’re most likely to find them hiding under sinks, in bathtubs, behind baseboards, and in other secluded spots. According to the Department of Entomology at Penn State University, house centipedes are believed to have originated in the Mediterranean region but are now common in many parts of the world. They often find their way indoors through small cracks in foundation walls, gaps around windows and doors, or floor drains without water traps.
If you’re finding house centipedes in your home and would rather not have them inside, there are a few things you can do to encourage them to leave without resorting to killing them. The first step is to reduce moisture and dampness in areas like basements and bathrooms. Centipedes thrive in humid environments, so using a dehumidifier can make your home less inviting. Make sure to seal any cracks or gaps in your foundation, around windows, and near plumbing where centipedes might sneak in. You can also set sticky traps around the house to monitor centipede activity and get a sense of how many might be hiding out of sight. If you notice a lot of centipedes showing up, that could be a sign of a bigger pest problem, and it might be time to call in a professional pest control service.
In addition, make sure that any piles of leaves, firewood, or compost are kept away from the exterior walls of your house. These organic materials attract insects, which in turn attract centipedes. Reducing clutter and making sure cardboard boxes and other storage containers aren’t sitting directly on concrete slabs can also help discourage centipedes from moving in.
At the end of the day, house centipedes are more of an ally than a threat. They work hard to keep the populations of other insects in check and rarely cause any problems themselves. If you leave them alone, they’ll continue their pest control work quietly and efficiently. So the next time you spot one of these multi-legged critters scurrying across your wall, take a deep breath and let it be. After all, it’s just doing its job—and it’s doing it for free. And if you really don’t want them inside, gently guide them back outdoors without harming them. Either way, knowing what they bring to the table might just make them a little less scary the next time you cross paths.
