How to Get Rid of Centipedes
November 4th, 2009 Posted in Centipedes & Millipedes 
You turn on the light in the bathroom and freeze. You take a deep breath and try to get the stomach to trap the incredibly fast moving creepy crawly that emerged from behind your toothbrush holder. You’ve just spotted a centipede.
Sure, they may not be harmful, but they are the kind of bug that makes your heart beat faster and causes you to let out a horror movie scream.
This article will help you get rid of these creepy crawlies by telling you:
Where centipedes live in your home
Centipedes generally stay outdoors. They do come inside in the late fall and early winter months when the weather changes (hey, we all want a warm sanctuary, right?) If you see a centipede in your home, it’s probably a house centipede.
Centipedes like dark, moist places. Basements, kitchen pantries, cracks in your foundation, and bathrooms are all favorite spots for centipedes. Why? Because it reminds them of dark, damp places like piles of leaves, compost piles, and the underside of logs.
How to prevent centipedes from coming inside
The most important method in combating centipedes is prevention. Once a centipede is in your home, there’s not much more you can do than pick it up and put it outside or kill it. Insecticides really have no effect.
There are several steps you can take to prevent centipedes from taking up residence in your home.
Reduce Moisture
Centipedes thrive in wet environments. They love wet leaves, soil, carpet…Basically, if there is moisture build up in or near your home, you are just asking centipedes to take up residence.
- So make sure gutters are moving moisture away from your home’s foundation.
- Rake leaves into piles away from your home.
- Keep piles of wet mulch and soil away from your home
- Use dehumidifiers to keep your house dry
Kill or Relocate Immediately
Centipedes aren’t likely to cause a mass infestation in your home because they can’t reproduce indoors. They will only accumulate if you let them keep coming into your home. So prevention can begin by simply getting rid of the first centipede you see.
If you see one, suck it up and grab vacuum cleaner or a cup and a magazine. Most people’s heartbeats quicken at the sight of these incredibly fast little buggers. But ignoring them won’t make them go away. By either killing or taking the centipede outside of your home, you may have solved the problem.
You can also place sticky traps down to collect centipedes if you really don’t want to even come close to one.
Seal Your Home
Centipedes are the Houdinis of the bug world. They are flat and sneaky and can find their way into your home through the smallest of cracks. To cut off their roots into your home:
- Take some caulking and seal off any cracks in your foundation
- Patch or replace broken screens
- Spray an insecticide along the edges of your foundation
- Cover drains or spaces around wires that lead into your home
Get rid of temptation
If you find a centipede in your home, it probably means there are other small pests in your home. Centipedes are predatory, which means they eat other, smaller insects like ants and fruit flies. By eliminating these smaller prey bugs, you can avoid making your home a centipede buffet.
How to kill them
If these prevention tips don’t satisfy your desire to completely eradicate centipedes, read on.
You can kill centipedes in your home by spreading powdered residual insecticide in the cracks in the walls, crawl spaces, under furniture, and in bathrooms. These are the places that centipedes are most likely to live and the powdered insecticide, like Drione, will kill them. You have to trick them into coming across the insecticide, because they are predatory and not susceptible to baits.
You can also spray the foundation of your home and about a five foot radius of soil. This keeps them away from your home by eliminating food sources and repelling them directly.
EcoSMART Ant and Roach Killer kills all creepy crawly bugs, including centipedes, so consider spraying it around your home. It’s safe to use around children and pets and won’t harm the environment because it’s organic!
Unfortunately, it’s usually virtually impossible to get rid of centipedes in your garden or yard. Soil is home to tasty food like grubs and worms. So keeping centipedes away from your home is probably your best bet!
11 Comments | The First 1,000 to Comment (Starting 12/21/2009) Will Become EcoSMART Product Testers!
By Tina Smart on Nov 5, 2009
thanks so much for the helpful info! im in my college dorm room and i keep finding centipedes!
its makes me scream everytime i see one!
now that i know how to get rid of them, hopefully i can!
thanks again!
By Jennifer Barker on Dec 22, 2009
I was asleep on my couch when I felt something crawling on my FACE!!! OMG!! I have had the hebie-jebies ever since! My husband sprayed it with everything from carpet cleaner to armor all! (of course to no avail!) We were both scared! We weren’t even sure if it was a centipede or millipede until we called poison control! I believe the heart of our overreaction is our one year old who puts EVERYTHING in his mouth! Thank you for your advice & I cannot wait to take part in your testing!
By Jennifer Barker on Dec 22, 2009
Me again-that thing crawling on my face was a centipede. Accidently left that out of my last comment! Pardon!
By Kevin Butler on Apr 5, 2010
These things (centipedes) appear in fall and spring like clock work. Have tried just about everything to get rid of these creepy little creatures to no avail. I also get small black ants every spring and am ready to put an end to these two little problems. Look forward to giving your product a go.
By Stacey Walthes on May 21, 2010
I saw a centipede for the very first time a few months ago on my bedroom wall as i was getting ready for bed, It had to be 2 inches long and had its legs out so far it scared the crap out of me … I now check the wall and ceiling every night before heading to bed because that wasnt the last time i would see one .. whenever it rains one seems to find its way in! They freak me out so bad they even haunt me in my dreams …
By christine on Jun 1, 2010
I just recently moved into a two level house where I rent out the bottom half of the house and saw my first ever centipede and screamed, I have been investigating these lil critters, I know they are harmless, but they sure are nasty, and they don’t belong in the same room with me. I am at a point where i will do anything to get rid of em.
By Sarah on Jun 1, 2010
Every spring and summer centipedes make an appearance in my house; usually nightly, arriving from our unfinished basement to our main floor. These pests are ugly, fast and are ready for fight. I have doused them in window and carpet cleaner and even vinegar, but these critters just shake it off and scurry even quicker toward me! I have now trapped one in a jar: no food, no water, no air for 3 days and the thing is still kicking! Time to take it up a notch – I’m fighting back this summer!
By bethany on Jun 3, 2010
i am looking for information for my grandma, she has a bad infestation of centipedes but doesnt want to use any pesticides because of her cats and dog. she is almost disabled so taking care of the problem herself. this information was extremely helpful thank you.
By Dave on Jun 3, 2010
Spring and Summer – I like to refer to as hunting season… I am armed with a paper towel, or sometimes just my fist. The splatter and twitching these critters do after I’m done with them is still creepy. I’ve seen so many of them that the small ones I find cute. The 3-4 inchers are the ones I crave to destroy. The worst of them are the ones that escape, since I know they are still out there preparing for battle another day.
Similar to Sarah, I’ve tried everything; bug spray, cleaners, bleach, paint remover, and the only thing I’ve found that works is crushing force.
SQUISH!
By Amy on Aug 19, 2010
Thanks for this site and your natural product. I will give the Ant & Roach a try. I have used the Home Pest Control around my foundation, and just cleaned up a pile of leaves that had collected between the stone wall and the entry wall… I think that stirred up some of these icky things. Want to nip them in the bud!
By Linda Jarsky on Aug 26, 2010
The only way I seem to be able to fight the ugly speedy creepy crawlers is with a lightweight hand vacuum that I have duct taped a couple of hard plastic hose-like wands to. I hunt them down and vacuum them up (some are almost too big to get into the wand hole, but I’m determined to get them) and then I vacuum up the kitty litter to smash them dead in the vacuum bag. I’m terrified to go barefoot in my apartment because if I step on one I will not be able to quite screaming, I just know it. Please help!!