What Do House Centipedes Eat?

Table Of Content

• Reasons Bugs Love Your Home
• Do house centipedes have any benefits for my home, or should I eliminate them entirely?
• Symptoms of a House Centipede Bite
• What Should You Do if You’ve Been Bitten by a Centipede?
• House Centipede Bite Symptoms
• House centipedes won’t harm people or homes.
• Dig Deeper on Centipedes

Contrary to their unsettling appearance, house centipedes should not be labelled as evil creatures. Although their presence can elicit a strong aversion, these unsettling insects actually play a beneficial role. Known for their speed and agility, house centipedes actively hunt and prey upon other, more bothersome pests that may be lurking in your home.

Reasons Bugs Love Your Home

It is thus best to get rid of these insects if you aren't familiar with centipede species. Centipedes, in fact, act as a means of pest control since they hunt prey. On the rare unfortunate occasion that a centipede does find its way to your bed, understand that it is only looking for a pest to catch as prey for dinner.

Do house centipedes have any benefits for my home, or should I eliminate them entirely?

Bed bugs are small, blood-feeding insects that can be a nuisance in homes. House centipedes are carnivorous predators with a diverse diet that includes various small insects and arthropods, and bed bugs are one of their potential prey. House centipedes are effective at catching and consuming bed bugs, making them beneficial for controlling bed bug populations in your home. Their agility and venomous fangs enable them to hunt and feed on a wide range of small pests, including bed bugs. Termites are small arthropods that can be destructive household pests, often causing damage to wooden structures.

Symptoms of a House Centipede Bite

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While their bites are typically not dangerous or fatal, they can hurt as centipedes will use their venom as a defence mechanism. A house centipede's diet is likely to consist of flies, bugs, and other pests that you have wanted to get rid of anyway. Understandably, it is an annoying situation, and hence, the best way to ensure that no centipedes come crawling up to you at night is to rid your bed of any pest activity. Centipedes are undeniably effective pest control but it would still be best to stick to the traditional methods such as calling a professional.

What Should You Do if You’ve Been Bitten by a Centipede?

They are nocturnal, so they’re more likely to be seen at night than during the day. If a House Centipede bites you, you might feel a sharp, pinching pain similar to a bee sting and could experience redness or swelling at the bite site. Despite this, such incidents are rare and usually happen when the centipede is threatened.

All centipedes have the ability to bite, although some smaller species are not strong enough to puncture human skin. Newly hatched larvae, which are rarely seen, have four pairs of legs. The larvae undergo six molts and gain new pairs of legs after every molt. For example, centipedes will have 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 pairs of legs respectively after each molting stage, while after the final molt, they have 15 pairs of legs.

House centipedes won’t harm people or homes.

These common household pests love arms (and legs), and they are nocturnal. If you think a centipede snacked on your skin, read on to learn the steps you can take to care for the bite at home. Known for killing other pests, house centipedes will enter your home because they are on the hunt for other home-invading bugs to feast on. Generally, they will mind their own business and will help to banish roaches, moths, flies, silverfish, and termites around your home. Researchers do not consider house centipede bites poisonous or harmful; however, it is best to hire someone to rid your house of such issues.

Are House Centipedes Dangerous?

These insects do not have nests or webs, and they stay on the move to hunt for other insects they can eat. They do have many legs, which enables them to hunt other insects that could be dangerous to them. They will bite their prey, then move away quickly and wait for their venom to kill the prey before they eat it. These centipedes can live a long time compared to most insects, with some living as long as 5 to 6 years. They do have venom that they use on their prey, but the venom is not sufficient to cause issues for most people if they do bite. Keep in mind that house centipede bites are uncommon and only occur when the centipede feels threatened.

Smaller centipede species may cause nothing more than a painful reaction similar to a bee sting. On the other hand, larger centipedes can inject more venom through their bites, resulting in more intense pain. Despite the discomfort, centipede bites are typically not fatal to humans. So, while centipedes may not be harmless, they aren’t a significant threat in terms of human safety. House centipede bites typically cause mild and temporary localized pain, similar to a bee sting, along with some redness and swelling at the site of the bite.

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Keeping your basement neat also helps prevent the collection of damp spots around boxes and other items, which could attract these creatures. Spiders, wasps, and other insects with defensive tools can easily take the centipede out. They may sneak up on the bug from behind so that the target has fewer opportunities to fight back. The results of getting bit by a house centipede will vary from one person to the next. Centipedes are particularly attracted to warm and humid environments. So, if you have a damp basement or live in a generally high-humidity climate, don’t be surprised to come across these creatures at some point.

Clear any leaf litter or wood debris from around the perimeter of your home, especially if it’s damp. A combination of all of these measures is likely to reduce any centipede population you have. Unlike the moths that eat wool and grain, termites that infest wood, and silverfish that destroy clothing fibers, glue, and paper, there is no real damage caused by house centipedes.

So there are worse bugs to have in your home, even if they do tend to startle people when they zoom across the floor. House centipedes do possess venomous bites, but they usually reserve these for their prey. They are predatory arthropods and use their venomous bites to subdue or kill other small insects like silverfish, firebrats, and cockroaches. The amount of pain you feel will be determined by the amount of venom injected into the bite.

Therefore, if you are concerned about a centipede bite, it is advisable to seek medical consultation for proper treatment. House centipedes, with their elongated bodies and many legs, are known for their swift movements and ability to capture prey. House centipedes have poison fangs that can cause pain when they bite. However, it is important to note that the venom of house centipedes is not strong enough to cause serious medical problems in humans. House centipedes are nocturnal creatures, preferring to hunt and feed during the night. They are excellent hunters and feed on a variety of pests, including spiders, cockroaches, and silverfish.