All About Centipedes

They can bite, but centipedes will more than likely try to run away when you corner them. Some experts say that they don’t typically bite humans at all. But if you find a trail of pricks on your skin, it’s likely a “ bite” in the form of punctures made by the venomous forelegs as they scratch against your skin. The worst side effects from centipede bites are usually mild pain and swelling.

The name centipede literally means “100 legs,” but this pest can actually have anywhere from 15 to 177 pairs of legs. Their legs are long and slender, which helps them to move at a fast speed. The last pair of legs on a female centipede is more than twice as long as its body.

Centipedes eat other bugs like spiders, cockroaches, moths, crickets, bed bugs, silverfish, and even other centipedes. Biting centipedes use venom inject their prey with toxins. These chemicals harm small insects but pose no serious threat to humans. While you may not like having centipedes in your home, they will help keep the pest population down!

Tea tree oil or peppermint oil are overwhelming to centipedes. You can try adding 25 drops of either essential oil into a spray bottle with 6 ounces of water. Spray around door frames, windows, small cracks, and basement doors. Repeat once a week to keep centipedes away. Although your house will overwhelming smell like a pack of gum.

Millipedes have two sets of legs per segment positioned directly under their body. Centipedes have one set of legs per segment positioned on the side of their body. Centipedes mostly eat insects after killing them with their venom. Millipedes feast on decomposing plants.