How to Get Rid of House Centipedes Without Losing Your Mind

Picture this: you're padding to the bathroom at 2 AM, flip on the light, and there it is—a creature that looks like it escaped from a Tim Burton fever dream, all legs and speed, darting across your floor like it's late for an important meeting in hell. House centipedes have this uncanny ability to make even the bravest souls question their place at the top of the food chain. Yet here's the thing that might surprise you: these nightmare-fuel arthropods are actually doing you a favor by living in your home.

Before you close this tab in disgust, hear me out. I've spent years dealing with these leggy intruders, first as someone who'd shriek and grab the nearest shoe, then as someone who learned to appreciate their role in the ecosystem of my home. That journey from terror to tolerance (and back to "okay, but not in my bedroom") taught me everything about managing these creatures effectively.

Understanding Your Many-Legged Roommates

House centipedes—Scutigera coleoptrata if we're being formal—aren't actually insects. They're arthropods, more closely related to shrimp than to the beetles they hunt. Those fifteen pairs of legs that make them look like animated pipe cleaners? Each pair is slightly longer than the one in front, creating that distinctive rippling movement that sends shivers down spines worldwide.

What really gets people is their speed. These things can move up to 1.3 feet per second, which doesn't sound impressive until you realize that's the equivalent of a human running at 42 miles per hour. No wonder they seem to teleport across your bathroom floor.

The irony is that house centipedes are essentially your home's unpaid pest control service. They feast on cockroaches, silverfish, carpet beetle larvae, spiders, and pretty much any other creepy-crawly you'd rather not have around. One centipede can live up to seven years, methodically hunting down the actual pests in your home. They're like tiny, terrifying janitors working the night shift.

Why They've Chosen Your Castle

Your home becomes centipede central for three main reasons: moisture, food supply, and shelter. These creatures need humidity levels above 60% to survive because they breathe through spiracles along their body and can dehydrate quickly. That's why you'll often spot them in bathrooms, basements, and laundry rooms—anywhere moisture accumulates.

I learned this the hard way when I moved into an old Victorian with a stone foundation. The basement was basically a centipede convention center. Every morning I'd find at least two or three doing their creepy sprint across the walls. It wasn't until I invested in a dehumidifier that I realized moisture was essentially rolling out the red carpet for them.

The food supply issue is trickier. If you're seeing centipedes regularly, it usually means you have other bugs they're feeding on. It's like finding sharks in the water—they go where the fish are. This creates a philosophical dilemma: do you want the centipedes, or do you want whatever they're eating?

The Art of Centipede Eviction

Let me be clear about something: completely eliminating house centipedes is about as realistic as completely eliminating dust. They've been around for 400 million years; they're not going anywhere. But you can absolutely minimize encounters and keep their population in check.

Start with moisture control. This isn't just about running a dehumidifier (though that helps tremendously). Check for leaky pipes under sinks, ensure your bathroom fan actually vents outside rather than into your attic, and fix any foundation cracks where moisture seeps in. I once discovered a slow leak behind my washing machine that had created a centipede paradise. Fixed the leak, and suddenly my laundry room wasn't hosting nightly centipede raves.

Sealing entry points requires detective work. These creatures can squeeze through gaps as small as 1/16 of an inch. Focus on areas where pipes enter walls, gaps under doors, and cracks in your foundation. Steel wool works wonders for filling small holes—centipedes can't chew through it like mice can.

Here's something pest control companies don't always tell you: sticky traps are surprisingly effective for monitoring and reducing centipede populations. Place them along walls in basements and bathrooms. Centipedes hunt by running along edges, so they'll inevitably encounter your traps. Just be prepared for the horror show when you check them. The first time I pulled up a trap with three centipedes stuck to it, I seriously considered just burning the whole house down.

Chemical Warfare: Proceed with Caution

Pesticides can work, but they come with caveats. Centipedes are remarkably resistant to many common insecticides because of their speed and their habit of keeping their bodies elevated off treated surfaces. If you do go the chemical route, focus on residual sprays designed for crawling insects, applied to cracks and crevices where centipedes hide during the day.

Diatomaceous earth gets recommended a lot online, and yes, it can work. The microscopic sharp edges damage the centipede's exoskeleton, causing dehydration. But here's what those recommendations often miss: you need food-grade diatomaceous earth, it loses effectiveness when wet, and you'll be vacuuming it up constantly. I tried it once and spent more time cleaning up white powder than I ever spent dealing with centipedes.

A more targeted approach involves using boric acid in specific locations. Mix it with a bit of flour and sugar, and place small amounts in bottle caps along walls where you've seen centipede activity. This method has the advantage of also targeting the bugs centipedes eat, addressing the root cause rather than just the symptom.

Living with the Enemy

Sometimes, the best solution is a negotiated peace. I've reached an understanding with the centipedes in my home: basement and garage are neutral territory, but bedrooms and kitchen are absolutely off-limits. This might sound insane, but consider the alternative. Every centipede you see is potentially preventing an infestation of something worse.

I had a neighbor who waged total war on her house centipedes, spraying everything, sealing every crack. Six months later, she had a silverfish explosion that destroyed boxes of family photos and important documents in her attic. The centipedes had been keeping them in check.

If you absolutely cannot tolerate their presence, consider catch-and-release. A wide-mouth jar and a piece of cardboard can relocate them outside. Yes, they'll probably die out there (house centipedes are adapted to indoor environments), but at least you're not squishing them and dealing with the aftermath. Fair warning: catching a centipede requires reflexes of a ninja and nerves of steel. They're fast, unpredictable, and have this unnerving ability to run straight at you when cornered.

Prevention: The Long Game

The most effective centipede control happens before you ever see one. Regular vacuuming removes both centipedes and their prey. Pay special attention to corners, behind furniture, and anywhere dust and debris accumulate. I vacuum my basement twice a week now, and it's made a noticeable difference.

Reduce clutter, especially in basements and storage areas. Centipedes love hiding in stacks of newspapers, cardboard boxes, and piles of clothing. When I finally cleaned out my basement and switched to plastic storage containers, the centipede sightings dropped by about 70%.

Consider the outdoor environment too. Centipedes often enter homes from outside populations. Keep mulch and leaf litter away from your foundation, trim vegetation that touches your house, and ensure proper drainage so water doesn't pool near your walls. My biggest mistake was having beautiful English ivy growing up one side of my house. It looked charming but created a centipede highway directly to my second-floor windows.

When to Call in the Professionals

If you're seeing multiple centipedes daily despite your best efforts, it might be time for professional intervention. A good exterminator won't just spray and leave; they'll identify why your home is so attractive to centipedes and help address underlying issues.

Be wary of any pest control service that promises complete centipede elimination. Anyone making that claim either doesn't understand centipedes or is trying to sell you a service contract you don't need. A realistic goal is reducing sightings to maybe one or two per month, usually in basement or bathroom areas.

Making Peace with the Prehistoric

After years of battling, studying, and eventually understanding house centipedes, I've come to an odd conclusion: they're not the enemy we think they are. Yes, they're unsettling. Yes, they move like something from a horror movie. But they're also incredibly efficient predators keeping worse pests at bay.

The key to managing house centipedes isn't declaring war—it's creating an environment where they're neither necessary nor comfortable. Fix the moisture issues, eliminate their food sources, seal the obvious entry points, and accept that the occasional sighting is just part of sharing this planet with creatures that predate dinosaurs.

Last week, I found a centipede in my bathroom sink. Instead of the panic that would have gripped me years ago, I felt something closer to resignation mixed with respect. I grabbed my designated centipede jar (yes, I have one now), relocated it to the garage, and went about my day. Progress? Maybe. Or maybe I've just been worn down by 400 million years of evolution.

Either way, I sleep better knowing that somewhere in my house, these ancient hunters are patrolling for things I'd rather not think about. Just... not in my bedroom, please.

Authoritative Sources:

Potter, Michael F. "House Centipedes." Entomology at the University of Kentucky, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef448.

Jacobs, Steve. "House Centipedes." Penn State Extension, The Pennsylvania State University, 2019, extension.psu.edu/house-centipedes.

Hahn, Jeffrey, and Mark E. Ascerno. "Centipedes and Millipedes." University of Minnesota Extension, University of Minnesota, 2018, extension.umn.edu/nuisance-insects/centipedes-and-millipedes.

Cranshaw, W.S., and F.B. Peairs. "House Centipede." Colorado State University Extension, Colorado State University, extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/insects/house-centipede-5-515/.