How to Get Rid of Centipedes: 10 Steps (with Pictures)

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How to Get Rid of Centipedes: 10 Steps (with Pictures)
How to Get Rid of Centipedes: 10 Steps (with Pictures)

Video: How to Get Rid of Centipedes: 10 Steps (with Pictures)

Video: How to Get Rid of Centipedes: 10 Steps (with Pictures)
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There are more than 2,000 species of centipedes in the world, most of which live almost exclusively outdoors. They sometimes break into homes, especially during cold months. Although they are harmless to humans and help to kill many spiders and insects around the house, their bites contain poison – besides, centipedes are not elegant guests of your house. If you want to know how to rid your home of centipedes once and for all, here's what to do.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Killing the Centipedes

Get Rid of Centipedes Step 1
Get Rid of Centipedes Step 1

Step 1. Kill them when you see them

The millipedes' ridiculously long legs make them very fast; therefore, you will have to be agile. Centipedes usually don't invade households together, so you may be able to get rid of the problem just by stepping on them – or using insecticides – once you find one. Note that if you are afraid to approach or be near a centipede, even vacuum cleaners will come in handy.

If you don't want to kill a centipede, try capturing it with a pot and releasing it into the wild; however, this usually results in a shriek, a broken pot, and a free centipede

Get Rid of Centipedes Step 2
Get Rid of Centipedes Step 2

Step 2. Try installing sticky traps

Just place traps in the corners and cracks where centipedes tend to hunt. You can catch other insects that may be crawling around your home. Be aware that larger centipedes that walk over sticky or glue traps can escape leaving some legs behind. Sticky traps are usually effective against small centipedes, but can be useless against large ones.

Get Rid of Centipedes Step 3
Get Rid of Centipedes Step 3

Step 3. Try an insecticide if none of these natural remedies work

Keep in mind that insecticides are only temporary solutions. Any farm will have this type of product. Even though these products don't kill pets or humans, it's best not to have prolonged contact with them.

  • Sticky traps could make you discover heavily invaded areas, allowing you to spray insecticide in such places or install new traps. If one of your sticky traps seems to be full of bugs and none of the other works, focus on the location that had the most effective trap.
  • If you want to kill the centipedes but don't want to poison the land, yourself or your animals, you can use pesticides like Boric acid or diatomaceous earth to control the insect population continuously.
  • Products containing plant-derived pyrethrin will kill centipedes on contact and can be used as sprays or smoke.
Get Rid of Centipedes Step 4
Get Rid of Centipedes Step 4

Step 4. Install a barrier around your entire house

Regardless of whether it's a chemical, natural or other type of insecticide, consider creating a barrier around the home. After all, centipedes appear from outside the house and invade it. When they do, they will cross the insecticide barrier. If they manage to get in, they will either die or be almost dead by the time you find them. Try using an organic pesticide containing Cyhalothrin, which is commonly used against ants, although it also kills centipedes.

Get Rid of Centipedes Step 5
Get Rid of Centipedes Step 5

Step 5. Seek professional help

If you've tried everything to eradicate these gruesome, creeping pests, it may be time to give up and hire an exterminator. Terminators will have to wallow in your home to find potential entry points, locate and destroy any centipede eggs, and spray active pesticides into your home.

Method 2 of 2: Keeping Centipedes Away

Get Rid of Centipedes Step 6
Get Rid of Centipedes Step 6

Step 1. Get rid of all the pests in your house

Centipedes will have nothing to eat and will eventually die or flee the environment. A centipede without food will end up dead or moving away.

Get Rid of Centipedes Step 7
Get Rid of Centipedes Step 7

Step 2. Keep your house dry

Centipedes will dry up and die if they are not kept in a moist environment. Clean out basements, closets or any other damp areas and use a dehumidifier.

Place silica packets in the wettest places in your home. Silica is an absorbent that removes moisture from the air and soil. Look for silica packets in new shoes, for example, or buy some. Keep them in the wettest places in your home

Get Rid of Centipedes Step 8
Get Rid of Centipedes Step 8

Step 3. Remove organic materials from the sides of your home

Place firewood, compost, tarpaulins and garbage away from the perimeter of your home, keeping them as far away as possible. Remove traces of trash, leaves, wood and organic debris. Consider eliminating any wet items – such as compost bins – if possible.

Get Rid of Centipedes Step 9
Get Rid of Centipedes Step 9

Step 4. Close all entry points

This will keep insects out of your home. Seal any cracks in concrete foundations and caulking spaces around doors and windows.

  • Apply caulking to the exterior of your home to discourage centipedes from invading.
  • Caulk any holes between walls.
  • Analyze all gutters and clean any leaves, twigs, or other materials that are preventing water from passing through them. This serves as a hiding place for centipedes.
Get Rid of Centipedes Step 10
Get Rid of Centipedes Step 10

Step 5. Try cayenne pepper

To naturally keep centipedes away from your home, try spreading a thin layer of cayenne pepper at all entry points, both outdoors and indoors. Dogs and cats should stay away from it, even if they don't get hurt too much in contact with the pepper.

Tips

  • The only creatures that need to worry about centipedes in your home are other insects. Centipedes kill and eat many things that you would probably like to eliminate, such as mites, lice, spiders, moths and even cockroaches.
  • Centipedes rarely bite people, as their jaws are not strong enough to pierce human skin. If they manage to bite you, the bite will look like a small bee sting.
  • Insecticides will kill centipedes quickly if you don't want to get close to them.

Notices

  • Close all sink and bathtub drains if possible.
  • Be careful when using pesticides. Read the instructions carefully.

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