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House Centipede

Inspired by a crisis at work involving one of these little friends, today I present the House Centipede. Though there are a few species who are commonly called the House Centipede, the most abundant of them is Scutigera coleoptrata. It was originally found only in the Mediterranean region, but not you can spot them worldwide. House Centipedes are not actually "insects." They belong to the Myriapoda subphylum, rather than Hexapoda, which houses the class Insecta.

Image from BugGuide
House Centipedes have 15 pairs of legs and can grow to about 2 inches in length. Their final pair of legs grows much longer than the rest. The Centipede's legs are vital for both movement (obviously) and hunting. they are very fast moving and are able to darts about on many kinds of surfaces, vertical or horizontal. They are able to consume multiple types of prey at a single time, and will hold additional meals within its legs. House Centipedes feed on insects and smaller arthropods, including flies, crickets and spiders.

House Centipedes live both indoors and out. Many people consider them to be pests and they are actually pretty hard to get rid of. They can live up to 7 years, and even if you lay out sticky traps, they can probably escape them. They will rip out the stuck leg... which can simply be regrown. House Centipedes are not dangerous to the average human. If they feel threatened they may bite, but the venom is very mild and will cause only a small bit of swelling.
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Comments

  1. UnknownJune 21, 2010 at 9:04 PM

    Great, it will be living in the stacks for 7 years. I am convinced it will fall on my head one of these days.

    ReplyDelete
  2. EdJune 23, 2012 at 2:02 AM

    There is actually no rational reason to fear these fellas, especially since they devour those really tough insects like roaches and flies. Hell, even ant killing is a benefit.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousAugust 14, 2013 at 6:37 AM

    Find House Centipede Control products at Pest Mall. Learn how to kill and effectively get rid of your centipedes in house. Rely on us for all your centipede control needs.
    how to get rid of centipedes

    ReplyDelete

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