The urge to squash something that looks like a centipede does when it
appears in your home can be strong!
Unfortunately, we recently discovered that killing a house centipede can
actually be a risky choice.
Centipedes often appear in dark, humid places. Often, one finds them in a
bathroom or basement, and nearly anyone would immediately want to squash
them or run.
Some of the things that make centipedes so terrifying to use are what make them
effective tools against other pests. Fast and agile, centipedes are helpful against
other insects.
With its many legs and quick movements, a centipede is a scary thing to find in
your bathroom in the middle of the night. You will find it less scary when it lessens
the number of roaches, spiders, and ants in your home.
Centipedes eat all of these insects and also have a strong appetite, meaning they
are almost guaranteed to help prevent another pest problem.
Some might still want to rid themselves of the bugs, however. Reducing the
humidity in your home and trapping centipedes in glass containers are just a
couple of ways to eradicate the centipede in your house.
Taking a captured centipede to an area with humid rocks or soil will allow them
back into nature to play its intended role.
House centipedes, unlike their relatives, are not poisonous and cannot even bite
human skin. The tiny amount of venom they do produce can only hurt the small
prey that they are so useful for eliminating.