How to Get Rid of Centipedes: 10 Steps

Owners of private houses are often faced with a variety of uninvited “living creatures” in their home: ants and beetles, caterpillars and centipedes are frequent guests in a country home. If your floor is not treated with construction mastic, centipedes are most likely to settle there.

Unlike most other insects, centipedes are not only not dangerous, but also useful for humans, but their appearance can frighten both children and adults. There are many ways to get rid of centipedes in your home.

Folk remedies

In addition to chemicals, you can use folk remedies to get rid of annoying insects forever.
Many people who live in private houses or apartments have pets or small children. For this reason, baiting centipedes with chemicals poses a certain danger to their health. You can get rid of annoying insects using:

boric acid;
red hot pepper;
diatom powder;
specially made traps;
by drying the room;
sealing plumbing.

Boric acid allows you to quickly and effectively deal with many types of insects at home. As for centipedes, it also has an active effect on them. But the product can only cope with centipedes in the places where they live or where they come from. If they occur in ventilation or drains in these places, it is necessary to pour poison so that the insect crawls through it. It will be effective to treat the maximum area of an apartment or house with boric acid. For an adult, child or animal, the product does not pose any danger.

Centipedes prefer a moist habitat, so it is very difficult to find insects indoors with a dry climate. If these pests still appear in your house or apartment, then you need to try to reduce the humidity as much as possible.

It's easy to do:

First of all, you need to carefully check all plumbing fixtures. Find out if there are any slightest leaks, stagnation or serious contamination. If any are found, then it is necessary to carry out certain repair work. After this, you should make sure that the existing taps and pipes in the room are no longer leaking water. Ventilate the room as often as possible. This is especially true for the bathroom. It is recommended to install a hood here and leave the door open as long as possible to allow air circulation. Carefully inspect the home and make sure that there is not the slightest place where mold could accumulate

Particular attention should be paid to the floor and any cracks in the walls. Mold attracts flycatchers into living spaces

Purchase special preparations that can artificially dry the air in the room.

Often people who are faced with the appearance of centipedes in the house recommend using all kinds of traps. This method is not the most common and effective. Sticky tapes of this format can only stop the insect for a while and deprive it of several pairs of legs, which is not fatal for centipedes. The whole point is that the legs will grow back, and the insect will continue to reproduce.

You can get rid of flycatchers using red pepper. It must be used in powder form. The substance crumbles in the places where the insect appears. In order to poison a centipede with hot pepper, the latter must at least run over it, and better if it eats it.

What kind of house centipede is it?

The main thing about a centipede is its exoskeleton, consisting of chitin, a natural polymer, the most common biopolymer on the planet (humans need chitin for the formation of hair and nails, and birds need it for plumage), and sclerotin (a protein). The centipede has a gray-yellow body, with three beautiful purple stripes with a red tint (they may be bluish or have other variations). Exactly the same stripes are found on the numerous legs of the insect. They relate to insects only from a scientific point of view, since they belong to the same type (arthropods). Millipedes have their own superclass and subtype (tracheals).

The flycatcher's body consists of 15 segments that hold the body suspended. The length of the flycatcher's legs increases as it approaches the rear. The last pair may exceed the length of the body. This structure allows the centipede to move quickly and not trip over its legs. Long legs are often confused with whiskers and therefore they cannot determine where the centipede’s head is and where its tail is.

The first pair of legs of the centipede, which lives in the apartment, as a result of evolution, was transformed and turned into a jaw. With their help, the centipede obtains food and defends itself if necessary.

On the head, on each side there are well-developed eyes and there are peculiar “antennae-antennae”, consisting of 500-600 segments. They are like locators, catching the slightest rustle and conducting space exploration. They react sensitively to changes in environmental conditions and temperature, informing them that they need to look for a more comfortable place or settle down here. The antennae warn the centipede of approaching danger.

The centipede has antennae on its head.

Where do they live in nature?

Centipedes are harmless. Living outside:

under stones and trees;
in fallen leaves;
in mulch in the beds.

They breed in damp houses, decaying tree trunks or collapsing wooden beams of buildings and other organic debris. Settling scolopendra at home in the autumn-winter period is fraught with various problems. In human housing, they choose damp places. More often they settle in basements, in rooms on the ground floor or in the bathroom. In winter, centipedes hibernate, finding a warm and secluded place at home. With the arrival of spring, they become active and begin searching for food. Flycatchers are not aggressive, they do not attack people first, and they can only bite in defense. A centipede bite is similar to a bee sting, but the swelling goes away much faster.

Like many other arthropods, fly swatters go through stages of shedding their skin before reaching reproductive maturity. Adults can live up to two years. They usually live outdoors, but sometimes like to live in warm, humid areas where people live.

Centipedes love to hide in garden leaves

Where do they come from?

To fight centipedes and determine the reasons why they appeared in your apartment, you need to carefully examine your home and determine who else lives in it besides you. Centipedes are interested in food and only if there is an abundance of it in your apartment will they be interested in this house. Any small insects in the house can serve as food. They penetrate the house from the external environment, from neighbors. Most often they settle in private houses on the eve of the first autumn frosts, when the search for food forces them to leave the garden, which has become significantly impoverished, and move under the roof. They prefer damp and warm places: basements, ground floors, as well as dark closets in private houses, from where they roam throughout the house in search of food.

Fly swatters also settle in hard-to-reach places. They can enter the apartment:

from under the concrete slabs lying on the lawn;
from cracks in hollow walls;
from boxes with old things;
from sewage.

It is easiest to see her at home in the dark; in nature they are active during the day.

Centipedes are not gregarious insects, they do not live in colonies; if you see one on the wall of a house or barn and destroy it, you will get rid of this neighborhood.

Highly developed eyes, high speed of movement, and peculiar pincers on the front legs make the centipede an excellent hunter. When moving, the centipede first raises its body on its long legs, freezes for a second, and with one lightning-fast throw moves forward to capture prey.

Another interesting fact is that insects are characterized by a certain level of thinking. Having caught several midges or other insects at once, the centipede eats one and holds the rest with its legs.

The centipede is a good hunter with signs of intelligence

How to remove and permanently get rid of centipedes in the house?

To find out how to get rid of centipedes, you need to understand that the owner of the house is to blame for their appearance, creating favorable conditions for their living. The centipede loves dampness and insects. Crawling home from the street, she looks for food - flies, various beetles, cockroaches. And if he finds her, he stays in this house for a long time. Therefore, the fight against an uninvited guest should begin with the destruction of other insects.

A private home is an ideal place for centipedes. During the day, you can hide in the basement, where there is usually increased dampness. At night, no one stops the insect from crawling across the entire area of a person’s home. As soon as the flycatcher sees a food insect, it overtakes it. Her movement speed easily allows her to do this. A centipede can catch more than one bug at a time. During lunch, she holds the other one in her paws.

Not only the basement is a refuge for the centipede. The bathroom is also suitable for her to live in, as there is high humidity. And if there are also pipes leaking in it, and there are dark corners, then the conditions for the insect are simply ideal.

In houses with old natural wood floors, centipedes live in their cracks. But she is afraid of those coatings that are treated with mastic.

Dirty dishes that are constantly left in the kitchen are often attacked by ants and midges. And the flycatcher loves these waste eaters. Therefore, there is a lot of food for her here.

The centipede goes hunting more often at night. She does not threaten a person, but her appearance can frighten her. Her children are especially afraid. But sometimes an insect can bite if danger arises. The bite is not dangerous to humans, just like a mosquito bite.

Velcro is often recommended to combat flycatchers. And in vain. They don't help. A centipede escapes from the sticky tape. And if the legs stick to it, then the insect simply leaves them. New ones will grow.

If you put all sorts of baits in the house that attract other insects, this will not help. The centipede feeds only on bugs and similar food.

Getting rid of an unpleasant neighbor can be much easier. You should do some general cleaning: throw out all the trash, rid the walls of the street from creeper plants - it is thanks to them that centipedes crawl inside. Only those individuals that are currently in the house will remain. You can gradually catch them.

You should get rid of other insects living in the house. Thus, the flycatcher will have no food, and it will leave the home.

It also does not tolerate dry rooms. If you dry out the basement and bathroom, the uninvited guest will leave the house. Ventilation grilles in the bathroom must be equipped with nets through which insects cannot penetrate. The cracks in windows and doors should also be sealed, the foundation should be puttied, and the windows should be equipped with mosquito nets.

If these remedies do not help, then get rid of the flytrap using chemical means.

Chemicals should be used only in extreme cases. In the fight against centipedes, special substances are used that are recommended for getting rid of insects present in homes.

It is very important to be careful and follow safety measures. The chemical can be decomposed in places where insects enter the house

The flycatcher will not be able to pass through this obstacle. To prevent it from crawling into the window, it is necessary to treat the lower part of the wall of the house. But the insecticide used is the one intended for outdoor treatment.

The chemical preparation can be decomposed in places where the insect enters the house. The flycatcher will not be able to pass through this obstacle. To prevent it from crawling into the window, it is necessary to treat the lower part of the wall of the house. But the insecticide used is the one intended for outdoor treatment.

You can try to get rid of the enemy in the area. To do this, you need to treat the paths and everything that the owners use. But all remedies last for a certain time, after which the insects return. You can clean the area, dry it, then there is hope that the centipede will not return.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=bIlVDAm-u20

Particular care must be taken if pets live next to a person. In this case, it is better to use natural pesticides, such as boric acid.

You should not fight the flycatcher in the garden or vegetable garden. It does not cause damage to beneficial plants, but destroys harmful insects. Here she is a helper, not an evil enemy.

Ways to get rid of centipedes in an apartment

Flycatchers, once in a human home, can live there for quite a long time if there is no shortage of food. To get rid of them, folk, mechanical and chemical methods are used.

Folk remedies for flytrap

Traps with toxic substances should be installed in places inaccessible to children and pets. In this case, to prepare traps the following is used:

Boric acid is an effective means of combating many insects. Traps should be placed in hard-to-reach places.
To combat the flytrap, regular, red, but hot pepper is suitable. Before use, the pepper must be ground to a powder.

After grinding, traps are prepared and placed in places where centipedes appear, away from pets and children.

Such control methods can be effective if the number of insects is not large.

Mechanical methods of dealing with centipedes

There are quite simple and affordable methods of control if there are not a large number of insects. For example:

The insect can be killed with a slipper. But this method is not very pleasant, since you have to remove the results of the actions. In addition, flycatchers move quite quickly and it is not possible to kill them at once. But again, this is not a humane method, especially since these insects are not pests at all, but on the contrary, they can help get rid of pests such as cockroaches.
The centipede can simply be caught and taken outside the home.
When a large number of insects and their offspring appear, first of all it is necessary to analyze the reason for such interest of centipedes in the home. After all, they are not interested in human food remains, as well as food supplies. Most likely, somewhere nearby there is a colony of some pests that are included in the diet of centipedes.
In your garden plot, you need to remove fallen leaves in which centipedes can live. At the same time, you need to make sure that insects cannot get into the house or apartment from the street by sealing all the cracks in the walls, floors, etc.

Chemicals

If there are a large number of insects, it is better to immediately resort to insecticides, since folk remedies may be ineffective. Unfortunately, they cannot be used everywhere and not always. In addition, many prefer exclusively folk methods, as the safest for humans. The following chemicals will help in the fight against flycatchers:

Aerosol "Raid". This substance is designed to combat crawling and flying insects. Although the drug is considered slightly toxic, after treating the room, it must be well ventilated.
The insecticide "Combat" also has a quick effect against pests that have grown in the house.
Aerosol “Clean House”. This product is also designed to combat various types of insects. One bottle will be enough for several treatments, especially against flycatchers, since their numbers are not too large.

Solutions

Cifox – contains cypermethrin. A 50 ml bottle allows you to treat an area of up to 100 square meters to kill insects.
Get is the most effective tool. A 100 ml bottle is dissolved in a liter of water. This amount is enough to spray a large room, including furniture.
The executioner is an effective means of fighting. For a two-room apartment you will need 20-25 bottles. One bottle must be diluted with half a liter of water.
"Cucaracha" is a powerful insecticidal drug. One bottle of 50 ml is enough to treat 100 sq.m.
"Tetrix" - a remedy for blood-sucking insects. 30 ml of the drug is diluted with a liter of water. The mixture is sprayed or rubbed into surfaces.
"Butox 50" - used for treating premises. Disinsection is carried out by spraying. Per 100 sq.m. It is necessary to dilute 30 ml of the drug with 10 liters of water.
"Medilis" is a 25% emulsion concentrate based on the pyrethroid cypermethrin. For 1 sq. m. 50 ml of aqueous emulsion is consumed.

Fighting a centipede

We have already figured out the reasons for the appearance of uninvited guests in the house, now we will tell you how to get centipedes out of the apartment. Flycatchers are fairly fast creatures, so it is unlikely that you will be able to catch them. It is necessary to ensure that the conditions in the apartment are unfavorable for the arthropod. The following recommendations must be followed:

Get rid of excess moisture in the apartment. Ventilate the room, wipe the floor in the bathroom, and in the kitchen empty the water from the trays in the dish drainer. Get rid of indoor insects that are food for the centipede. Go through your stocks of potatoes and vegetables, getting rid of rotten products. This will prevent fruit flies and other pests from breeding. Check the condition of kitchen cabinets where food and utensils are stored. Carry out regular wet cleaning of the premises by adding a little soda to the water and treating the possible habitats of arthropods with the solution.

Pay due attention to baseboards and crevices. In the bathroom, you can treat the floor around the perimeter and the exit points of water and sewer pipes with silicone

Close the front door and put a mosquito net on the windows.

Use of chemicals

If a house centipede has already settled in your apartment, preventive measures will no longer be effective. You need to know how to get rid of centipedes in your home using chemicals. You can use the same means as in the fight against cockroaches:

Boric acid in dissolved form. You can simply pour it on the floor in several places and wait until the pest is poisoned and dies.
Crayons and insecticidal gels. It is better to apply them to the walls and leave them for a week. After the death of all individuals, the products can be washed off.
Insecticidal sprays and aerosols. This is an extremely effective and fast method of controlling arthropods. However, you need to be very careful when spraying the product. For several hours after treatment, people and pets should not be allowed in the house. After this, it is necessary to carry out wet cleaning and ventilation of the room.

Food grade diatom powder. This is one of the safest means of combating arthropods, as it is not toxic to humans. The powder can simply be sprinkled on the floor behind furniture and near baseboards. After a few days it can be removed with a vacuum cleaner.

Is a centipede in the house dangerous for humans?

In general, centipedes are quite harmless creatures. They do not damage furniture, do not harm plants, and never attack people first. On the contrary, the flycatcher tries to hide back into the crack so as not to be touched. Only in rare cases, when she is in real danger, can she bite, injecting poison into the skin. But don't be afraid, he is very weak. Therefore, only slight redness occurs at the site of the bite. And then, the centipede is capable of biting through the skin of a small child and small pets. An adult is “too tough for her.”

That is, the question of whether centipedes are dangerous in the house can be answered in the negative. They do not pose a threat, but only scare away with their terrifying appearance. And so, living together with a flycatcher is very useful. She, being a predator, perfectly exterminates spiders, flies, midges, cockroaches, fleas, moths, silverfish, larvae and worms.

But not every owner, for various reasons, is able to come to terms with the fact that such a creature has appeared in his house. Therefore, people have come up with several ways to kill centipedes.

Centipede in the house? 5 Easy Steps to Kill Millipedes

To begin with, deprive the centipedes of their food supply and places to live. If your home is messy and infested with small insects, then they will definitely attract these freaks. In addition, the abundance of damp, cluttered and uncleaned places will allow them to multiply and reproduce with enviable regularity. Regularly ventilate the bathroom and monitor the humidity in the basements. In a dry atmosphere, centipedes die on their own: their shell does not retain moisture and they die from dehydration. To solve the problem even on the approaches to your home, be sure to use sealant

Seal and caulk all cracks in your home, paying special attention to windows, doors, pipes, wires, cracks around siding and other gaps. Even the smallest crack is enough for a centipede to get inside. If these measures do not help, and you find single centipedes in your apartment, do not rush to use chemicals

“The safest and most environmentally friendly way to control millipedes and centipedes already in the home is to squash, vacuum, or sweep them,” says a fact sheet from the University of Nebraska. For the same purposes, you can use any adhesive tape against insects. Place them in places where there are possible “food trails”: near the floorboards and along the baseboards. Even 30 fast legs will not help this arthropod overcome the sticky surface. If you don’t want to stain your karma by killing, then simply put the creature in a jar and take it out of the house and onto the street. Those whose home is under attack by a large family of centipedes can turn to powders and sprays. “Aerosols that are available for use by homeowners include many of the synthetic pyrethroids such as cyfluthrin, deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, permethrin or tralomethrin. Also good are boric acid powders or diatomaceous earth, which are inorganic insecticides and have a very low risk to mammals,” advise the Pennsylvania scientists. And other scientists confirm a similar selection of chemicals. What products use these ingredients most productively? We will talk about this in the second part of the material, where we have collected the 5 best funds.

Habits, instincts and life of the flycatcher: the most interesting

You should know that the centipede (the photo will not allow you to make a mistake) is an insect that is equally active at any time of the day. Every hour, every minute she looks for prey. As soon as the victim is identified, the flycatcher injects a portion of a toxic substance into it to neutralize it and only after that it eats it without haste. The insect is very fast, capable of covering up to 40 centimeters in one second.

On average, a female flyeater lays up to 6 dozen eggs at a time. All of them are protected with a sticky substance and placed in a hole or deep crack carefully dug by mom. The insect carefully wraps its body around the clutch of eggs and tries to close it from the outside world with its paws. In this way, the scolopendra “nurses” the eggs for many weeks, without leaving the nest even a centimeter, and does not eat or drink anything.

The common centipede is an insect with a mission. Being a representative of the most ancient inhabitants of the planet, it deserves special attention. At first glance, scary and unpleasant insects actually provide invaluable assistance to humans by eating a lot of pests, for example:

flies;
cockroaches;
fleas;
ants;
bedbugs, etc.

There are up to 8,000 species of this insect in the world, but only 3,000 of them have been officially documented, such as the Chinese centipede, which reaches a quarter of a meter in length with a body of 23 sections, or the bright black African centipede with a body up to 28 cm long!

Almost none of the discovered species of centipedes are dangerous to humans. Yes, arthropods can bite, but all that a centipede bite can do is cause allergies, and then only in people who are prone to this kind of reaction with a slight increase in temperature and swelling at the site of the bite.

In the insect world, the centipede is one of the dominant predators with claws on the first segment. She is a carnivore, so she prefers clean meat from small insects. Large species can cope not only with invertebrates, but also with small reptiles, as well as worms, frogs, spiders and even birds.

Reasons for appearance

In their natural environment, centipedes live in damp places where there are many small insects for food. And in residential buildings, an “invasion” of flycatchers is observed in late autumn, when it becomes cold outside, and these creatures have to look for shelter and food.

Despite the fact that the appearance of a centipede may well frighten even an adult, it does not pose a serious danger to people.

Millipedes easily make their way into apartments, even on the highest floors, through cracks in walls and ventilation ducts. Since moisture is vital for them, they most often settle in bathrooms or in the kitchen, closer to the sink. And in private homes, basements and attics become their favorite habitat.

The venom of this arthropod is harmful exclusively to insects (cockroaches, bedbugs, flies, etc.)

Flycatchers are nocturnal creatures, so it is almost impossible to notice them during the day. But when it gets dark, they go out hunting and move around the apartment very quickly.

In fact, the house centipede can be very useful - it destroys harmful insects.

The benefits and harms of flytraps

Knowing what a centipede looks like and seeing it in your apartment, country house or private house, you should not be scared and immediately try to destroy it. This creature does not cause any harm to wallpaper, clothing, furniture or kitchen products. It will never attack a person for no reason. However, few owners would agree to live next to such unsightly and nimble neighbors, so they try to get rid of them.

If house flycatchers are found on the territory of a personal plot or in beds, then there is no need to fight them at all, because there they will be useful, regularly destroying garden pests and their larvae.

On a note!
The most poisonous centipedes are scolopendras, which belong to the same class of arthropods; they live only in the southern regions of Russia, as well as in tropical countries. The larger its size, the more toxic the bite and its negative consequences will be.

Large centipedes and centipedes up to 20 cm in size are also found in nature, but they live in the countries of Asia, America and others, preferring a warm tropical climate.

Symptoms of intoxication after a centipede bite (photo below):

severe pain at the site of the bite, itching and burning;
swelling and redness of the skin;
swollen lymph nodes;
headache, palpitations, nausea and vomiting, anxiety.

If such signs appear, it is necessary to treat the wound with a disinfectant and take antihistamines.

The centipede is an ancient and harmless animal

In fact, it is an animal, not an insect. An arthropod that also has other names:

centipede;
flycatcher;
scolopendra.

And she actually has 30 legs, all of which are capable of completely regenerating if injured or lost. There is also a respiratory organ.

Her body consists of segments that allow her to be nimble and agile. The forelimbs have claws for capturing and holding prey, and the remaining legs have sharp spines, with which it easily moves across any surface. Having grabbed onto the victim, the centipede bites it and injects it with paralyzing poison, and then eats it.

But meeting a person for the latter does not pose any particular danger. Except that psychologically her frightening appearance is impressive. Scolopendras come in different sizes - from 2 to 15 cm, but large individuals can hardly be found in human habitats, except in the tropics, and in Russia species larger than 5 cm have not been found.

Flycatchers are predators, and in nature their role is extremely important in maintaining the natural balance and balance of the number of organisms. The name of this living creature speaks for itself - they catch flies, as well as:

cockroaches and worms;
midges and moths;
wood bugs, spiders;
larvae of other insects.

Without centipedes, it would be more difficult for humans to fight numerous pests of gardens, vegetable gardens, and nature reserves. In total, there are several thousand species of flycatchers in nature, and they are the oldest inhabitants on Earth.

Varieties

Centipedes have many varieties living throughout the globe. Among the centipedes common in the Russian Federation are:

flycatchers;
centipede;
drupes;
nods.

Scolopendra

They live in regions with a warm, mild climate. They have large dimensions and are considered aggressive compared to other representatives of the species. Hunt:

insects;
lizards;
rodents;
frogs;
snake.

When bitten, a strong, extremely painful poison is released. It is not fatal to humans, but the bite site will hurt for 1-2 days.

flycatcher

This centipede most often appears in residential premises, hunting for:

fleas;
spiders;
flies;
cockroaches

They choose places with high humidity for living, which is why they are often found in bathrooms, toilets and basements. The size of the flycatcher ranges from 3.5 to 6 centimeters.

Kivsyak

You rarely see Kivsyaks in houses and apartments, as they prefer to settle in forests. Adult centipedes, depending on the species, reach a length of 2 to 25 centimeters. The segments of their body merge into one durable shell, which reliably protects the centipedes from physical impact.

They themselves are extremely slow and passive, and in case of danger they curl up into a ring, emitting an unpleasant, pungent aroma.

drupe

The common drupe has a flat, small body, the length of which rarely exceeds 3 centimeters. It is found both in the wild and in residential areas, where it actively hunts small insects. They pose no danger to humans, and some people even breed them as pets.

Destruction of insects by chemical means

Chemicals in the form of aerosols or sprays will help get rid of centipedes in a private home. Before using the selected product, carry out the following preparations:

carefully read the instructions and rules for using the drug;
take the recommended safety measures - wear gloves, a protective suit, a respirator;
make sure that there are no children or pets in the room during processing;
hide all food supplies and take indoor plants to another room;
After using the drug, close the room and leave it for several hours, and then ventilate the apartment well and carry out wet cleaning.

Popular means of combating centipedes are presented in the table:

Name	Mode of application	Features of use
Aquafumigator "Raptor"	Install the device indoors and plug it into the network. As the water and toxic substance evaporate, the room is enveloped in steam that kills insects	The product is effective in the fight against centipedes, cockroaches, flies and other pests. Before using the device, remove people and pets from the room
Aerosol Henkel Combat	Spray the aerosol into cracks, under baseboards, between pipes and other potentially dangerous areas	The product has a pungent odor, so you should only work with it wearing a respirator.
Suspension "Lambda Zone"	Treat the areas where insects have been spotted with your chosen product.	The drug is effective against insects, while being safe for people and animals
Gel GLOBOL	Dissolve the drug in water according to the instructions and pour into a container with a spray bottle. Spray the solution on baseboards, cracks, pipes and other places where pests accumulate.	The product does not have a sharp or unpleasant odor
Aerosol Raid	Spray the product in pest habitats	Safe for home residents, no pungent odor
Aerosol “Dichlofos Heo”	The effect lasts for a month
Con	Prepare the solution according to the instructions and spray it on the areas where the centipedes were marked.	When working with the drug, use gloves, a mask or a respirator.

Nutrition and reproduction

The common centipede is a carnivorous predator that hunts pests: flies, ants, cockroaches, fleas, bedbugs. In nature, large individuals also feed on small lizards, frogs, spiders, and worms.

When attacking, she uses her front jaws, which are connected to poison glands. Having bitten the victim, the flycatcher paralyzes it and gradually eats it. Having caught several insects at once, the house flycatcher eats them one by one, holding the rest with its numerous legs.

Interesting!
The toxins released by the centipede have a pungent odor that repels other predators. Therefore, even after killing a flycatcher, not every animal will want to eat it.

Centipedes reproduce in a very original way. At the right time, males, when meeting a female, deposit a lemon-shaped spermatophore, then push the female towards it, which picks it up with her appendages. Then the female lays 50-60 eggs, protected with a special sticky composition, into the prepared hole. After which the mother flycatcher sits with her whole body on the clutch and waits for her offspring to mature. “Hatching” the eggs lasts several weeks, and all this time the female does not leave the nest, practically starving.

The hatched babies are white or transparent in color and have 4 pairs of legs; their number will subsequently increase to 15 after each regular molt, when the arthropods shed the old chitinous shell and acquire a new one. Life expectancy is 3-7 years.

Important!
Centipede venom is not dangerous to humans. The only exceptions are those who are prone to allergic reactions to insect bites. The bite site may become slightly swollen and their temperature may rise. Centipedes do not tolerate any infections.

The homeland of these arthropods is the northern regions of Africa, the Middle East, and southern Europe. There are several hundred species of centipedes in the world, many of which have not yet been studied by biologists. In the CIS, insects similar to centipedes can be found in the southern regions of Russia, the Caucasus, Crimea, and Kazakhstan.

Where do centipedes come from and where do they live?

The centipede belongs to the class of labiopods and has dozens of pairs of limbs. It reaches 3 centimeters in length. Her entire body is covered with hairs. Most of all, centipedes love damp places: toilet, bathroom, basement. On the street, flycatchers can often be found in wet leaves. If there is a house nearby with damp and warm rooms, the insect will try to move there.

Looking for food (cockroaches, flies, beetles), they stay in cozy houses forever, since they have the best living conditions. They sleep in winter, but become active in spring. Hating the cold, they hide from drafts and sub-zero temperatures.

Centipedes love damp and warm rooms

Having noticed an insect, you need to immediately begin exterminating it. Getting rid of centipedes using folk or chemical remedies is not difficult. But before that you need to prepare the premises for this. Necessary:

Adjust ventilation in the bathroom and toilet. Avoid stuffiness or high humidity, so doors to rooms should always be open.
Centipedes love moist conditions, so it is advisable to install a dehumidifier.
It is necessary to seal all the holes through which insects most often get through, and repair the taps and pipelines.
If centipedes have settled in the basement, you should do a general cleaning there, getting rid of trash. You need to walk through the room with the dehumidifier, treat it with a remedy for mold and dampness. Otherwise, centipedes will penetrate from the basement into the house.
Since flycatchers often penetrate through windows, they need to be equipped with a mosquito net. Inject foam into holes around window frames and door frames.
There should be no puddles in the room. The sink, bathtub, and toilet should be perfectly dry.
The sewer pipes need to be inspected. If there are holes between them and the wall, they are filled with foam for installation.
Often, after watering flowers in pots, liquid remains in the trays. This should not be allowed, since centipedes love damp soil.

Review of chemical control agents

If a problem arises, how to permanently get rid of centipedes in the house, it is also possible to consider preparations based on poisons. However, it is better to use this method if the room is heavily infested, because flycatchers are harmless to humans and also destroy various types of pests.

Treat their suspected habitats with boric acid.

You can get rid of centipedes using the following means:

Boric acid - it is scattered over the housing, but using a solution based on this powder is also effective.
Food grade diatom powder.
Anti-crawling insecticide - available in aerosol form and has a pleasant smell.
Medilis-Ziper. Characterized by an unpleasant odor. This is a universal remedy, but requires the use of protective equipment.
Lambda-Zone - the drug is safe for humans and pets. The product has no odor.
Globol Original – offered in gel form and is odorless. Contains chemical insecticides.
Combat is an aerosol with which it is easy to treat the habitats of centipedes (in the bathroom, toilet, etc.), for this purpose the kit includes a nozzle.

In order not to harm the centipedes, but only to scare them away, it is recommended to first use folk remedies: boric acid, diatomaceous earth (diatomaceous earth) powder.

Thus, centipedes do not cause any harm, except for the psychological discomfort of being in the vicinity of these insects. There are quite a lot of benefits from them: centipedes destroy flies, cockroaches and other harmful insects that often live in the house.

A centipede is an insect (flycatcher) that has a long body and many legs. Adults have up to 30 legs. The pair of legs that are located near the head have jaws for processing food. In general, centipedes are harmless creatures, even useful, but their terrible appearance is frightening and you want to get rid of them as soon as possible.

Boric acid

Boric acid is considered an effective remedy for getting rid of centipedes in the house. It can be used in any form: both in powder form and in the form of an alcohol solution. If ingested or on the body, boric acid causes a severe burning sensation that usually leads to the death of the centipede.

It is enough to scatter the powder in those places where flycatchers most often appear. An alcohol solution of boric acid should be applied to walls, floors and baseboards using a spray bottle. Caution should be used when handling any form of the substance.

What needs to be done to prevent centipedes from getting infested?

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First of all, pay attention to the internal condition of the rooms. Eliminate the appearance of any living creatures that centipedes can prey on

If there are insects in the house, exterminate them in any way possible. If there is no food, there will be no unpleasant arthropod. It is also necessary to check the serviceability of all pipes and joints between them. If there are any problems, be sure to take care of them and fix them. Until you eliminate the dampness and moisture that centipedes are looking for, they will “delight” you with their presence in the room. Do not develop the habit of putting wet rags and washcloths on the floor, always put them in a place where they can dry quickly. Monitor the condition of the towels. Do not leave them wet in the bathroom after use - take them out to dry or hang them on special dryers. Be careful about mold in your home. Be sure to try to eliminate it. Because you will attract not only centipedes, but also health problems may arise for all household members. Constantly inspect the floors and walls for cracks and cracks, and for loose baseboards, so that animals do not have free passages to travel into your home. Keeping the entire house clean, frequent cleaning, washing hard-to-reach places, and airing makes your home unsuitable for the spineless. Look into basements and cellars and monitor their condition.

Preventive actions

To prevent a centipede from starting up in an apartment, you need to avoid excessive dampness and remember that the creature will not live in a dry room. To do this, the following preventive measures should be taken:

systematic cleaning of “wet” rooms: bathroom and shower, thorough dry wiping of pipes and tiles;
timely sealing of cracks and crevices in windows, on the floor, at the joints of water pipes;
fighting insects in the house;
destruction of mold in the apartment;
Do not allow water to stagnate in the trays of flower pots;
Periodically you need to ventilate and dry your home.

A centipede encountered in one's own apartment often terrifies people. An insect running quickly seems dangerous and aggressive. In fact, such statements have a basis. The centipede insect is a predator; it is indeed capable of attacking and biting, but not a person, but a fly or moth. She tries to avoid contact with people, hiding in hard-to-reach corners. If there is a clear threat, the centipede may bite; the insect's venom causes problems for people with allergies.

Why do insects appear?

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In houses with old natural wood floors, centipedes live in their cracks. But she is afraid of those coatings that are treated with mastic.

Dirty dishes that are constantly left in the kitchen are often attacked by ants and midges. And the flycatcher loves these waste eaters. Therefore, there is a lot of food for her here.

Centipede: description

The centipede got its name due to the fact that it has 15 pairs of legs, quite thin, which reach a length of up to 3 millimeters. The centipede grows up to 60 mm in length. Thanks to this, the insect moves relatively quickly - up to 40 cm per second, which gives it the opportunity to quickly go to cover in cases of danger.

If you carefully examine the insect, you can see small hairs all over the body, and long whiskers grow on the head. Along the entire surface of the body you can find stripes that even extend to the paws. Therefore, the centipede resembles a scary beetle with a flexible, elongated body. A centipede is born with 4 legs, the number of which increases as the insect matures. During her life, a female centipede lays up to 60 eggs.

Centipedes (also called flycatchers) prefer living conditions with high humidity and lack of light. In people's homes, flycatchers choose to live in rooms such as bathrooms, all kinds of closets or basements. As a rule, centipedes appear in human homes before the onset of winter. During this period, the centipede feeds on ants, mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches, termites, spiders, etc. In other words, such a proximity between humans and centipedes is only beneficial for humans.

Those owners who know how the centipede lives and what it eats try to use it as a natural enemy of many insects, sometimes dangerous to humans. The flycatcher can sit motionless for a long time, waiting for its prey, after which it attacks its victim with lightning speed. This is achieved thanks to excellent vision and speed of movement. The flycatcher releases a venom that paralyzes its prey, after which it slowly eats its prey. If she manages to catch two insects at once, then she eats one and holds the other with her paws, since she has many of them.

Flycatchers (centipedes) do not bite humans or domestic animals. They also do not damage room furniture. Therefore, the fight against centipedes is carried out only because many owners do not know how this insect lives and what it eats. A centipede lives for about 7 years. It settles in human housing only to survive the cold. Upon completion, she moves to her natural habitat. When it is very cold, the insect hibernates. It is most active in the spring.

Reasons for appearance

Some species of centipedes, such as the drupe or flycatcher, often inhabit houses and apartments, causing a lot of trouble for residents. The reasons for the appearance are:

the onset of cold weather outside;
the presence of an abundant food supply;
opportunity for safe reproduction.

In the apartment

Centipedes sneak into apartments from basements, attics or entrances. If you don’t get rid of them in time, the arthropod will give rise to abundant offspring, which will begin to terrorize not only you, but also your neighbors.

Apartments attract flycatchers due to:

favorable living conditions;
security.

In a private house

Centipedes sneak into private homes from the streets, where they are found in great abundance. Since the area of the house is larger than in the apartment, the uninvited guest is difficult to detect, and he lives for a long time for his own pleasure. Most often, centipede attacks occur in the fall, when the street becomes less comfortable and safe. For places of residence, cracks in the floor, cracks and other secluded corners are selected.

Multi-story houses

In apartments, centipedes travel through the highest rooms, especially if the building is old. Not everyone knows how to get rid of them at home on their own without harming themselves or their pets. Sometimes it is enough to seal the pipes in the bathroom and toilet or install a new seal on the front door.

If such primitive measures do not help, you can use chemicals to kill cockroaches:

Medilis Center against centipedes

Medilis-zipper. Super concentrate, kills all living creatures within a kilometer radius from the apartment. The working solution is prepared from a mixture of the drug and water and applied to all cracks. The only drawback to its use is its high toxicity for all household members. During the duration of the insecticide's effect, all residents of the living space will have to live with friends or relatives.
Raid. The aerosol is prepared on the basis of parametrin, which is harmless to people and animals. Manufacturers claim that you can stay indoors while treating secluded centipede habitats, but it is better not to risk it and take a walk outside. Then ventilate the apartment well.
Liquidator. The gel is applied in a thin strip to baseboards, near pipes, openings in walls and insulating wells. It has no odor and is harmless to residents and animals.

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The most effective remedies for centipedes

It is undesirable to use sticky compounds and devices to kill centipedes. The insect will lose a limb or two and move on. The flycatcher will grow new legs in a few days.

“Mashenka” from centipedes

Remove the centipede's food source

Centipedes will not take up residence in a home unless there is a food source there. Therefore, your home should be checked for the presence of insects. As a rule, most centipedes will leave on their own after destroying spiders, cockroaches, flies and other living creatures. To do this, you can use various chemicals. But you shouldn’t hope that they will kill the flycatchers either. These creatures quickly develop immunity to insecticides and adapt to new conditions. Other methods will help you get rid of them completely.