What Draws House Centipedes Indoors?

House centipedes (Scutigera coleoptrata) are known for their many legs, sudden movements, and ability to appear when you least expect them. While they don’t pose much of a physical threat to people, their sudden intrusions are enough to make most homeowners uncomfortable. If you’ve spotted one crawling through your home, you’re probably asking, “Why is it here?” and “What can I do about it?”

The truth is, house centipedes are just looking for a place that meets their basic needs of food, water, and shelter. If your home provides all three, it’s only natural they’d want to stick around.

Where Are They Getting In?

These sneaky pests don’t need a large opening to crawl inside. Driven by instinct and the scent of potential prey, they often enter through small foundation cracks, openings around vents or pipes, loose siding, and gaps in windows or doors. Once indoors, they gravitate toward areas that are dark, damp, and low in traffic, places where they’re unlikely to be disturbed and can easily hunt for food.

Because they’re nocturnal, you might not notice them right away. But by the time you do, they may already be well-established in crawl spaces, utility rooms, or under sinks.

They’re Chasing Other Pests

Before entering homes, house centipedes usually live in moist, shaded areas outside, such as under rocks, logs, and leaf litter. But when outdoor prey becomes scarce or moves closer to your home, centipedes follow. These predators help control other bugs, which can be a silver lining. However, their presence often means another issue is hiding from you. If centipedes are showing up time and time again, they might be feeding on pests already living inside your home.

They commonly hunt:

• Ants
• Bed bugs
• Cockroaches
• Crickets
• Earwigs
• Moths
• Silverfish
• Spiders
• Termites
• And many more

Moisture Makes Your Home More Inviting

House centipedes rely on high humidity to survive. Outside, they hide in water-retaining areas like soggy mulch, compost piles, and damp logs. Inside, they’re drawn to basements, bathrooms, and laundry areas, anywhere with excess moisture or poor airflow.

To help deter them, reduce humidity around your home by:

• Fixing leaky outdoor faucets and garden hoses
• Cleaning and maintaining your gutters so they don’t overflow
• Thinning out dense shrubbery that holds moisture
• Using dehumidifiers in moist rooms
• Ensuring proper ventilation in bathrooms and laundry spaces

Messy Spaces Give Them a Place to Hide

House centipedes are shy and avoid light whenever possible. Clutter, both indoors and out, provides the perfect cover for them. Whether it’s a messy garage, a stack of wood next to the shed, or toys left out in the yard, these quiet zones are all potential hideouts.

To reduce their hiding places:

• Keep firewood stacked off the ground and away from walls
• Store unused tools, planters, and patio items neatly or indoors
• Bring toys inside when they’re not being used
• Rake leaves regularly and remove garden debris
• Keep the grass trimmed and remove weeds
• Seal cracks along the foundation, windows, or pipe openings
• Repair damaged door seals and window screens

House Centipedes Are Normally Outside

Even though house centipedes are often found darting across baseboards or disappearing into sinks, they don’t begin their lives inside. These small hunters originate outside, where cool, damp, and hidden spaces provide the perfect environment for them to thrive. You’ll often find them beneath damp leaves, buried in garden mulch, tucked into rotting wood, or hiding under rocks and pavers.

One of their favorite areas is the strip of soil that surrounds your home. This space tends to remain moist and shaded, and it’s often buzzing with insect life, the perfect hunting ground. Once centipedes are established near your foundation, it doesn’t take much for them to start exploring the indoors, especially during dry spells or heatwaves.

To help keep them from creeping inside, start by checking these outdoor spots:

• Plant beds and decorative shrubs: These often attract bugs that serve as an easy food source.
• Rocks, bricks, and patio borders: Underneath these structures, centipedes find both shelter and prey.
• Poorly sealed trash bins: Food waste draws in flies, spiders, and other bugs, a few of their favorites.

When your yard holds moisture and clutter, it’s not just attracting insects, it’s also bringing in the predators that feed on them.

Should You Be Alarmed by Their Presence?

Despite their unsettling appearance, house centipedes aren’t aggressive and don’t usually pose a risk to humans. They’re shy and prefer to escape rather than defend themselves. More often than not, they’re simply passing through in search of food.

That said, it’s best not to touch or pick them up. Like all centipedes, they use venom to catch and immobilize their prey. If they feel cornered, they might give you a sharp pinch with their front legs. Most people describe it as a mild sting, similar to a bee sting, brief, but unpleasant.

If you’re allergic to insect venom, however, their bite could trigger a more serious reaction, such as swelling, shortness of breath, or dizziness. In those cases, seek medical help immediately.

While they rarely pose a health threat, it’s always a good idea to keep curious kids and pets away from them.

How to Recognize a House Centipede

House centipedes have a very distinctive look, making them easy to spot if you know what to look for. Here’s what sets them apart from other creepy crawlers:

• Legs: Their many legs are long, thin, and feathery, giving them a wispy, spider-like outline.
• Number of legs: They sport 15 pairs, fewer than some larger species, but enough to help them move quickly.
• Speed: House centipedes can sprint across surfaces at over a foot per second.
• Color: Their bodies are usually grayish-yellow with three dark stripes running lengthwise.
• Antennae: Long and fine, their antennae help them sense movement in dark spaces.
• Behavior: They’re skittish and usually flee when confronted.
• Venom: Potent for catching bugs, but weak enough that it rarely affects people.

One Centipede Likely Points to Bigger Problems

Seeing a house centipede indoors doesn’t always mean you’re dealing with an infestation of them, but it likely means they’ve found a steady food supply. These predators don’t stick around unless there’s something worth hunting. If they’re comfortable inside, there may be another pest issue you haven’t noticed yet.

Killing the centipede won’t fix the root problem. To truly keep them out, you’ll need to eliminate the bugs that are bringing them in.

That’s where expert pest control can help. We’ll thoroughly inspect your home and yard, identify what’s drawing in centipedes, and create a treatment plan that removes both them and their prey.

Reach out today to schedule your inspection, and take the first step toward a pest-free home.