House Centipedes

Many people refer to them as thousand leggers or hundred leggers, but house centipedes actually have just 15 pairs of legs when they’re fully mature. That’s more than enough to make them scary-looking, however, and they’re definitely not something you want to see scuttling across your basement floor when you turn the lights on.

A house centipede’s extended leg pairs and antennas make it look a lot longer and bigger than its true size, which is between 0.5 and 1.5 inches. Unfortunately, once you see house centipedes running along floors, up walls or on ceilings, you may have long-term visitors, since they can live up to six years. They don’t need to go outdoors at all, but can complete their entire life cycle indoors.

House centipedes don’t cause any real damage, and their food source is other insects such as spiders, ants and similar household pests. But their presence may indicate that you have a moisture problem, since they love dark and damp areas like sump pumps, basement bathrooms and wet crawl spaces.

Touching a house centipede won’t usually harm you; only the bite of larger species— uncommon in this area—can penetrate human skin. These bites feel something like a bee sting, but some people may have an allergic reaction with swelling and pain. Even though they’re not dangerous, thousand leggers are always unpleasant to have around.