What to do about Centipedes in Your House

Centipedes are one of the creepiest crawlies you can find in your house. The small brown bug will sometimes show up spontaneously in your bathtub or give you a nasty surprise as it scurries across the kitchen floor.
 
 
Are Centipedes Dangerous?
 
As gross and creepy as centipedes are, the truth is that they are harmless to humans. In fact, centipedes actually can do a lot of good. Centipedes are hunting bugs, they don’t make nests or destroy wood foundations or congregate in big infestations. They don’t even carry diseases. They are lone hunters that come inside your house just to kill other pests like flies, ants, beetles, or small spiders.
 
 
Benefits of Centipedes
 
Believe it or not, some people intentionally allow centipedes to stay in their houses because of the benefits of having a little bug hunter around. Centipedes hunt and eat more destructive insects or even disease-carrying making your house that much safer. They rarely bite unless cornered and their bite is harmless, though it is painful. They keep to themselves and mostly hunt at night. However, centipedes do only come inside when there are large populations of other pests, so the truth is if you have a centipede in your house you probably have another problem you have to deal with first.
 
 
How to Repel Centipedes and Keep them Out
 
The best way to get and keep centipedes out of your house is to control the pests that they eat. To do this you need to keep your house well-sealed, dry, and crumb-free. If there are no little insects for a centipede to feed on, they will leave of their own accord. Those little insects love dark, damp places, and feed off of spills and crumbs so keeping a dry, clean, well-sealed-up house will ensure that the centipedes have no reason to come in.
Additionally, there are many ways to safely repel centipedes without killing them so they continue with their good work, just not in your home. Essential oils in particular as an easy and effective way to keep bugs out while not having to use dangerous chemicals or bug traps.
 
 
Final Thoughts
 
As creepy and crawly as centipedes are, they pose no real threat to humans and offer the benefit of eating bugs that pose a threat to human health. If you see a centipede in the future make a note of how it probably means the ants are back or that the fruit flies are becoming a problem again and deal with that first. Commercial pest control in Phoenix can come out and assess the deeper issue and take care of an infestation before it gets too serious. Once the centipede’s food source is gone they will leave too and keeping your house clean, dry, and well-sealed will ensure the cycle doesn’t start over again.