Centipedes swarm in to homes during the winter months looking for warmer places to live.

Centipedes, you’ve seen them — their hundreds of legs wiggling as it winds its way along. While they may look like some creature from a science fiction movie, the most common centipede, also known as the “House Centipede,” actually have 30 legs or 15 sets of legs.

These creepy-crawly critters find their way into homes as the weather grows colder during the winter months. Our team of Certified Technicians at Environmental Pest Management can help eliminate any centipede infestation with a simple phone call.

Centipedes originally came from warmer, more humid, tropical environments in other parts of the world. When the weather starts turning cold, as it does in Minnesota in winter, they seek out warmer, more damp places inside homes, buildings, and other structures.

These critters are most likely found in darker places with higher levels of humidity, such as basements, garages, utility rooms, crawl spaces, under sinks, under floorboards, or inside walls where moisture may gather. Centipedes are invertebrate arthropods and nocturnal hunters. They use their keen sense of sight along with smell and vibration to detect their prey.

So what do centipedes like to eat? They eat other common household pests such as bed bugs, silverfish, termites, cockroaches, spiders, and other insects. While centipedes can be natural pest-removers, it can be a double-edged sword since centipedes in your house is usually a sign of other bug infestations.

1. Keep Your Home Pest-FreeSince the house centipede’s diet consists of the most common other household pests, your first line of defense against a centipede infestation is to keep your home free of other bugs. Your professionals at Environmental Pest Management have extensive experience helping homeowners, business owners, and apartment management companies throughout Minnesota live pest-free since 1986. Our success rate and track record speak for themselves.

In addition, it’s always helpful to take steps yourself to keep unwanted pest visits to a minimum between professional treatments. Several of the most important things you can do yourself include:

  • Keeping your kitchen and dining room clean and free of food and drink spills.
  • Keeping tabletops and counters clear of crumbs.
  • Leaving foods left out on tables and counters for prolonged periods without being properly sealed.
  • Not letting excess pet food and water sit out between feedings.
  • Keeping trash cans, garbage, and compost buckets in the house covered.

2. Seal All Cracks in the Home

Centipedes are, like all critters, trying to find a warm place to live and hunt during the cold months of winter. They will exploit cracks in your home and foundation as a point of entry. You might be surprised where these long, slender creatures can squeeze through and get into your house or apartment.

Thoroughly inspecting your home, inside and out, is a practice that you should get in the habit of doing every fall before winter sets in. Knowing where cracks in houses and apartment buildings are commonly found can be most helpful in this process.

The Certified Technicians at Environmental Pest Management have seen it all over the years and can help walk you through the inspection process. That way, you don’t miss any of the hidden cracks that can allow these critters to breach your home.

Start on the outside of the house from the bottom at the foundation, up to the roof. Cracks can occur along concrete and wooden patios and porches and wherever the home has been extended or additions to the house have been connected to the original structure.

Cracks can also occur under the bottom story flooring and even under the roof in the attic. Properly reseal all cracks with the right materials. Again, it’s a good idea to re-check any sealing work that’s been done each year to make sure the job has remained intact.

Also Read: Proven Ways to Treat a Centipede Infestation

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3. Make Sure Windows, Doorways, and Plumbing are Fitted Flush

Just like inspecting for cracks throughout your home, making sure that door sweeps, windows, and screens are in place and fit flush is essential in the fight to keep out centipedes and other pests.

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4. Eliminate Damp or Wet Areas Inside the Home

Check dark and seldom-used spaces inside your home and garage to make sure leaks, condensation, and moisture haven’t had a chance to seep in and build-up. Centipedes thrive in dark, damp spots where they’re free to live and hunt without being bothered by humans and other predators.

Some of these spaces can include sheds attached to the home, basements, boiler rooms, and water heater closets, as well as under kitchen, bathroom, and utility room sinks. Check behind washers and dryers in the laundry room as well as crawl spaces behind walls, and the attic.

Have T.A.P. Insulation Professionally Installed In Your HomeT.A.P. Insulation, or Thermal Acoustic Pest control insulation, is an environmentally friendly and permanent solution to pest control. This proprietary insulation is made from recycled paper and acts as both a sound barrier and insulator that can reduce heating and cooling costs in the home up to 30 percent.

Also Read: Natural Bug Repellents For Bug-Free BBQs

Best of all, T.A.P. Insulation is easily installed over your home’s existing insulation and kills centipedes and other pests while remaining harmless to humans. Call your local T.A.P. Insulation provider today at 952.432.2221 to learn more about this amazingly useful product today.

5. Check Potential Hiding Places That You Bring into the Home

Another way centipedes can end up in the home is by hitching a ride on stuff that you bring in from outdoors. Some of the things to double-check when bringing in the house include firewood, used furniture, Christmas trees, boxes from a storage unit, as well as camping equipment that you’ve used outdoors.

Call us at 952.432.2221 or contact Environmental Pest Management online today to keep your home pest and centipede-free!