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Centipedes are among the most commonly found pests in your home. After all, many old homes offer them a suitable environment for breeding. As you might know, centipedes are helpful in getting rid of other pests.
However, you would probably not see that as a reason to let them infest your home. You can get rid of centipedes by simply creating unfavourable conditions for them.
How do you do that most effectively? Read on to know the necessary steps for removing centipedes from your home. We must also look at how to detect them in your house first.
Where can You Find Centipedes in Your Home?
You might come across centipedes in many areas of your house, both outdoors and indoors, and you need not necessarily remove them by yourself. Hiring a maid service Dubai can help you with this task.
As for where to find centipedes, you must look for them in the following areas:
In the Garden
Many species of centipedes live under the soil and might go undetected. You might have to check your garden’s soil carefully to find burrows made by centipedes. Some species also live in trees, and you might find them comparably more easily. You might also sometimes find them moving across the soil.
Most people might not face any issues with the centipedes living in their garden. After all, these pests would not cause many problems until they reach indoors. Centipedes inside the house increase the risk of painful bites.
Bathroom
The bathroom is probably the most common indoor area where you might find centipedes. Regular cleaning can help you keep them away from your bathrooms. You might also need to prevent excessive moisture from keeping away centipedes. They often reach your bathroom through drains, and you must take the necessary measures against that.
Kitchen
The kitchen in your home might also have damp zones. In that case, you might also encounter a centipede infestation in this area. You can try various methods to remove them from the kitchen. But, professional cleaning services should be able to easily eradicate the problem at the earliest.
In Piles of Clothes
Centipedes can often find suitable habitat in a pile of clothes if there is enough moisture. So, you might want to be careful while going through the pile; otherwise, you might have to endure painful bites. Even though centipedes cannot damage your clothes, many other pests can. So, keep piles of washed clothes in a place where pests cannot reach them.
Under Blankets
You must not have the misconception that centipedes can only reach your bathroom. They can even reach your bedroom if they find a favourable environment there. Not only that, but you might even have centipedes under the blanket on your bed. So, you must be very careful and clean up your bedroom regularly.
How do Centipedes Survive Inside Your Home?
Killing centipedes is a good way to get rid of them from your home. However, they might keep appearing if your home offers a survival kit. As mentioned, centipedes eat various types of pests in your home, including spiders, cockroaches, termites, earthworms and beetles. Centipedes come in various sizes, and the larger ones can eat larger pests. Knowing this can help you find an effective way to rid our house of centipedes.
Can You find them Throughout the Year?
You will rarely find centipedes in your home during the winter months. They stay in their hiding places as long as the temperature remains cold and actively emerge during the spring season. Thus, spring would be the best time to find and eliminate them.
What brings them into Your Home & How do they Get Inside?
Centipedes will enter your home only if they find it to be a good place for survival. In other words, they might be attracted to your house due to the temperature or availability of food. Also, they need a dark and warm environment that they can find inside your home.
Centipedes can get inside your home through cracks and holes as well as any gaps on the walls. Do you have any poorly sealed doors or windows in your home? If yes, then that can be an entry point for centipedes as well.
How to Differentiate Between Millipedes and Centipedes?
A lot of people might get confused between millipedes and centipedes. You must avoid this confusion even though both of them are pests. Otherwise, you might end up applying the wrong methods to get rid of them. The solutions for millipede and centipede infestations are not completely the same.
Millipedes have a lot of legs, the same way as centipedes do. However, you would find the legs of the former to be shorter. So, centipedes can move significantly faster than millipedes, which is another good way to identify them. The species found in homes usually have 15 legs, and their bodies are 1 to 6 inches long. Yet another significant difference between millipedes and centipedes is that the former does not bite while the latter does.
Do Centipedes Pose and Health Risks to You?
Pests carry pathogens inside your home, but that is not the case with centipedes. So, they are probably the only type of pest that cannot cause any health issues. However, their bites can be venomous but not life-threatening. You have nothing to fear about household centipedes other than their appearance.
If anything, centipedes feed on pests that cause health risks in your home. Yet, you might want to get rid of them as they can cause quite a lot of nuisance. They would keep multiplying if you keep providing them with a suitable environment in your home.
Effective Ways to Remove and Prevent Centipede Infestation in Your Home
There are various ways to eliminate centipedes that you find in your home. But, preventing the infestation in the first place would be the best thing to do. The following steps can help you in removing centipedes as well as preventing them from inhabiting your home:
1. Eliminate the Other Pests
Since centipedes feed on other pests, you must eliminate their food supply first. This might make them leave your home in many cases. So, you might not have to find and eliminate every centipede in your house, as it is time-consuming.
How do you kill the other pests in your house? Try out the following products in your home to eliminate the centipedes’ food source:
Mint
You do not necessarily need to use chemical products in your home to kill pests. Instead, you can simply use mint, among other natural products, for the task. It can help you remove ants, mosquitoes and flies from your home. All you need to do is place some mint leaves at your doors and windows.
Are there any other places where the pests are frequently found? If yes, then make sure to place some mint leaves there. This will provide a fresh scent to your home apart from keeping pests away.
Cucumber Peels
You can use cucumber peels the same way as mint leaves to keep away pests. Leave them at any corner of your home where the most pests are found. Also, make sure to place some cucumber peels at the entrance, and that should prevent the pests from entering your home in the first place.
Baking Soda
Does your home have a lot of cockroaches? You must consider using baking soda to eliminate them. Mixing sugar with baking soda can make it even more effective. Spread it across the areas of your home that are inhabited by cockroaches. If done right, you should take a fairly short time to get rid of cockroaches with baking soda.
Clove and Cinnamon
You must get rid of the small insects in your kitchen as well. The smell of spices, like clove and cinnamon, can repel most of these insects effectively. So, you must try placing them around your kitchen and check the results. You will probably not find more insects in the kitchen in a few days.
Detergent
A lot of people might opt for chemical products to get rid of pests. If you prefer doing the same, consider using a detergent instead of a pesticide or insecticide. It contains less harsh chemicals as compared to most insecticides. Also, it effectively eliminates fruit flies and other such insects.
2. Seal the Entry Points
You must proceed with eliminating the centipedes after stopping their food supply. This will ensure they do not return to your home anytime soon. Use any of the following methods to get rid of centipedes:
Use an Insecticide Spray
You can simply use an insecticide spray to kill all centipedes you find in your home. Simply get a reliable product and spray it on the areas infested with centipedes. This is the simplest method to proceed with this task and is also quite effective. You can also try some other methods if you want.
Repel them with Salt
Many people might not know that salt acts as a repellent for house centipedes. So, you can simply use salt instead of spraying insecticides throughout your home. Many people might prefer salt as it is easily available and a natural product. However, you might not want to sprinkle salt if you have pets at home.
Use Essential Oils
Centipedes are sensitive to strong smells and are repelled by them. So, you must consider using essential oils to remove them from your home. This is a tried and tested method for removing centipedes from households. Spray the oil where you usually find centipedes and check whether that does the trick.
Place Moth Balls
Moth balls are another great way to repel centipedes from your home. Place them wherever centipedes might be at your house to drive them out. They can also help you keep centipedes away from cloth piles.
3. Seal all the Entry Points
Many people might seal the cracks and holes in their houses as a first step to prevent centipedes. However, if your house already has a centipede infestation, you must take the previous steps first. You can seal the entry points after the centipedes have left your home.
Check for cracks, gaps or holes in the following areas and seal them if you find any:
Around the Doors
Centipedes can easily enter your home through the gaps created around your doors. So, you must check for any gaps around the entrances to the house. Caulk around the exterior door jambs if you find any gaps there.
Between the Floor and the Wall Juncture
You might also find cracks or gaps between wall junctures and floors. Seal them up the same you seal the gaps around the doors using caulk. You can hire a professional team for this task instead of handling it yourself.
Around Windows
You must not forget to check the areas around your windows for any gaps. Caulk the area around the windows if required to prevent centipedes from getting inside.
Under Doors
Is there a gap under the front door of your house? Now, that could be the entrance point for the centipedes, so you must seal it. You can take various measures to seal the gaps under your doors. Many use wrap-around door sweeps for this task, while others use corner pads.
Alternatively, you can use felt rolls or sticky foam tapes to seal gaps under doors. Vinyl, silicone or tubular rubber can also be quite useful to you for this task. You can effectively seal the gaps under doors using any of the aforementioned methods.
Pipes Under Sinks and Washing Machines
Centipedes can reach your bathroom through pipes leading to sinks and washing machines. So, you must check these pipes for gaps or holes as well. Fixing them will prevent centipedes from entering your home and stop the water leak. Caulking will be the best solution if you find gaps in these pipes. You might need to replace them in case they have holes or cracks.
Around Floor Vents
Check the floor vents for any gaps around them if your house is infested with centipedes. You might often have to seal the area around them with foil tubes to block the gaps. Call a professional pesticide team if you need any assistance with this task.
Pipes Leading to Water Heaters and Furnaces
You should also check the pipes under your water heater and furnace if required. Take necessary steps to fix any gaps or cracks you find on them. You might need to contact a professional plumbing service for this task. In any case, you must get this problem fixed without any unnecessary delay.
Keep Your Home Clean
A dirty home will always attract various types of pests, which can attract centipedes, as we have seen. So, keeping your house clean is quite essential for preventing centipede infestation. Are you unable to do that due to a busy schedule? You must hire a professional cleaning service to handle this task.
Also read: How To Clean 7 Grimmy Areas In Your Home During Coronavirus Lockdown (Expert Advice)