Here are some do-it-yourself centipede control recommendations:
Outside Centipede Prevention
Whilecentipedesare not particularly dangerous, you don’t want them living in your home. The following are some easy to follow tips on how to get rid of centipedes in and around the house.
- Reduce centipede habitat and prevent entry into homes by keeping compost piles, firewood, rock piles or fallen logs away from the home or removing them entirely.
- Put up a barrier. Rather than using thick mulch beds, place a 12-24-inch band of gravel or stone around the perimeter of the home. If mulch is preferred, rake the mulch bed every 4-6 weeks to allow it to dry out.
- Keep them out by sealing holes, cracks or gaps in the foundation and repair or replace any damaged weather stripping.
- Ventilate crawl spaces and use dehumidifiers to enable airflow and reduce humidity, since centipedes need moisture to survive.
- Kill centipedes or capture them on sight—if you can. Centipedes don’t usually invade homes in great numbers, so if you don’t see them often and you eliminate the one you’re looking at, you may have just taken care of your centipede problem.
- Use sticky traps.Put them in corners along the floorboards, where centipedes often hunt, and the traps will capture not only centipedes, but other household insects as well. This will help you determine which other pests you need to eliminate, to deprive the centipedes of prey.
- Get rid of other small household pests, and centipedes will move to someone else’s house, where there’s more to eat.
- Tea tree oil or Peppermint oilare overwhelming to centipedes. Add 25 drops ofeither essential oilinto a spray bottle with 6 ounces of water. Spray around door frames, windows, small cracks and basem*nt doors. Repeat once a week to keep centipedes away.
- Safety Tip: Wear gloves when moving wood or rocks or when trying to catch a wayward centipede to avoid an unexpected bite. Bites can be painful and swelling at the bite site is common. Centipedes do inject venom and some people can be hyper sensitive and have more extreme reactions.
Is the fright factor too high? No time to do it yourself? Let Corky’s get rid of your Centipedes and keep them away.
Call 1-800-901-1102
See Also
Millipede toxin