House Centipede

Natural Habitat

Damp, cool environments such as basements, bathrooms, crawl spaces, and under mulch or stones outdoors.

Diet & Feeding

Insectivore; it hunts and eats other arthropods including silverfish, cockroaches, ants, spiders, and flies.

Behavior Patterns

Nocturnal and incredibly fast runners. They use their long legs to 'lasso' prey and possess modified front legs (forcipules) that inject venom to paralyze insects. They can live for several years and go through multiple molts.

Risks & Benefits

Generally beneficial as they act as natural pest control for homes. While they possess venom, they are not aggressive to humans and their mouthparts are usually too weak to penetrate human skin; a bite is extremely rare and typically no worse than a minor bee sting.

Identified on: 3/11/2026