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Common Brown Centipede

  • Scientific Name: Lithobius forticatus
  • Nicknames: Thousand Leggers
  • Length: 1/8" - 6"
  • Color: Reddish Brown
  • Aggressive? Yes
  • Do They Bite? Yes
  • Poisonous/Venomous? Yes
  • Disease Carrying? No
  • Invasive Species? No

The Brown Centipede

Centipedes are elongated, flattened arthropods with numerous legs - one pair per body segment. They are predaceous on many different arthropods including insects. Although all centipedes have poison glands and the means to inject their venom, bites are infrequent and normally do not cause more than temporary, localized pain.

Most centipedes can be found under boards, logs, rocks and other protected, damp locations outside. These centipedes are of little concern to homeowners.

Because of their secretive nature, scary appearance and darting motions, homeowners typically fear the house centipede. It may often be seen darting across floors with very great speed, occasionally stopping suddenly and remaining absolutely motionless, presently to resume its rapid movements, often darting directly at inmates of the house, and thus creating much consternation.

Many people are scared of this insect, however they can be very beneficial to a homeowner compared to other pests, they are very aggresive towards other pests and will consume multiple insects a day such as cockroaches, moths, and other nuisnace bugs. So if you do see these, know that there are other pests that are keeping them interested in staying around!

Living Spaces

Landscaping, Stones, Rocks, Mulch, Expansion Joints

Diet Choices

Insects

Fun Fact

A common centipede can live up to 5-6 years.

How Do We Remove Them?

Once you give McMahon Exterminating a call in Evansville, Indiana we will bring a trained technician out to discover the issue and infestation, identify and develop a unique solution to your problem as every home and infestation is unique as some might require different or more intensive methods depending on the severity and location.

We remove them by discovering where they are getting their food source to deter the pests, if there are multiple food sources we will need to further analyze and close off spaces that the ants are entering to help deter them from entering the home.

It is important to remember when dealing with large amounts of centipedes near the home that one simple treatment will most likely not solve the issue in a lot of cases, instead we will need to asses and monitor the situation as it evolves, because centipedes might find newer entry points or might be resilient to leaving your home.

With McMahon's C.A.N. initiative and our three easy steps — Canvas the area, Act on those results, and Negate re-entry for the pest we will do our pest to eliminate the pest from your home.