Appearance

• Size: House centipedes have long, flattened bodies, which can measure as long as 1-1/2 inches long
• Color: The body is a yellowish-brown with three dark stripes running along the top of the body with lighter shading between them.
• Eyes: They have large, well-developed eyes.
• Legs: The arthropods have 15 segments, and each features one pair of legs. The centipede’s legs are long, slender, and thread-like, and have black and white banding. On females, the last pair of legs is more than twice as long as the body.

House Centipede

Diet

House centipedes eat common household arthropods and insects such as:

• Ants
• Bed bugs
• Cockroaches
• Silverfish
• Spiders
• Termites

Habitat

Outdoors, these house centipedes are commonly seen in and under rocks, stacks of firewood, leaf litter, and tree bark. Once inside a home they are usually found in damp secluded areas such as:

• Basements
• Bathrooms
• Crawl spaces
• Garage
• Kitchens

Life Cycle

House Centipedes complete three phases in their life cycle.

• Egg: Females lay 35 or more eggs in damp soil during the spring or summer months.
• Larvae: Larvae hatch from the eggs and have four pairs of legs when born.
• Adult: More legs develop as they go through six instars or stages.