Are you often facing the problem of centipede infestation in your surroundings and are wondering how to prevent centipedes?
Although usually found out in the open, centipedes can also sometimes make their way indoors. Within the house, these brownish, elongated animals are found in damp places such as the basement and the bathroom. Outside, centipedes can be found in drains, damp grounds, and gardens.
Centipedes do not have the capacity to cause any damage to food items or furniture. However, it is believed that house centipede bites can prove to be harmful. A doctor should be consulted immediately especially if the bite penetrates the skin. And once the symptoms are controlled, the effects of the centipede bite might not prove to be dangerous to your health.
Causes – What attracts centipedes?
- Food Hunt – Centipedes usually enter a house looking for food, i.e., other insects and small spiders.
- Hospitable Environment – Centipedes usually enter a house seeking a comfortable habitat during a hot and dry season.
- Entry Through Gaps – Centipedes usually sneak in through drains, or through cracks and holes present in the doorway or in windows.
- Transferred Inside – In many cases, centipedes are accidently brought inside when an item which was kept in some dark and moist place enters the house.
- Moisture – Centipedes generally breed and live in moist places. If your bathroom and basement are always damp, or if the pipes in your house are not perfectly fit, your house can become an easy target for centipedes!
Symptoms:
Following are the symptoms that might develop from a centipede bite:
- Severe Pain
- Swelling
- Rash
- Pain and Swelling in the Lymph Nodes
- Headache
- Nausea
- Burning Sensation and Itching
- Anxiety
- Increased Heart Race
These symptoms must not be neglected and overlooked even in the slightest degree. Proper attention can help you detect these symptoms at an early stage and help control and restrict their development.
Home Remedies for Getting Rid of Centipedes:
1. Avoid Dampness in the House –
The most important cause for the presence of centipedes in any place is dampness or moisture in the surroundings. To avoid centipedes from living and breeding into your home, maintain dry air in your house. Do not keep wet clothes lying around on your furniture, keep your furniture and taps dry, and keep the floor of your house dry and clean. If you follow these simple steps, you are safe and set for a centipede-free life!
2. Use Natural Sprays –
Natural sprays work best against centipedes. It is a simple home remedy for getting rid of centipedes and helps you keep your environment safe and also avoid the bad smell of the chemical bug sprays.
3. Use Dehumidifier –
This is the most common way to kill centipedes in your house. A dehumidifier helps keeps the air in your house dry and makes the environment in your house entirely inhospitable for centipedes. Even if they manage to enter the premises, they will not be able to survive for long in the dry air.
4. Check for Gaps or Cracks –
The most common and easy way for centipede to creep into a safe building or your house is through any small gaps or cracks that might be present in the doorway or in the windows of your house. Use tape to immediately cover these gaps and block all the entry points for centipedes.
5. Use Sticky Pads –
Simple and fast-acting, a highly recommended home remedy for getting rid of centipedes is to spot the centipede and place an insecticidal sticky pad right above or near the area where it is located.
6. Use Boric Acid –
A natural pesticide, boric acid is one of the best home remedies for getting rid of centipedes and helps kill centipedes without causing harm to humans or any pets.
7. Remove Other Pests –
The presence of other insects is such a huge factor for attracting centipedes that some people often choose to breed a few centipedes in their house or in their garden to ensure the absence of several other insects. Prevent centipedes in your home by keeping your house clean and making sure that it is rid of spiders and all other insects.
8. Maintain Cleanliness –
Keep your house and surroundings safe and clean. Centipedes do not breed in clean places. Once your house is completely clean and freed of dust particles, bad smells and moist air, then you can relax because there will not be a trace of centipedes around!
9. Tend to your Garden –
Centipedes are most commonly found in and around unkempt grass in gardens. Tend to your lawn or garden carefully and regularly to restrict the breeding of centipedes. It is a simple home remedy for getting rid of centipedes.
10. Eliminate Ivy Plants –
Centipedes breed and live around ivy. Remove ivy to eliminate breeding places for centipedes.
11. Monitor Shelter Spots –
Keep the corners and shelter spots in check. If you see any signs of centipedes, act immediately to avoid infestation.
12. Use Gloves –
The best homemade recipe is the protection you can give yourself. Start wearing gloves while working in the garden, or when you are working in the basement or are shifting through things in a dark place. House centipede bites can prove to be harmful, so keep your skin protected and layered when you in a centipede-prone area.
13. Apply Paste and Cream to the Bitten Area –
Centipede bites are not poisonous and toxic in any form. Wash the bitten area with antiseptic soap and apply some hydrocortisone cream to bring down the swelling and reduce itchiness. You can also apply hot compress in the area to help you relieve the pain. Turmeric paste helps prevent infections and is considered the best home remedy to get rid of centipedes.
14. Fix Leaky Taps –
Centipedes breed in moisture. A leaky tap offers them a hospitable environment and entry point. By easily making it their home, centipedes can breed and multiply in tiny places also. So, if you have a leaky tap in your kitchen or anywhere in your house, fix it immediately and block all possible entry points for centipedes.
15. Avoid Carpeting –
Dampness is what centipedes get attracted to. So dampness is the first thing you need to look out for to avoid centipedes. Avoid carpeting in damp areas of the house and keep them dry so as to not give centipedes any place to breed.
16. Use Empty Containers –
There are many ways to kill centipedes. It is most advisable to kill and crush centipedes by stepping on them. But if you are looking for an option that will help you avoid killing them, you can always opt for the safer way and sweep them under a jar or trap them in an empty container and throw them out of your house.
17. Synthetic Products –
Centipedes do not like dry or rough surfaces. It is therefore advisable to use products such as synthetic pyrethrin which work against centipedes and many other insects and pests as well.
Precautions:
- Dry Bathrooms
- Clean Basements
- Use Pesticides Regularly
- Keep the Grass In Your Garden Dry
- Use Door-Sealing Products To Avoid Entry
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