When you think of creepy pests, what comes to mind first? Maybe spiders, scorpions, for some people its crickets. But to me one of the creepy crawlies I first think of is the centipede! They just give me chills at even the thought of one. If I saw a centipede at my home, the first thing I’d do is search for Owasso Pest Control, and schedule Platinum Pest & Lawn to come to my rescue.
Centipedes are fast-moving, venomous, predatory, terrestrial arthropods that have long bodies and many jointed legs. Despite their name ‘centipede’ which translates to ‘100 legs’ not all centipedes have 100 legs. Some centipedes have as little as 30. Centipedes are invertebrates meaning ‘without a backbone or spinal column’. Centipedes have a hard exoskeleton and are highly segmented with anywhere from 15 to 177 segments. Each segment has one pair of walking legs. The head of a centipede has a pair of antennae, jaw-like mandibles and other mouth parts. The most anterior trunk segment of a centipede has a pair of venomous claws that are used for both defense and for capturing and paralyzing prey. The bite of a smaller centipede in temperate areas may be similar to a bee sting, but the bite of a larger tropical species is excruciatingly painful, leaving two black puncture wounds as much as a centimeter apart. Their bite, while painful, isn’t lethal to humans. Use Owasso Pest Control to lessen your chances of having to experience this horrible bite.
A common centipede is the house centipede, which is about 5 cm long and has 15 pairs of legs. Some centipedes even glow in the dark! About 20 families and 3,000 species of centipedes have been discovered worldwide.Centipede colors vary from pale yellow to deep brown. Their bodies are always dorso-ventrally flattened. Although , like all arthropods, centipedes are covered with a tough outer coat, however, they do not have a waterproof layer and stay in moist areas where there is no danger of drying up. Centipedes come under attack from various other animals such as birds, toads and shrews as well as humans. That’s where we come in, by using Owasso Pest Control Platinum Pest & Lawn will be the best attack against centipedes.
Centipedes are found primarily in tropical climates, however, they are also widely distributed in temperate zones. Many centipedes live in the soil and leaf litter, while those that hunt freely on the ground are strictly nocturnal and spend the day hiding under logs and stones where they can keep moist. They live on land in moist microhabitats such as under rocks, under logs, in leaf debris, or occasionally in burrows. Reach out to Platinum Pest & Lawn by searching for Owasso Pest Control where we won’t leave a stone unturned to rid you of these pests.
There are some rather fierce centipedes on the planet such as the Giant Redheaded Centipede. They are fast moving and very aggressive. These centipedes are about 6 inches long but some can grow to be 8 inches long! They can often be found in the rocky woodlands in Arkansas or other Southern parts of America, such as Oklahoma. Unfortunately, these aggressive centipedes can be rather dangerous. It was once witnessed in the 1920’s that an officer was being injected by a centipede with poisonous venom from one of these “Redheaded Centipedes” and actually died after developing an infection. It is very rare to be bitten by a centipede and like most animals, they will only bite in self defense. However, if you are bitten by a centipede, the best way to help with the pain is by placing some ice wrapped in a small towel on the site of the bite for 10 minutes then taking it off for 10 minutes. Repeat this process for as long as needed.
Centipedes are carnivores, they use venom to kill their prey. The venom comes from glands that open near the first pair of modified legs which act as poisonous fangs. Centipedes eat insects, earthworms, spiders, slugs and other small animals. Male centipedes spin a web onto which they deposit a spermatophore for the female to take up. Sometimes there is a courtship dance and sometimes the males just leave them for the female centipedes to find. In temperate areas egg laying occurs in spring and summer but in subtropical and tropical areas there appears to be little seasonality to centipede breeding. Some species of centipedes lay their eggs in holes in the soil, the female will fill the hole in on the egg and leave it. The young usually hatch with only 7 pairs of legs and gain the rest in successive molts. The American house centipede hatches with only 4 pairs of legs and has successive molts before becoming a mature adult. It takes about 3 years for some species to achieve adulthood, however centipedes are relatively long- lived when compared to their insect cousins. Some can live for 5 or 6 years. You can make that much much shorter by searching for Owasso Pest Control.
When you search for Owasso Pest Control, you can get in touch with Platinum Pest & Lawn and we can help with prevention of centipedes. Here are some other ways that can also help you prevent getting centipedes. You can apply weather stripping to your doors and windows. Weatherstripping is, quite simply, strips you can purchase to stick along the cracks in doors and windows to prevent your home from the effects of weather and outside problems such as pests. Make sure your home is secure from the foundations all the way up to the roof. Another way to prevent getting centipedes in your home is by thoroughly cleaning the damp areas of your home, such as, the basement, bathroom, or attic, and by removing their hiding places.
When we come to your home and treat for general pests, that includes centipedes, along with ants, spiders, beetles, and scorpions. We will treat the interior as well as the exterior of your home, and will only use premium products that are safe for children and pets!
