What are House Centipedes?
House Centipedes belong to the family Chilopoda and are not an insect, but a common arthropod relative. They are easily recognizable due to their many legs. These “hundred-footed creatures” are commonly found throughout most of the US and the entire world. They are usually yellowish to dark brown in color and may have darker stripes or markings. Centipedes are long and flat and an adult can range in size from 1/8 to 6 inches in length. They have worm-like bodies of many segments. Each segment has one pair of legs. “Centi-” means 100, and “-pede” refers to legs, but centipedes may actually have 15-177 legs. The first pair form claw-like poison fangs. The last two point backward. First instars have only 4 segments, but with each molt more are added.
