How to Prevent Centipedes in Tennessee

A house centipede helps keep other insects at bay, from flies to termites and beyond. However, your humble house centipede is also a rather terrifying-looking insect with too many legs and creepy antennae, and an abundance of venomous house centipedes isn’t any better than an abundance of many other insects. Preventing centipedes from entering your home is the best way to keep them at bay and has the added bonus of keeping other insects away, too. Here’s how you can do so. 

Take Away Their Food

Centipedes prey on other bugs for food. If they’re in your home, that likely means other pests are sneaking around your home, as well. To prevent centipedes from entering your Tennessee home or business, removing their incentive for entering it works well. Utilize insect traps, sprays, and other methods of DIY pest control to reduce centipedes’ food supply. If you need help with those pests, U.S. Pest Protection can help there, too.

Seal Entrances

While centipedes lack wings, they are adept burrowers and climbers. As a result, they can enter your home or business through a variety of ways, including:

• Under your garage door
• Through an unsealed window
• Through a small crack in your door
• Through a crack in your basement or foundation

Centipedes are quite small—about an inch in length—and can squeeze through very small cracks. That’s why sealing your entrances is important. Even if they’re in search of other bugs to eat, if there is no way to enter your home, they can’t get in to scare you when it’s time to take a shower. 

Keep Moisture and Shelter Under Control

LIke many other insects and pests, centipedes gravitate towards damp, dark spaces. You can often find them in basements, crawl spaces, and bathrooms inside, and in mulch, under firewood, and along tall grass outside. Make sure there is no standing water in your property by ensuring there are no leaks in your plumbing, and clear your yard so there are no nooks and crannies for centipedes to rest and breed in. 

U.S. Pest Can Help You Prevent Centipede Infestations

Whether your centipede problem is the main pest in your home or business or simply a side effect of other pests scurrying around, U.S. Pest Protection is here to help. Our friendly pest control technicians have the experience and expertise to solve your pest problem and ensure pests don’t come back to your home. Not sure you need pest control? Don’t worry—we can assess your problem at no cost to you. Contact us today for a free pest inspection and estimate!