Domakihub How to Get Rid of House Centipedes for Good
Spot them, cut off what draws them in, and keep your home centipede-free year-round.
Reviewed by Domakihub home & decor pros · 2026-06-23 · 5 min read
House centipedes are a common sight in Greek homes, holiday rentals, and hotels — especially in basements, bathrooms, and storage rooms during the warmer months. The video above walks through a professional treatment approach; the steps below give you a practical sequence you can follow room by room. Whether you manage a single apartment or a portfolio of short-term rentals, getting on top of centipedes quickly matters for guest comfort and reviews.
Why House Centipedes Move Indoors
House centipedes (Scutigera coleoptrata) are not seeking your food — they are hunting other insects. If you have them, you almost certainly have a secondary pest problem: silverfish, cockroaches, ants, or flies that the centipede is chasing as prey. Treat only the centipede and the underlying food source will keep drawing more in.
In Greece the problem peaks between late spring and early autumn, when heat drives insects indoors and evening humidity rises. Ground-floor flats, old stone houses, and properties near olive groves or gardens tend to see the highest numbers.
Are House Centipedes Dangerous?
The common house centipede can deliver a mild bite if handled or cornered, but it is not considered medically significant for healthy adults. The venom is weaker than a bee sting and symptoms — minor redness, brief pain — resolve quickly. Small children and people with insect venom sensitivities should still avoid direct contact.
For holiday rental hosts the concern is almost entirely about guest perception. A single centipede sighting in a bathroom can generate a negative review, so proactive prevention is worthwhile even when infestation levels are low.
5 Steps to Get Rid of House Centipedes
- 1
Eliminate moisture and fix leaks
Centipedes cannot survive without humidity. Inspect under sinks, behind washing machines, and around bathroom tile grout for slow leaks. Fix dripping pipes, seal grout lines, and run a dehumidifier in basements or storage rooms. A relative humidity below 50% makes your home far less hospitable to centipedes and the prey insects that attract them.
- 2
Remove clutter and harborage sites
Cardboard boxes on the floor, stacked firewood stored inside, and piles of old linens all give centipedes dark, humid hiding places. Move stored items into sealed plastic bins and raise them off the floor on shelving. Outside, pull mulch and leaf litter at least 30 cm away from the building foundation so centipedes cannot shelter right next to entry points.
- 3
Seal entry points around the building
Centipedes enter through gaps under doors, cracks in foundation walls, conduit penetrations, and poorly fitted drain covers. Use silicone caulk for gaps around pipes and window frames; fit door sweeps to exterior doors with daylight showing under them. Pay particular attention to where plumbing enters from outside — these are the most common highway indoors.
- 4
Apply an indoor perimeter treatment
A residual insecticide labelled for crawling insects (look for active ingredients such as bifenthrin, deltamethrin, or lambda-cyhalothrin, all available at Greek agro-supply shops) applied as a thin band along baseboards, behind toilets, and inside cabinet kickboards will intercept centipedes on their nightly runs. Apply in the evening, keep pets and children out of treated areas until dry, and ventilate the room. One application typically holds for four to six weeks.
- 5
Treat the outdoor foundation as a second barrier
Spray the same residual insecticide one metre up the exterior walls and one metre out on the ground around the full perimeter of the building. This outdoor band kills centipedes and their prey before they reach interior entry points. Repeat after heavy rain. Pair this with sticky glue traps placed along interior walls to monitor activity levels and confirm that numbers are dropping over the following weeks.
Rather have a pro handle it?
Get a vetted pest control pro in your city — one number, booked in EN/EL/DE.
FAQ
- Why do I keep seeing centipedes in the bathroom at night?
- Centipedes are nocturnal hunters and are drawn to moisture. Bathrooms provide both — damp surfaces attract silverfish and drain flies, which centipedes prey on. Fixing the humidity source and treating the drain area with a residual spray usually stops repeat sightings within two to three weeks.
- Is it worth calling a pest control professional, or can I do this myself?
- For a light infestation of a few individuals, the DIY perimeter treatment and moisture-removal steps in this guide are normally sufficient. If you are seeing multiple centipedes every night for several weeks, or finding them in many rooms, a professional can assess whether there is a larger underlying pest population driving the problem and apply a more targeted treatment.
- Will killing the centipedes make a silverfish or cockroach problem worse?
- Yes, this is a real risk. Centipedes are beneficial predators. The safest approach is to treat both simultaneously: address the prey pest (silverfish, cockroaches) with appropriate baits or treatments at the same time as the centipede perimeter spray, so you are not simply removing a natural control without replacing it.