Can House Centipedes Climb Walls? Uncovering the Truth about Their Abilities

October 26, 2023September 3, 2023 by Daniel Marlos, Piyushi Dhir

House centipedes are fascinating creatures often seen scurrying across floors and walls in search of prey. These arthropods are equipped with long, slender legs, which allow them to move swiftly and efficiently when hunting for food.

In many homes, it’s not uncommon to find house centipedes climbing walls with ease, thanks to their unique body structure. As noted by the Penn State Extension, these creatures feed on a variety of pests such as silverfish, cockroach, and spiders, which often abound near cracks or gaps in walls. While their presence might be alarming to some, house centipedes can actually be beneficial in controlling indoor pest populations.

When considering a house centipede’s wall-climbing abilities, it’s essential to understand that they thrive in humid environments like basements, storage areas, or bathrooms. According to the Clemson University Home & Garden Information Center, house centipedes are often found indoors due to their hairier appearance and preference for high humidity areas. So, don’t be surprised when you spot them climbing up your walls, as they are more than capable of traversing such surfaces.

House Centipedes: A Brief Overview

Centipede Characteristics

House centipedes (Scutigera) are:

Yellowish-brown in color
Distinctively shaped with up to 15 pairs of extremely long legs
One pair of legs per leg-bearing body segment
Legs are barbed to help hold prey
Three dark stripes running along the top of their bodies¹

Habitat and Lifestyle

House centipedes prefer damp areas, such as basements, closets, and bathrooms²
They are nocturnal creatures, mostly active during the night³
House centipedes feed on various small arthropods, like silverfish, firebrats, and cockroaches⁴

Their presence may indicate a larger pest problem, as they are attracted to locations with an abundance of their preferred prey.

Comparison of Centipede Types:

Aspect	House Centipede	Other Centipedes
Length	Up to 1.5 inches	Varies, some species grow up to 12 inches
Legs	15 pairs, long and slender	Varies, usually shorter and thicker
Activity	Nocturnal	Both nocturnal and diurnal species exist
Habitat	Indoors, damp areas	Soil, leaf litter, under rocks, tree trunks, and in houses

Climbing Abilities of House Centipedes

Mechanisms of Wall-Climbing

House centipedes are known for their remarkable climbing abilities, which can be attributed to their long, slender legs. These legs are specially adapted for climbing, as they are barbed to help hold onto surfaces and maintain grip ¹.

Not only do they have 15 pairs of long legs, but each leg is also encircled by dark and white bands, providing additional stability and traction for climbing ².

Climbing Various Surfaces

House centipedes can climb up walls of different materials, such as:

Wood
Drywall
Brick

Their exceptional climbing abilities allow them to scurry along walls and ceilings with ease, regardless of the surface type. This ability enables house centipedes to navigate through diverse indoor environments while hunting for prey or searching for places to hide ³.

Helping or Hindering: House Centipedes and Pest Control

Predators and Prey

House centipedes are yellowish-brown creatures with up to 15 pairs of extremely long legs. They are commonly found in homes, where they feed on:

Small arthropods
Pest insects

Their diet includes various household pests, such as:

Silverfish
Ants
Bedbugs
Cockroaches

Natural Pest Control vs Insect Infestation

House centipedes can offer some form of natural pest control by feeding on other insects. However, a large number of house centipedes might indicate an underlying pest problem. To effectively manage pest issues in your home, consider the following measures:

Removing clutter
Sealing entry points
Proper food storage
Maintaining cleanliness

Natural Pest Control	Insect Infestation
Centipedes feed on other pests, reducing their population	A large number of centipedes could indicate a greater pest issue
Eco-friendly solution	Might not solve the root cause of pest problems

In summary, house centipedes might help in controlling pests, but their presence could also signal a need for more thorough pest control measures. A balanced approach should be adopted while addressing such issues in your home.

Reader Emails

Over the years, our website, whatsthatbug.com has received hundreds of letters and some interesting images asking us about these insects. Scroll down to have a look at some of them.

Letter 1 – House Centipede

Striped, Gangly, 30-legged bug!
November 6, 2009
My friend Brandon sent me the photo along with this message: “I was pouring myself a soda next to the kitchen sink, when I turned around and spotted this on the wall. Not what you want to see behind you after you turn the lights on.”
Its body is about 3cm long, and including the legs it’s about 10cm long. I became very curious after seeing the photo, I just had to submit it!
Laura L. W., Roseville, CA
Lake of the Pines, Auburn, CA

Hi Laura,
What Brandon has labeled the Bug of Doom is a harmless, beneficial House Centipede. This nocturnal predator is not known to bite people, will run away when the lights are snapped on, and will eat cockroaches and other undesirable household intruders if left alone to forage.

Letter 2 – House Centipede

Nothing I’ve Seen Before
May 18, 2010
Hello,
This bug was found scurrying across the floor of my workplace in Columbus, Ohio. I found it yesterday (May 16th) around midnight on a damp, cloudy/rainy day. Our store is next to the interstate, in an industrial part of town.
Shawn
Midwest – Ohio

Hi Shawn,
The House Centipede is a common nocturnal household predator that is found throughout North America as well as in many other parts of the world. House Centipedes are harmless.

Letter 3 – House Centipede

Unknown Bug
July 19, 2009
Hello,
I found this bug outside my house and can’t figure out what it is. It has a one segment body. Fourteen legs on each side. A false set of antennae on the back side and it looks like it also has pinchers on the front.
Curious Bugman
Upland, California which is at the base of Mt. Baldy of the Inland Empire.

House Centipede

thx – do they bite? are they poisonous? thx in advance

You can find tons of info on the House Centipede online, and though all centipedes have venom, the House Centipede is not dangerous to humans and we have not gotten any reports of bites though we get 100s of ID requests per year.

Letter 4 – House Centipede

No clue what this is, found at school computer lab, should i be scared?
February 21, 2010
Hi my friend and I saw this bug at the computer lab at our school crawling up on the wall, we have no clue what it is. It looked black and gray as you can tell it has a lot of legs. Please help! We go to college on a mountain and we swear they have some undiscovered species of insects roaming around.
Sam
Brentwood California

Hi Sam,
The House Centipede is not only harmless, it is actually beneficial since it will eat potentially problematic household intruders.

Letter 5 – House Centipede

What is this bug?
Can you help me. It just crawled from under my couch. I’m in NYC. Thank You.

This is a House Centipede and it is high time we replace the image of a House Centipede on our homepage and your image will do nicely. House Centipedes are harmless, or more accurately beneficial. Chances are this specimen has been feeding on cockroaches, bed bugs and other undesireable roommates in your apartment.

Letter 6 – House Centipede

House Centipede?
Sun, Oct 12, 2008 at 9:33 AM
Is this a house centipede? I have a LOT of these in my house. In the basement, in the bath tub, in the closets, this one was on the stairs. They have very definite little personalities. One I found in the basement, ran away from me, realized he was in the middle of the room with nowhere to go, looked around, turned back towards me and ran to hide in a pile of laundry at my feet. I found another one on my leg while I was sitting watching tv. The one of the picture was on the stairs. They definitely seem to like people! Do they bite?
Inundated
Chicago, IL

Dear Inundated,
Your House Centipede identification is absolutely correct. We have heard of a very few instances where a person has claimed to have been bitten by a House Centipede, but those reports are rare. There is no danger if this questionable bite occurs. House Centipedes would not be so plentiful in your home unless they have a ready food supply. Roaches and spiders would be considered a food supply. House Centipedes, though frightening, are actually quite beneficial.

Letter 7 – House Centipede

Scutigera coleoptrata!
Mon, Nov 3, 2008 at 11:29 AM
Hello Bugman.
Somehow I made it 41 arthropod-loving years without EVER seeing one of these beautiful and amazing creatures. This one scurried under my chair in a local bookstore, Petoskey, Michigan. I quite literally clapped my hands with joy and shouted “OH! Gorgeous!” when I caught it. It has big black eyes that looked at me with curiosity like a praying mantis – and purple knees! I swear to god I thought I had discovered an alien life-form. No one in the store had seen one before, either. If you look at a map, isn’t Petoskey awfully far north for this critter? I was able to identify it from your site, so thanks very much! – but I though you’d like another couple photos to add to your collection. Your website is at the top of my Favorites list. By the way, I let this lovely young house centipede loose in my own basement. May it go forth and multiply.
Lynn E
Petoskey, northern Michigan

Hi Lynn,
Wow, Monday seems so long ago, but we have been overcome with obligations since returning back to the offices of What’s That Bug? and we have also been consumed with the elections. Thanks for your wonderful letter. We get submissions of House Centipedes from around the world, including parts of Canada, so your sighting is not that unusual, but we are thrilled to find out how much pleasure your sighting brought you and also that your House Centipede and its progeny have found a tolerant new home.

Letter 8 – House Centipede

Hi. This bug I think house cependia?
Fri, Nov 7, 2008 at 6:56 PM

Hi. I just moved to apartment building about a few months. I see these bugs that are flat, have big attenas, look like 18 legs, run fast when I try to spray them, they don’t go away, a big one I think it was the leader went under my cabinet and another one went on my bedroom wall and there are many in my bathroom tub and all over my whole apartment! I spray a lot of perfume and body splash. Is that why they come? even if I don’t spray perfume and body splash they come more! they freak me out! I am sooooo afraid. I get hives and break out bad because of this! I am very nervous and worried all time. What is causing them to come? What do they live off? What do they eat? Are they dangerous? Do they bite? I am sorry but one time I tried to get one and I stump it. I tried to clean up but the body spread out and was very hard to pick up and some parts still there and my fingers sting and I think I got bite. Where do they live? Do they only go to apartments? What other bugs go to apartments because I am new. I just saw these bugs and spiders and spider webs and other bugs I forgot names. And are red ticks bad? What to do? And when I went to my sister’s apartment, when she lived there, I saw she had beetles, cockroaches, and other bugs I don’t know what they are called. She still slept in her bed that had some of this bugs! She didn’t care. There were a lot of bugs there and my apartment. There is a lot of dust, and drafts and very thin walls in my apartment. I am by some old trees and a big old tree comes right by my apartment. I think I am in an old town. They say there are rats in my neighborhood. I saw a rat and mouse too. And a rat and mouse at the Laundromat. So, I heard it was not good to live there and I should move. But I just moved, and want to give it a chance. Am I crazy for this? Plea se help. This is no joke. Thank you.
Soooooo afraid one in Evanston
Evanston, IL

Dear Soooooo afraid,
Since we don’t have psychiatry degrees, we really don’t want to try to diagnose your level of craziness and would prefer to leave that to a specialist. In all actuality, we have art degrees, so theoretically, our insect advice could also be called into question. In recent months, job qualifications have been greatly relaxed, and we do know that Africa is a continent and that Canada, the United States and Mexico are in North America, so we may be qualified to do just about anything.
We are going to confine ourselves to answering your House Centipede questions. Yes, this is a House Centipede. Though they may seem organized, they do not have leaders. They are not attracted to body spray or cologne. They are there because there is a food source. They are predatory and will eat insects and other Arthropods. In the city, they thrive on Cockroaches, so in that sense, they are beneficial. They are not dangerous, but we have gotten a few reports of people being bitten. They are generally found in damp dark places, and they will live indoors and outdoors. Visit our Household Pests section for more creatures frequently found indoors that are not beneficial.

Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 3:31 PM
Hi. I heard they live off a food supply. But where is the food supply? How to get rid of these bugs? They freak the daylights out of me!!!!!!!! This is no joke. Thanks!

Hello again Sooooooo afraid,
Yes, you have heard correctly. House Centipedes do live off of a food supply. There are probably countless insects and spiders in your new apartment that you are unaware of. Cockroaches like dark places like behind the stove, under the sink, and anywhere that crumbs of food may fall. We do not give extermination advice.

Letter 9 – House Centipede

Most Horrific Thing I’ve Ever Seen
November 18, 2009
Hello!
My roommates and I have been finding these disgusting looking bugs around our house. They are in all rooms and have been found on the floor, walls, and ceililng. Aside from their gross appearance (if it’s not obvious by now, we are a bunch of girls – literally), when they die, all their legs seem to pop off. This makes sense when we smash them, but they’ve also died because we sprayed for them and as they crawl along, slowly dying, the legs seemed to disconnect. Perhaps I should mention they have more legs then I thought possible. They seem to go all around their body. The one in the picture is the biggest we’ve seen so far, it is about two inches in length. The average is 1-1 1/2 inches. Please help!
Horrified in the Heartland
Central Illinois

Dear Horrified,
If you are not seeing any cockroaches, it is probably because these beneficial and harmless House Centipedes are feeding upon them at night. Should you succeed in eliminating all the House Centipedes, you may find that the Cockroaches and Bedbugs and Silverfish will proliferate. Our advice is to learn to live in harmony with the House Centipedes and allow them to keep your home pest free.

Thanks Daniel! It would be nice if the “good” bugs would clearly identify themselves and not look so scary. Perhaps I will try and convey that to them next time I see one. Thanks again!

Reader Emails

Over the years, our website, whatsthatbug.com has received hundreds of letters and some interesting images asking us about these insects. Scroll down to have a look at some of them.