Centipede control · Southeast Michigan
Centipede Control in Ann Arbor and Southeast Michigan
House centipedes hunt other bugs. So finding one means two things: you have damp, and you already had insects. An exterminator who fixes only the centipede has fixed nothing. The moisture is the real job.
Quick answers
Centipede control in Southeast Michigan: the quick facts
House centipedes are predators. They are in the basement because there is something down there for them to eat, and they need damp to survive. That makes them a fairly reliable signal of two things at once: excess moisture, and an existing insect population you had not noticed.
- Most common here
- House centipede
- Fifteen pairs of long legs and a startling turn of speed. Unnerving, but not dangerous.
- Worst months
- Apr to Oct
- The months with the most sightings in Michigan, from public records anyone can check.
- How it gets in
- Damp basements and crawl spaces
- They dry out fast, so they stay where it is humid. Fixing the damp usually does more than spraying.
- Included in
- The Honorable Shield plan
- Covered by the plan, with free re-treatment between visits. Or book one visit.
Centipedes in Michigan.
House centipedes are fast, leggy and startling, but they are hunters. One in the bathroom means damp and a steady supply of the small bugs they eat.
Killing the ones you see does not fix that. Our exterminators find the moisture, treat where they hunt, and show you how to dry the house out.
Seasonal pattern
When are house centipedes worst in Michigan?
This is when house centipedes are actually recorded in Michigan, month by month, from public observation records rather than from a guess.
Warning signs
How centipedes announce themselves.
Fast creatures on walls
Seeing long-legged creatures darting across floors, walls, or even ceilings, especially at night when you flip on lights.
Damp basement conditions
Condensation on basement walls, musty smells, or visible moisture, the conditions centipedes need to survive.
Other pest sightings
Seeing spiders, silverfish, or other small insects in the same areas. Centipedes follow their food sources.
Centipedes in drains
Finding centipedes in bathtubs, sinks, or near floor drains where moisture collects and other insects gather.
What to look for
What a centipede problem looks like at home.
House centipedes are fast and startling, but a few usually point to damp and to other bugs. These are six of the things people notice, and what each one tells us.
Long legs and fast. Bathrooms and basements draw them because they stay damp.
Dark, damp concrete and a white mineral line mean water is getting in. Centipedes follow the damp.
It did not come up the drain. It fell in looking for water and cannot climb the smooth sides.
They hunt at night along walls. Seeing one when the light comes on is the most common sighting.
Centipedes eat small insects and spiders. Plenty of other bugs means plenty of food for them.
They travel up from the basement. Keeping the basement dry makes the whole house less inviting.
How our exterminators get rid of centipedes.
We go beyond killing centipedes. Our whole-home approach eliminates the conditions that brought them in the first place.
Find the damp
We inspect your basement, crawl spaces, and bathrooms to identify moisture sources, entry points, and the secondary pest populations that centipedes are feeding on in your home.
Treat the centipedes and their food
We apply targeted treatments that eliminate both centipedes and the pest populations attracting them. By removing their food source, we ensure centipedes have no reason to stay.
Seal the gaps and dry it out
We seal entry points and provide moisture reduction recommendations. Dehumidifier placement, ventilation improvements, and drainage fixes, to make your home permanently inhospitable to centipedes.
Every centipede control visit
The full Honorable TriShield™, every time.
Three layers. The house, the lawn, then the property line. Not a rushed spray along your baseboards. A cheap quote usually skips two of the three.
Foundation barrier
Three feet up the wall. Three feet out from it. All the way round the house, plus windows, doors, the garage and the roofline. That strip is the road bugs use to get in.
Measured with a tape, not eyeballed
Granular yard moat
A ring of granules across the lawn. Rain wakes it back up. So does your sprinkler. In a Michigan summer that is most weeks.
Skipped by most companies. Granular costs money.
Property line
We spray the whole property line. Bugs get stopped at the edge of your yard, not at your back door.
The layer a cheaper quote quietly leaves out
How to identify the centipedes in your house.
These are the centipedes we treat that have confirmed sightings in Washtenaw, Oakland, Wayne and Livingston counties. Each one is identified by independent naturalists, so the animal in the photo is the animal named.
The long-legged one in basements and bathrooms. It hunts other bugs.
Short-legged and brown. Lives under stones and mulch and wanders in.
All of these have confirmed sightings in Washtenaw, Oakland, Wayne and Livingston counties. Records from iNaturalist research-grade observations, pulled 2026-09-25. Photos: House centipede by Adam Kranz (CC0); Brown stone centipede by Timothy Lindsey (CC BY).
What it costs
Centipede control is included in the Honorable Shield plan.
There is no special tier to buy. Centipedes are covered by the normal plan. If they come back between visits, so do we, free, within 48 hours. Your price depends on the size of your house, not on which bug you have.
| Honorable ShieldRecurring | One-time treatmentSingle visit | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Keeping them out all year | Killing off one problem now |
| You get | All three barrier layers, every visit, on a schedule | All three barrier layers, one time |
| If they come back | We treat again, free | A follow-up is $247 |
| Other pests | Over 20 pests, rodents included | This one only |
| Price | From $61 a month | From $497 |
Prices are the starting figures: a home up to 1,000 square feet, or half an acre for yard work. What is covered is set out in the plan terms.
Centipede control, answered straight.
Are house centipedes dangerous?
House centipedes can technically bite, but they rarely do and their venom is not medically significant for humans. The bite feels similar to a mild bee sting. They are actually beneficial predators that eat spiders, cockroaches, silverfish, and other pests. However, their alarming speed and appearance make them an unwelcome guest in most homes.
Why do I have centipedes in my basement?
House centipedes in your basement are a strong indicator of two things: excess moisture and other pest populations. Centipedes need humidity to survive and they follow their food sources. Other bugs. If you are seeing centipedes regularly, you likely have both a moisture problem and another pest issue they are feeding on.
How fast can house centipedes move?
House centipedes are incredibly fast. They can run up to 1.3 feet per second, which is extremely fast for their size. Their 15 pairs of long, banded legs allow them to dart across floors, walls, and even ceilings at alarming speeds. This speed is what makes them so startling when encountered unexpectedly in your home.
Do centipedes mean I have a bigger pest problem?
Yes, centipedes are predatory insects that feed on other pests. If you are seeing house centipedes regularly, it means they have a reliable food source in your home. Typically spiders, silverfish, cockroaches, carpet beetle larvae, or other small insects. Addressing the centipede problem also means addressing the underlying pest population they are feeding on.
When are centipedes most active in Michigan homes?
House centipedes are active year-round inside Michigan homes because they live entirely indoors once established. They are nocturnal, so you are most likely to see them at night or when you turn on lights in dark rooms. Activity may increase in spring and fall when outdoor centipedes migrate inside seeking moisture and warmth.
Pest-Free Guarantee
They come back? So do we, free.
On Honorable Shield, see a covered pest between visits? We come back within 48 hours and treat it again. You pay nothing.
Centipede control where you live.
Old streets with big trees get different bugs than new build on cleared ground. Pick your town to see what we actually find there.
That is not all of them. See all 38 towns, or ask us if we reach your street.
Other pests we treat
One plan covers every one of these. No extra charge when something different shows up.
From our blog
Every visit includes all three barrier layers. See what we treat, or ask an exterminator.
Centipede control · Licensed and insured
Stop Living With Creepy Centipedes
You deserve to walk through your basement without fear. Call us today for a free quote. We will eliminate the centipedes and fix the problems attracting them.
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