Centipedes are almost as common as roaches, geckos, and even the infamous chicken here on Kauai; you just won’t have them crowing at your door waiting for a handout because centipedes take great pride in hunting for their own food. In fact, centipedes are carnivorous – they eat meat! Just not the “human” kind of meat. Instead, they eat stuff like roaches, flies, moths, spiders, and other soft-skinned insects. So, if you have an abundance of soft-skinned insects in and around your home, I would venture to say that you just might get bitten by a centipede.

It’s funny that we all refer to centipede bites as “bites,” because in fact, centipedes don’t have teeth. Instead, they have some pretty nasty poison claws on their front legs. Centipedes use their “claws” to inject venom when they penetrate our skin. The injection of the centipede’s venom is what we all refer to as the “bite.” Just so you know, though, you can also get blisters if a centipede just crawls over your body (without “biting” you) because its claws scratch your skin as it moves along.

So, what provokes a centipede to bite us? Well, what provokes you to defend yourself? A centipede’s bite is its means of defending itself in the face of threat or danger. Most times, a centipede will just try to run away before it tries to bite; and with all it legs, a centipede can run pretty fast!

I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s worth repeating: If you get bitten by a centipede, the bite will last a second or more, or until you beat the dang creature off you, because they generally don’t let go until you force them to do so. You will feel a burning sensation; the burning sensation might grow larger around where you were bitten. The intensity of the burning sensation can also vary from species to species.

Not to fear, though, because centipede bites are generally never fatal. However, if you have some sort of allergic or sensitive reaction to a centipede bite (i.e., swelling of the bitten area), seek medical attention immediately.

If you find yourself in need of removing excessive centipedes, contact us and we’ll be happy to give you an estimate on your situation. Mahalo