Is the house centipede actually poisonous, and is it a beneficial insect or a pest?

The house centipede is an arthropod of the family Scutigeridae, resembling a centipede but slightly smaller, mostly active in summer and autumn, often dwelling in dark, damp places inside and outside houses, crawling on walls, mosquito nets, furniture, and under beds. So, is the house centipede poisonous? Is it a beneficial insect or a pest?

1. Is the house centipede poisonous?

The house centipede is poisonous.

1. The house centipede is a type of centipede, a close relative of the centipede, with a body length of 1.5 to 5 cm, a slender and slightly flattened body, and a brownish-yellow body color. Its body is divided into 16 segments, each with one pair of slender legs. Behind the head there is a ring segment with a pair of hooked maxillipeds; the tips of the maxillipeds are claw-shaped, and the tips of the claws have openings of venom glands that can secrete venom. After touching human skin, it can cause local herpes and make the person feel stinging and uncomfortable.

2. There are many species of house centipedes. The common large house centipede, or the flower house centipede, in China is distributed in the southern provinces; they are mostly active in summer and autumn, often dwelling in dark, damp places inside and outside houses, crawling on walls, mosquito nets, furniture, and under beds. During the day they rest in rotting leaves and decaying wood, and only come out at night to forage. They crawl relatively quickly and mainly feed on insects and spiders.

3. The house centipede itself is slightly poisonous. After a bite, human skin can develop local herpes, initially translucent blisters, which later become turbid pus or blood, with an obvious red halo around them. The blister wall is often scratched or rubbed open to form an eroded surface; if the bitten area does not hurt or swell, it is not serious. If there is itching, 1% menthol calamine lotion can be used, and Nantong Jidesheng snake pills or Shanghai snake medicine can also be used, mixed with water into a thin paste and applied externally.

4. Although the house centipede is poisonous, it can be used as medicine. It is warm in nature and pungent in taste, and has the effects of clearing heat and dispelling wind, reducing swelling and detoxifying, and breaking phlegm and unblocking meridians. It treats abdominal masses and stuffiness, carbuncles, dysphagia, and excessive salivation, among other conditions. It also likes to enter the ear. If it enters the ear, selenium sand and bile green can be ground separately into fine powder in equal parts and blown into the ear with a goose quill tube, or realgar powder can be mixed with vinegar and dropped into the ear; both can kill the house centipede and make it flow out as water. It can also be lured out of the ear with heavy oil and strong-smelling substances.

2. Is the house centipede a beneficial insect or a pest?

The house centipede is a beneficial insect.

1. House centipedes mostly live in dark, damp places inside and outside houses. They like to prey on spiders, bedbugs, termites, cockroaches, silverfish, ants, and other household arthropods, injecting venom into their bodies with their venomous fangs, thereby killing pests, so they are beneficial insects.

2. If you see a house centipede at home, do not be afraid of it, and there is no need to drive it away. It usually does not bite people, but when harmed it will fight back and bite. Its toxicity is very weak, so there is no need to worry about being harmed by it, and having it around can clean up pests at home. When there is nothing left to eat, it will naturally leave.

Summary: The house centipede is poisonous. At the tips of the claws on its head there are openings of venom glands that can secrete venom, and after touching human skin it can cause local herpes; although it is poisonous, it can be used as medicine, with the effects of clearing heat and dispelling wind, reducing swelling and detoxifying, and breaking phlegm and unblocking meridians. The house centipede is a beneficial insect. It likes to prey on pests such as spiders, bedbugs, termites, cockroaches, silverfish, and ants. If you see it at home, do not be afraid of it, and there is no need to drive it away.