Are you curious about a centipede’s diet? Let us share some information about what they eat, which will be useful to you. Centipedes are predatory animals, which belong to the Chilopoda class. Centipedes almost hide in any place and feed on anything that they can capture with their venomous bite. These centipedes hunt during the nighttime. Most of them eat anything, which is soft and can easily fit into their mouths. The front legs of centipedes act as fangs. These crawly creatures wrap themselves around the prey and wait until their venom can show effects on the capture. They can feed on spiders, snakes, frogs, mice, lizards, earthworms, bats, birds, rodents, and earthworms, when in the wild. However, they prefer to stay in moist and humid places because they dry out quickly. These centipedes derive their water content from the prey that they feed on.
Many people may raise house centipedes as they eradicate pests around their house or garden. Moreover, these centipedes attack insects that menace your garden. The diet of these house centipedes includes spiders, cockroaches, crickets, moths, ants, earthworms, bed bugs, flies, pillbugs, pinky mice, and silverfish. They also eat dead food like the commercials ones available at the store. Plants and vegetables are also their food source. The lifespan of a centipede can be around 6 years when fed properly. However, you can never predict the life of wild centipedes because they can anytime become prey for predators.
How Do Centipedes Eat?
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Centipedes have poor vision. They hunt for food sources with the help of their antennae. These centipedes are quick to hunt for their prey. Their quick reflexes help them to pounce on the target after locating their prey. These creatures have powerful claws, which secrete venom, thereby paralyzing their prey. They chew their meal using their mandibles. Their venom still has little effect on large animals like rats as well as humans, who only experience mild irritation and infection as a result of their bite.
Pests eaten by centipedes
The following are some of the centipedes’ favorite food.
Crickets
Centipedes like eating the crickets as a food source. Crickets usually reside outside. They are, nevertheless, attracted to dwellings when the proper conditions exist. For example, gleaming lights, unmaintained moist areas, and poorly sealed gaps can attract the crickets to your house.
Crickets must be eradicated from your property immediately since they do significant harm aside from attracting centipedes.
Cockroaches
Cockroaches are also a favorite food of centipedes.
Inadequate housekeeping is responsible for a large part of the cockroach infestation. A messy house will always attract cockroaches, which will attract centipedes if you do not maintain and clean it correctly. Drains, Sewer pipes, infested things, cracks, and gaps are all ways for them to get into your house. Some weak light sources might sometimes be enough to lure them into your house.
Spiders
Centipedes, unlike other pests, are not afraid of spiders. Spiders, on the other hand, are good food for them.
Spiders can get into people’s houses through holes and cracks in doors and windows. Spiders normally seek out a partner, warmth, moisture, and food after getting into a house. One of the most common reasons for the spiders to enter a house is because they find a large number of other pests.
Spiders can spread through contaminated materials like firewood and other goods kept in regions such as the attic and basement.
Beetles
Centipedes might be attracted to your property if you have the ground beetles. These ground beetles have the wings, but they are not able to fly. Centipedes may readily take advantage of this deficiency.
To eliminate the ground beetles, you must first determine what draws them into your house. They like light sources. They can also be found hiding in cracks and gaps around your property. They are, nonetheless, can enter your house through the door and windows.
Centipedes avoid particular hot areas like collected debris, rocks, logs, and leaves in order to consume the ground beetles.
What Do Centipedes Eat in the Garden?
These creepy creatures are known to be generalist predators. Moreover, they are omnivorous and eat whatever they find in their surroundings. When in the garden, they gorge on vegetables and plants. However, it is not their favorite food, and they only eat that when they are out of other options. Spiders, crickets, bugs like moths, pillbugs, and flies, and silverfish are some other food sources for them in the garden. They could even scavenge on dead organisms or dead pests.
Also Read: How To Get Rid Of Centipedes
Differing Eating Habits of House Centipedes and Wild Centipedes
Wild centipedes are deadly hunters and much larger. House centipedes eat earthworms, moths, and spiders. While wild centipedes also enjoy feeding on larger prey like rodents, frogs, snakes, bats, lizards, birds, and other reptiles. They are known for subduing a 15 times larger prey as a result of their venom. Most mammal bodies have potassium channels. The toxins from centipedes can thus damage their respiratory, nervous, muscular, and cardiovascular systems.
These creatures are also cannibals. Most female centipedes devour their younglings. Upon their nest getting destroyed, centipedes may have the urge to feed on their eggs. Not always does the parent eat the offspring. Sometimes the child consumes its mother too. Centipedes are not only found in moist and humid places, but they also survive and thrive on water. They drink enough water to survive. Moreover, their waxy coverings lead to moisture loss. Most centipedes can die due to dehydration.
Do Centipedes Eat Plants?
Yes, centipedes do eat plants and other dead matter in the garden. However, it is not their favorite meal.
Common centipede types that frequent your trees and plants in the garden include; garden centipede, bark centipede, stone centipede, soil centipede, and snake centipede.
Garden centipedes are non-venomous and feed on plant matter such as root, root hair, and seeds.
Bark centipedes are nocturnal, agile, and forage on trees.
Stone centipedes hide beneath moist mulch, rock, leaves, and logs while they feed on insects, spiders, larvae, and small birds.
You will find snake centipedes around bark and tree stumps. Most snake centipedes prefer to live in a dark, moist environment and consume soil-dwelling invertebrates.
Soil centipedes are predators of insect larvae and earthworms. These centipedes lack proper vision, while their antennae do all the sensing to hunt for and attack the prey. These centipedes are reddish-brown to white.
Do Centipedes Eat Spiders?
Centipedes have no fear for spiders like some other creatures. These spiders turn out to be their delicious meal.
Do Centipedes Eat Cockroaches?
Yes, centipedes also like to dine on cockroaches.
Do Centipedes Eat Ants?
Centipedes eat most insects and bugs, which includes ants as well.
Do Centipedes Eat Leaves?
Centipedes feed on leaves and dry matter in the garden or the wild when they run out of other options such as insects and pests.
