The house centipede is one of the most startling things you can encounter in your own bathroom. Up to 1.5 inches long, 15 pairs of legs, moving at roughly a foot per second across your floor — they have a way of making an impression. In Altoona homes with any moisture issues, house centipedes are a common unwanted resident. Here’s the thing most people don’t know: centipede activity is often a sign that something else is going on.

Signs of a Centipede Problem

  • Seeing centipedes in bathrooms, basements, or kitchens — House centipedes prefer damp environments. Finding them regularly in bathrooms or around floor drains is the most common indicator. One centipede is unremarkable; seeing them weekly signals an established population.
  • Activity near moisture sources — Centipedes are found in high numbers near leaking pipes, sump pump areas, damp crawl spaces, and anywhere condensation accumulates on surfaces.
  • Finding them in tubs and sinks — Centipedes sometimes fall into slick surfaces and can’t escape. Finding them in bathtubs or bathroom sinks is a common discovery.
  • Other pest activity — Centipedes eat other insects. Active centipede populations often indicate an underlying prey insect problem — silverfish, spiders, cockroaches, or other small insects that are providing a food source.

Why Centipedes Are Common in Altoona Homes

House centipedes are moisture-dependent. They dehydrate quickly in dry environments and congregate wherever humidity is consistent. Altoona’s established neighborhoods, new developments, and commercial corridors contributes to basement humidity during Iowa’s humid summers — and once moisture establishes in a basement or crawl space, centipedes (and the prey insects they feed on) often follow.

Homes in eastern Polk County, directly east of Des Moines with unfinished basements, crawl spaces, or older construction often have the moisture conditions centipedes need. Clay-heavy soils common in central Iowa hold water near foundations, increasing the likelihood of damp basement environments.

Centipedes don’t eat your food, damage your structure, or transmit disease. But their presence is almost always a symptom of something else — moisture, and the prey insects that moisture supports. Finding centipedes consistently is a reason to look harder at what’s feeding them.

Our Centipede Control Process

Treating centipedes in isolation without addressing the moisture and prey insects that attract them produces short-term results at best.

assessment: We identify where centipedes are concentrated, what moisture conditions exist, and what other pest activity may be providing a food source. This shapes the treatment approach.

Residual insecticide treatment: We treat harborage areas — basement perimeters, crawl space entries, bathroom floor areas, under sinks — with residual products that eliminate centipedes and their prey insects in the treated zones.

Moisture recommendations: We identify specific moisture sources contributing to the problem — condensation, poor drainage, inadequate ventilation — and recommend dehumidification or other corrective measures. Reducing humidity makes the environment hostile to centipedes long-term.

Prey insect treatment: If we identify a prey insect driving the centipede population — silverfish, cockroaches, spiders — we treat that infestation as part of the overall service. Eliminating the food source is a key part of centipede control.

Why Choose Miller Pest Solutions

Miller Pest Solutions has been in central Iowa since 2001. Joel Miller has been in pest control since 2007. We’re QualityPro Certified and NPMA members. We approach centipede problems the right way — by looking at the whole ecosystem in the home, not just spraying the bug you can see.

We’ll give you a clear-eyed assessment of what’s driving your centipede activity and a plan to address it. No overcomplicated service agreements for what is often a straightforward moisture and harborage problem.

Get a Free Phone Bid Today

If house centipedes are a regular occurrence in your Altoona home, call Miller Pest Solutions at (515) 329-8801 for a free phone bid. We’ll figure out what’s driving the problem and give you a straight price to fix it.

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