Why are house centipedes so terrifying?
House centipedes are huge and scurry across bedroom walls or fall from the ceiling, triggering intense screams and panic despite being technically harmless. That horrifying look and unpredictability cause a visceral phobia that makes it impossible to stay calm around them.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since July 2026.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1grabbing them and throwing them under the stove or washerDid this help you?
- 2shooing them awayDid this help you?
- 3using a spray around the outside of the home that repels themDid this help you?
- 4ignoring them or leaving them alone because they are beneficialDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Logically I know this, emotionally im gone”source ↗
“I had one fall off the ceiling and into my pocket, core terrible memory lol”source ↗
“INKNOW. I SCREAMED.”source ↗
“Yea unfortunately I have them too. They’re terrifying looking but harmless thankfully. But I still hate them just by the look of them lol. They like to scurry across my bedroom walls and they’re huge.”source ↗
“Holy HELL. That’s a big ass centipede. I have a fear of those and told my psychology teacher I had senior year of high school. He thought I was crazy…”source ↗
“I found a house centipede in my bed today.”source ↗
“its the 2nd one ive seen in a few months which I very rarely see them despite my room being in the basement (this is only my 3rd encounter in my few years of living here) and all of them have been around my bed area.”source ↗
“Should I be worried that im starting to develop a bug problem and how should I get rid of them? They REALLY freak me out.”source ↗
Where this came up
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