Giant Redheaded Centipede Control in Leon Springs and The Dominion
The giant redheaded centipede tends to surprise people in Leon Springs and The Dominion in broad daylight: a dark, many-legged animal the length of a hand, with a reddish head and yellow legs, crossing the patio or tucked against the garage wall. Don't pick it up. Give it space, then look at what's lying against your foundation, because stones, logs, mulch and wood piles are what bring it close.
For repeated sightings, phone or text (210) 281-1064, or schedule a visit on our site.
How big, and how to tell it from the house centipede #
Size depends on whom you ask. AgriLife's B-6118 says Scolopendra centipedes grow to about 7 inches, TPWD's magazine says wild ones reach 8 inches, and AgriLife's centipede fact sheet says a full-size adult of this species may pass 9 inches. B-6118 describes a body from brown to deep blue, with a yellowish to orange head, legs and tail end, and a leg pair on every body segment, 21 to 23 pairs in all.
The first pair of "legs" isn't for walking. AgriLife explains they're hollow fangs with venom glands at the base.
Don't confuse it with the house centipede, a far smaller creature of roughly 1 1/2 inches that runs on 15 pairs of spindly legs.
Juniper woods and leaf litter: the habitat next door #
This is a wooded corner of Bexar County. Friedrich Wilderness Park, about 600 acres, began with a 1971 bequest of land on Heuermann Road near Leon Springs, and it holds nesting sites for the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that bird nests only in mixed Ashe juniper and hardwood woodland in central Texas.
That kind of woodland floor is centipede habitat. TPWD's magazine says giant redheaded centipedes spend their down time beneath logs, stones and fallen leaves, move around a lot by day, and sometimes find their way indoors. B-6118 adds that they're found more often from central Texas west. Nobody has counted them around Leon Springs, but homes beside woods, brush or rocky ground share a fence line with the places they live.
The strip between the woods and your walls #
What matters most is the few feet right next to the house. From AgriLife's centipede fact sheet:
- Move compost piles, firewood and stones away from the foundation.
- Lay a gravel strip so beds don't touch the foundation.
- Rake and flip mulch now and then so it can dry.
- Caulk openings at doors, windows and pipe entries.
- Pack weep holes with copper mesh. Steel wool works too, but not on light-colored brick or stone, where it rusts and stains.
- Keep crawl spaces ventilated.
For the record, these centipedes hunt insects and small animals, including rodents, lizards, snakes and toads.
Respect the bite, skip the panic #
According to B-6118, a centipede can grab with both jaws and legs, and the result can include burning pain, nausea and temporary paralysis; claw scratches from the legs can hurt too. TPWD's magazine offers perspective: most bites amount to a sharp, painful sting with swelling that settles in a few hours, and this species has never caused a confirmed death. Its advice is to treat a bite much like a bee sting.
Less often, people get small areas of skin damage, dizziness, nausea or headaches, and a 2017 Texas emergency-room case report lists infection, tissue death and heart and muscle complications among the possible problems. Wash a bite with soap and water. Any unusual or spreading symptoms need a doctor, and the Poison Center is 1-800-222-1222.
Above all, AgriLife's advice is simple: never handle a centipede.
How Pest Trappers deals with giant centipedes in Leon Springs and The Dominion #
A technician walks the foundation, beds, rock borders and wood piles, checks door sweeps, weep holes and crawl spaces, and looks at where you've been seeing them. You'll get a plain list of fixes and the treatment options; AgriLife notes perimeter work at the foundation may help, along with crack-and-crevice treatment inside, and anything applied follows its label. The licensed business is Pest Trappers LLC (TPCL #0887549), a family company with Travis Lambert as certified applicator. We price after the inspection, and the office confirms your appointment. Our centipede guide has more, and the Leon Springs and The Dominion page covers related pests such as scorpions.