Lizards and centipedes do not get along. Some lizards eat centipedes, but centipedes can kill lizards due to their bite, size, and venom. Throughout this guide, we’ll explain:
- Do Lizards Eat Centipedes?
- Can Centipedes Kill Lizards?
- Do Lizards Eat Millipedes
- What Attracts Centipedes To Your Home
- How to Spot Centipedes
- How to Remove Centipedes From Your Home
It depends on the lizard’s dietary choice. For instance, geckos tend to eat centipedes by latching onto them. However, if the lizard is a herbivore, chances are they will attempt to avoid the centipede.
Can Centipedes Kill Lizards?
Yes. Centipedes can kill lizards if they have the size advantage. For instance, a giant centipede can kill a gecko after latching onto it. The centipede will then start to bite the lizard until it is incapacitated. Once the lizard is unable to move, the centipede fully consumes it until its body absorbs all of its nutrients.
Centipedes have three ways to defend themselves against lizards:
- Biting: When encountering a lizard that’s close to its size, the centipede will attack them with a venomous bite. For humans, the bite is as deadly as a bee sting. However, it’s more fatal for your pet lizard and can potentially kill it.
- Speed: Centipedes have long legs, which they can use to out maneuver a lizard. When a centipede encounters a lizard, it will use its legs to help kill them. However, if the lizard is too strong, the centipede can escape quickly.
- Pinching: Pinching is the centipede’s primary line of defense. Centipedes can attack their prey via piercing them with their legs or injecting poison.
Do Lizards Eat Millipedes
No. Millipedes are just as dangerous as centipedes. Even if a lizard was to consume a millipede, chances are the millipede is infested with parasites and toxins. These toxins can paralyze or kill your lizard, depending on the species. Thus, making it a dangerous idea to keep your pet lizards around them.
The difference between millipedes and centipedes lies in their venomous capabilities. Unlike centipedes, millipedes are non-venomous. There are a few millipede species that produce toxic fluids from their glands.
While centipedes can kill a small prey with their bite, it’s mild on humans. On the other hand, millipedes are more defensive when faced with their predators. When threatened, the millipede will curl its body to protect itself. If your pet lizard has been bitten by a centipede or millipede, seek out a medical professional to solve the problem.
Do Anole Lizards Eat Centipedes?
Yes! Anole lizards have a diet consisting of flies, moths, ants, centipedes, and termites. They only attack their prey if they are moving and receive most of their water from plants.
Do Blue-Tailed Lizards Eat Centipedes?
Blue-tailed lizards do eat centipedes. Alternatively, they eat flies, grasshoppers, and crickets. Even if a centipede was to bite their tail off, Blue-tailed lizards can regenerate and grow a new one over time.
What Attracts Centipedes To Your Home?
- Food
If your home is filled with pests that are prey to centipedes, you’re going to see them often. Therefore, if you see any signs of these pests, a centipede infestation will follow after it.
Also, you’ll have to keep your yard clean from any ornamental vegetation or plants. Centipedes love plants because they have organic materials such as moisture and leaves. They will find their way to your plants while looking for lizards and insects to feed on.
To avoid this scenario, always clean food off the ground, plates, and other areas. This cuts off the centipedes’ food supply and stops them from lurking inside your house.
- Cold Weather
Centipedes are more likely to enter your home during the winter season. They enter your house through small foundations, windows, and cracks as their main points of entry. Once they’ve entered your home, they find a dark area to live in. You can usually find centipedes in areas such as bathtubs, drains, and basement cracks.
- Other Pests
Centipedes will enter areas where their prey reside. If you notice any of these prey, remove them because they will attract more centipedes to your house. Centipedes tend to eat:
- Spiders
- Silverfish
- Cockroaches
To prevent a centipede infestation, keep their main sources of food away. This stops the infestation early before a myriad of centipedes enters your house.
How to Spot Centipedes
Centipedes can be difficult to spot because of their elusive behavior. Usually, centipedes will stay in dark areas throughout the day. To start searching for centipedes, look for areas in your home that have water problems. For example, bathrooms and sinks are great places to start searching for them.
In addition, you can check around for centipedes by seeing when they are the most active. For those who stay up late, look around for centipedes that may be lying in dark areas or areas with high moisture.
How to Remove Centipedes From Your Home
You can control centipedes and millipedes using the same techniques. Here are some of them:
- Natural Centipede Repellent
There are natural ways to keep centipedes out of your house and garden. Remove elements in the house that allow them to hide and reproduce. After eliminating their environment, you can start removing the ones currently residing in your home.
Using sticky traps and a high-quality vacuum are two natural ways to keep centipedes out without the need for chemical-based pesticides. With the vacuum, clean out areas that are hard to reach – these are great places for centipedes to hide in.
For sticky traps, you can make them out of petroleum jelly and cardboard. Place the trap in areas most frequented by centipedes. Doing so will allow you to catch them and remove them from your home.
- Call Pest Control
If there is a centipede infestation, it can be difficult to remove them by yourself. Centipedes are sneaky and will continue to infest your home if left unattended. To solve this problem, seek out professional assistance. They have the tools needed to keep centipedes away from your home and prevent future infestations.
- Create a Barrier
Centipedes enter your house from the outside. This means that if you make a barrier, you can decrease the chances of then entering and attacking your lizards.
Also Read
Do Lizards eat other Lizards? (A Look at Cannibalism in Reptiles)
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