Centipedes and millipedes look similar at a glance, long, segmented and many-legged, and people often lump them together. They are different animals, and knowing which one is on the bathroom floor is the first step to dealing with it.
Are they insects?
No. The Australian Museum classes both as myriapods, meaning "many pairs of legs". They are terrestrial animals with a segmented body, a pair of antennae and breathing holes called spiracles. Insects have six legs, and centipedes and millipedes have far more, so they sit in a separate group within the arthropods.
How do you tell a centipede from a millipede?
Count the legs on each body segment. According to the Australian Museum, centipedes have one pair of legs per body segment and millipedes have two pairs per segment.
The names mislead. Centipede means 100 legs and millipede means 1,000, but the Museum says the number of leg pairs in centipedes is always an odd number, with a known range of 15 to 191 pairs. The record for the most legs belongs to a millipede, Illacme plenipes, with 750.
Which ones are common here?
The Museum names the house centipede, Allothereua maculata, an Australian native, as the most common centipede throughout southern Australia. If a fast-moving centipede turns up in a bathroom, laundry or garage, that is the likely candidate.
What should you do about them?
Both groups turn up around the edges of a house. A tidy perimeter makes the house less attractive to the things they hunt or shelter among.
- Clear leaf litter, mulch and stored timber back from the walls and doors.
- Fix leaks and damp areas around taps, downpipes and the laundry.
- Seal gaps under doors and around pipe and cable entries.
- Keep an eye on other pests indoors, since a steady food supply of small insects and spiders is a reason for anything that hunts them to stay.
When to call a pest controller
If you are still finding them indoors after the perimeter is cleared, a general pest treatment deals with the eaves, window frames, entry points and perimeter. To book an inspection or ask a question, contact us.
Common questions
- What is the difference between a centipede and a millipede?
- Centipedes have one pair of legs on each body segment, and millipedes have two pairs per segment. Both are myriapods, not insects, and both have a segmented body and a pair of antennae.
- Do centipedes really have 100 legs?
- No. The Australian Museum says the names are a bit misleading. The number of leg pairs in centipedes is always an odd number, and the known range is between 15 and 191 pairs.
- What is the most common centipede in southern Australia?
- The Australian Museum names the house centipede, Allothereua maculata, an Australian native, as the most common centipede throughout southern Australia.
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