Texas is home to the largest centipede in North America: the giant redheaded centipede, formally known as Scolopendra heros. It averages 6.5 inches long but can reach 8 inches in the wild, and it’s as aggressive a predator as its appearance suggests. If you’ve spotted one in your yard, your house, or just want to know what you’re dealing with, here’s what to know.
How to Identify a Texas Centipede
The variant most common in Texas is called the “castaneiceps” form, and it’s unmistakable. It has a bright red or orange-red head, a greenish-black body, and a matching dark tail. The body is segmented, with either 21 or 23 pairs of yellow or orange legs. Those warning colors aren’t decorative. They serve as a signal to predators that this centipede is venomous and not worth eating.
Smaller house centipedes also live in Texas. These are pale, thin, and fast-moving, with extremely long legs that fan outward. They’re far less alarming in terms of bite risk and tend to stay indoors. When most Texans search for “centipede Texas,” though, they’ve encountered the giant redheaded variety, and they know it.
Where They Live and When They’re Active
Giant redheaded centipedes spend most of their time under rocks, logs, and leaf litter, where they stay hidden and moist. They’re found throughout much of Texas, especially in the central and western parts of the state where rocky terrain and dry landscapes dominate. Unlike many arthropods, they’re often active during the day, not just at night. They also occasionally wander into houses, particularly during hot or dry stretches when they’re seeking moisture or following prey indoors.
Spring through fall is when you’re most likely to encounter one, with warm, humid nights bringing them out to hunt. In cooler months, they retreat deeper underground or into sheltered crevices.
What They Eat
These centipedes are surprisingly powerful predators. Their primary diet is other arthropods, including insects, spiders, and smaller centipedes. But giant redheaded centipedes regularly take down vertebrates too. In Texas, they’ve been documented killing and eating small snakes, lizards, and even bats. Researchers have observed Scolopendra heros preying on long-nosed snakes in the Texas desert and attacking big brown bats in rock crevices.
Large centipedes in this family can overpower prey that exceeds their own body weight. That places them in an unusual position for an invertebrate: they function as mid-level predators in their ecosystems, exerting real pressure on small vertebrate populations. These encounters are likely far more common than the scientific record suggests, since centipedes hunt mostly out of sight.
What a Bite Feels Like
A bite from a giant redheaded centipede is intensely painful. The larger the centipede, the worse it hurts, and this is the biggest species on the continent. The venom contains a mix of compounds that trigger inflammation, including chemicals that cause immediate swelling, redness, and sharp, burning pain. You’ll see two small puncture marks at the bite site.
Pain and swelling typically begin within seconds and can last anywhere from several hours to several days. Most bites resolve on their own without medical treatment. Serious systemic reactions are rare, but people who are allergic to bee or wasp stings face a higher risk of a significant reaction. The venom can, in uncommon cases, produce cardiovascular or neurological effects.
Signs that a bite needs medical attention include symptoms that worsen or don’t improve within 48 hours, fever, red streaks spreading from the wound, or any foul smell from the site. Intense itching, dizziness, hives, or a rash suggest an allergic reaction. Swelling of the lips, tongue, throat, or mouth is a medical emergency.
First Aid for a Centipede Bite
If you’re bitten, apply a cold pack or iced water to the area for about 15 minutes. Reapply if the pain continues. Over-the-counter pain relievers can help manage discomfort, and an antihistamine can reduce swelling and itching. Don’t cut the wound, try to suck out venom, or apply a tourniquet. None of those methods help and they can cause additional harm.
Keep the area clean to prevent infection. If the bite looks increasingly red, swollen, or warm over the following days, infection may be developing.
Keeping Centipedes Out of Your Home
Centipedes enter homes for two reasons: moisture and food. Addressing both makes your house far less attractive to them.
- Reduce moisture. Fix water leaks, run dehumidifiers in basements, and use exhaust fans in bathrooms and attics. Centipedes need humid environments and will avoid dry spaces.
- Remove hiding spots. Clear clutter from basements, crawl spaces, and attics. Outside, move piles of leaves, grass clippings, and firewood away from the foundation of your home.
- Seal entry points. Caulk or seal cracks, holes, and gaps around the exterior of your house. Repair torn screens and add weather stripping to doors and windows.
- Cut off the food supply. Centipedes hunt spiders, roaches, and other insects. If your home has a pest problem that attracts prey, centipedes will follow. Addressing the underlying insect issue removes their reason to come inside.
- Use a perimeter barrier. Indoor and outdoor insecticide barriers applied around door frames, window casings, and baseboards can help prevent entry. Perimeter sprays around the foundation of your house add an additional layer of defense.
Thorough cleaning of damp areas like bathrooms, basements, and laundry rooms eliminates the conditions centipedes prefer. A dry, well-sealed, clutter-free home gives them very little reason to stick around.