If you come across this animal, don't kill it. The scutigera is not only harmless, but also very useful in the home

If you find one in the house, don't kill it! The scutigera is a harmless animal and an excellent ally against cockroaches, termites, ants, silverfish and mosquitoes

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

If you see her in the house, don't kill her! Close relative of the millipedes and centipedes, if we see it at home it is not that it is the height of pleasure. Yet the scutigera, 15 delicate pairs of legs and a yellowish-gray color, is the most harmless of the animals that we can find within our walls.

It is in domestic environments, in fact, that the scutigera is most easily found and, being an insectivore, it could also do us a big favor in killing bedbugs, cockroaches, termites, ants and silverfish, but also mosquitoes and spider mites.

Hence the reason why, if you see one running around the house - its rigid body allows it to move quickly on walls, ceilings and floors - you do not have to be scared or chase it: the scutigera is truly harmless and to human beings. it does no harm.

If, in fact, it is able to paralyze its prey through a poison that it injects with its teeth, to us humans and to the dogs and cats we have at home it can at most bite but in a completely painless way and without the risk of dangerous consequences (in the case of allergic subjects the picture may be different).

How scutigera is made and why it is useful at home

If you come across this animal, don't kill it. The scutigera is not only harmless, but also very useful in the home

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Native to the Mediterranean area, the adult scutigera has 15 long pairs of black striped legs and a rigid yellowish-gray body with three dark dorsal lines.

Young specimens have four pairs of legs at birth, while they acquire another pair with the first moult and two pairs with each subsequent moult. They live from three to seven years and prefer places that are not too hot and a little humid, such as cellars, bathrooms, laundries or cracks.

She loves insects like mosquitoes, bed bugs, ants, termites, cockroaches or silverfish, so it's welcome if we find any at home.

Scutigera, how to prevent it from invading your home

Obviously, however, if their presence becomes massive, it is good to take some measures, at least to avoid hygiene problems and stains on the walls.

Often just a little prevention is enough: if we live in the countryside we try to keep the house always clean and free from traces of dirt. In general, it is good to know that the hair of our pets, any organic waste, hair, traces of dust, are all attractants for insects, which in turn will attract scutigera. It is therefore useful to keep the house very clean, taking care to clean also behind the furniture and in the wardrobes, and to check for any cracks or holes in the walls, under the window sills and on the baseboards.

If you have not been able to prevent their presence, if there are too many of them or if it just annoys you, the population of Scutigere can be put out with some simple remedies. Better to avoid insecticides for obvious reasons and instead prefer a little powdered cayenne pepper or a little coffee powder and cloves to put a little here and there and the scutigera will move away on their own.

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