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Centipede Control In Arlington VA

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Centipede Control Services In Arlington VA

Miche Pest Control is a family owned and operated pest control company that provides residential and commercial centipede control services in Arlington VA and the surrounding areas. Our expert centipede exterminators get rid of centipede infestations fast, and work preventatively to keep the centipedes from coming back after they've been eliminated. Miche Pest Control has a 4.9 star rating and over 1,000 reviews online - call today or book online!

Centipede Exterminator Serving Arlington VA

If you're in need of professional centipede exterminators in Arlington VA, look no further. Our team of experts has the knowledge and experience to effectively eliminate centipedes and other pests from your home or business. Using only the most advanced and safe methods, we can get rid of centipedes and prevent them from returning. Don't let these creepy crawlies take over your property – contact us today to schedule an appointment and take the first step towards a pest-free space.

Centipedes in Arlington VA

Centipedes are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda of the subphylum Myriapoda, an arthropod group which also includes millipedes and other multi-legged creatures. Centipedes are elongated segmented (metameric) creatures with one pair of legs per body segment. All centipedes are venomous and can inflict painful bites, injecting their venom through pincer-like appendages known as forcipules. Despite the name, centipedes can have a varying number of legs, ranging from 30 to 382. Centipedes always have an odd number of pairs of legs; no centipede has exactly 100 legs. Like spiders and scorpions, centipedes are predominantly carnivorous.

Their size can range from a few millimetres in the smaller lithobiomorphs and geophilomorphs to about 12 in in the largest scolopendromorphs. In Arlington VA and the surrounding areas, they rarely get to be more than a couple inches long.

Centipedes can be found in a wide variety of environments. They normally have a drab coloration combining shades of brown and red. Cavernicolous (cave-dwelling) and subterranean species may lack pigmentation, while many tropical scolopendromorphs have bright aposematic colors.

Worldwide, an estimated 8,000 species of centipedes are thought to exist, of which 3,000 have been described. Centipedes have a wide geographical range, even reaching beyond the Arctic Circle. They are found in an array of terrestrial habitats from tropical rainforests to deserts. Within these habitats, centipedes require a moist microhabitat because they lack the waxy cuticle of insects and arachnids, therefore causing them to rapidly lose water. Accordingly, they are found in soil and leaf litter, under stones and dead wood, and inside logs. Centipedes are among the largest terrestrial invertebrate predators, and often contribute significantly to the invertebrate predatory biomass in terrestrial ecosystems.

House Centipedes in Arlington VA

The house centipede, believed to have originated in the Mediterranean region, was introduced into Mexico and the Southern United States and has increased its distribution. It spread to Arlington VA sometime before 1849, when it was discovered to have spread to Pennsylvania. Today, the house centipede can be found in many buildings throughout the United States. It does not do particularly well outdoors in the winter in Arlington, but readily reproduces in heated structures.

Because of their secretive nature, scary appearance and darting motions, homeowners typically fear the house centipede. In 1902, C.L. Marlatt, an entomologist with the United States Department of Agriculture wrote in Circular #48 - The House Centipede: "It may often be seen darting across floors with very great speed, occasionally stopping suddenly and remaining absolutely motionless, presently to resume its rapid movements, often darting directly at inmates of the house, particularly women, evidently with a desire to conceal itself beneath their dresses, and thus creating much consternation." Undoubtedly, the current favor of blue jeans as a preferred article of clothing has not appreciably reduced the angst felt by the household "inmates" when a centipede is seen scurrying across the basement floor.

House Centipede Bites - Should I Be Worried?

The most common centipede found in Arlington VA is the house centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata), which is the only species of centipede known to reproduce in homes. While house centipedes can inflict a bite, it is of minor consequence and it rarely does so. When given the chance, house centipedes prefer to quickly retreat from danger rather than bite. Typical symptoms from a house centipede bite are slight pain and swelling as their weak jaws rarely allow them to break skin.

Biting Centipedes In Arlington VA

Centipedes bite in order to defend themselves and to capture their prey. Centipedes use a pair of hollow legs, adapted with claws, to bite into the skin. These pincer-like maxillipeds, also known as toxicognaths or "poison claws," are found under the first body segment and can also cause small puncture wounds and blisters when the centipede crawls across the skin. When a centipede bites (as opposed to stings), it injects venom into victims that is stored in internal glands. Although centipede bites may be painful, they are rarely fatal.

The symptoms of centipede stings vary depending on the degree of allergic reaction and the size of the centipede. Typically, bite victims have severe pain, swelling and redness at the site of the bite, with symptoms usually lasting less than 48 hours. Symptoms for those more sensitive to the venom’s effects may also include headache, chest pain, heart tremors, nausea and vomiting.

Victims from centipede bites are often gardeners. The venom administered through a centipede bite is typically harmless, not life threatening to humans and symptoms are fleeting, lasting only a few hours. However, the larger the specimen, the greater the pain will be. Small children and individuals with known insect allergies may experience more severe reactions. Always contact a physician for advice and treatment of centipede bites.

Centipedes Poisonous In Arlington VA?

The most common type of centipede in Arlington VA, house centipedes sting with appendages called forcipules and administer a venom to subdue their prey. However, because of their size when compared to humans, this venom poses virtually no risk to humans if they are stung. Most people who are stung by centipedes experience a little bit of redness and slight swelling in the area, but those people that are allergic to bee stings might have a more severe reaction if anaphylaxis occurs.

Arlington VA

Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia, often referred to simply as Arlington, Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part, under the name Alexandria County. The county is coterminous with the U.S. Census Bureau's census-designated place of Arlington. Arlington is considered to be the second-largest "principal city" of the Washington metropolitan area. If it were incorporated as a city, Arlington would be the fourth most-populous city in the state.

With a land area of 26 square miles, Arlington is the geographically smallest self-governing county in the US, and by reason of state law regarding population density, it has no incorporated towns within its borders. Arlington is home to the Pentagon, Reagan National Airport, and Arlington National Cemetery. In academia, the county contains Marymount University, George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, the administrative offices buildings and graduate programs for the Schar School of Policy and Government and the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, as well as satellite campuses of the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.

The area that now constitutes Arlington County was originally part of Fairfax County in the Colony of Virginia. Land grants from the British monarch were awarded to prominent Englishmen in exchange for political favors and efforts at development. One of the grantees was Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, who lends his name to both Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. The county's name "Arlington" comes via Henry Bennet, Earl of Arlington, a Plantation along the Potomac River, and Arlington House, the family residence on that property. George Washington Parke Custis, the grandson of First Lady Martha Washington, acquired this land in 1802. The estate was eventually passed down to Mary Anna Custis Lee, wife of General Robert E. Lee. The property later became Arlington National Cemetery during the American Civil War, and eventually lent its name to present-day Arlington County.

Nearby Cities:

Washington DC (3 miles), Falls Church VA (4 miles), Alexandria VA (6 miles), Bethesda MD (7 miles), Silver Spring MD (8 miles), Springfield VA (8 miles), Hyattsville MD (9 miles), Fairfax VA (12 miles), Rockville MD (14 miles), Herndon VA (17 miles), Woodbridge VA (18 miles), Bowie MD (19 miles), Gaithersburg MD (19 miles), Upper Marlboro MD (19 miles), Laurel MD (20 miles), Manassas VA (23 miles), Ashburn VA (24 miles), Columbia MD (25 miles), Leesburg VA (30 miles), Ellicott City MD (31), Annapolis MD (33 miles), Baltimore MD (38 miles), Frederick MD (41 miles), Fredericksburg VA (45 miles)

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