Question
We live in  Canada and in the past week we found two *huge* centipedes
in our living room. They were unusually large for home centipedes and for
Canada in particular ( about 8-10cm long). I checked for the photos on the
Internet and they do look like oversized house centipedes...
We live on a  fourth floor of an apartment building and there are no visible
signs of moisture problems anywhere. We did not acquire new plants either.
While I can not figure out where these centipedes, if that is what they are,
come from, I would very much like to  exterminate any remaining ones. I have
heard of diatomaceous earth which can be safely used against pest.
We have two small chinchillas (rodents) as pets at home and conventional
insecticides, even if they were to work on these giant centipedes, would
certainly not be harmless to my two pets.
I guess my questions is whether diatomaceous earth is absolutely safe to use
in the home? How is is used and does it really work against centipedes?
Finally, how big can centipedes grow?

Many thanks for your help!

Answer
Diatomaceous earth is an organic product composed of shaved remains of fossilized diatoms. Although it is broken down into a fine powder, the shavings are extremely abrasive to soft-bodied creatures, such as caterpillars, worms, and centipedes. When they crawl through the powder, their bodies absorb the substance through their exoskeleton, causing them to slowly die from dehydration. In short, the abrasive results in very small cuts on the insect's body causing them to lose fluid.

With that said, this product is safe around humans and pets. I have never heard of pets ingesting the product, although I guess anything is possible. But given it has no smell and no taste, I see no reason any pet would be attracted to it. I have two cats and have used this product to eradicate ants, and they showed no interest in it whatsoever. But if this is a concern, you may want to call your veteranarian to inquire about what affect this product would have on a pet if ingested.

I hope this answered your question. Please write again if I can ever be of assistance.

Regards,

Mike