Centipede is one of the grossest insects to many people. Their sole appearance is visually disturbing enough, not to mention having them crawl on your skin and evoke your hair-raising feeling and spine-tingling terror.
Centipedes are easily spotted in gloomy, damp places such as bathrooms, drains, cellars, and the like. Despite their distractive appearance, their presence can somehow be beneficial to your surroundings as they feed on other insects and thereby keep your house “clean” and free of other pests to a certain extent.
Anyway, if you simply can’t bear the sight of centipedes, the following are what you can do to reduce their numbers or get rid of them:
(i) Seal off the unnecessary entry points whenever and wherever possible to prevent them from coming in. Caulk gaps in the window or door frames via the use of, say, weather stripping, for example, and close any cracks in the walls.
(ii) Keep the normally wet areas (such as lavatory and kitchen) as dry as possible after use. Wipe the moist surfaces and areas (e.g. sink, drip from spigot) with a cloth in the kitchen and mop the washroom’s floor clean and dry after your business. For better result, keep the outside boundary of your house clean and dry (make it a 1- to 2-foot perimeter).
(iii) Getting rid of other insects (such as cockroaches, larvae from carpet beetles and silverfishes) inside your home will minimize the intrusion of centipedes because such act can greatly reduce their food source (i.e. other insects). You can use insecticides or engage a pest control company to help you eliminate these other pests in your house.
(iv) For a direct and immediate result, you can pour hot water (with extreme heat) on them.
References: http://www.ehow.com/how_10022430_treat-centipedes.html
http://www.ehow.com/info_8514187_do-keep-getting-centipedes-bathroom.html