How Fast Is House Centipede?

House centipedes scurry at about 0.4 metres per second — that's 11 body lengths per second. They look alarming, but they're entirely harmless, and they happily eat the spiders, cockroaches and ants you'd rather not have.

House centipedes have 15 pairs of legs — but only 14 of those pairs walk. The first pair are modified into venomous fangs called forcipules.

• 11 body lengths per second
• Harmless despite their alarming appearance