It can be found in damp microhabitats in wooded areas; inside logs, under leaf-litter, or under surface objects during the day. Goes underground during freezing or hot, dry weather. In New York, it tended to be absent where soil pH was less than 3.8; much more abundant in beech forest than in hemlock forest (Wyman 1988, Wyman and Jancola 1992, Frisbie and Wyman 1992). It occurs in altered habitats where damp microhabitats remain, such as in urban and suburban gardens. It lays eggs in cavities in logs or stumps or under rock or other objects on ground, where they develop directly without a larval stage.

The range of this species includes eastern North America (USA and Canada), from Minnesota and western Ontario to southern Quebec, south to North Carolina and northeastern Tennessee (Conant and Collins 1991, Petranka 1998). It occurs at elevations between sea level and at least 1,463 m asl (West Virginia).

This species is present in several protected areas throughout its range.