These pesky bugs are found throughout North America and in many other countries. Millipedes are red, brown, black or coppery colored with wormlike segments. Each segment has two pairs of legs for each segment (except first 3-4 segments and last 1-3 segments) and measure 1/6th to 4 inches in length. If you disturb them you will find them coiled up like a spring.
Millipedes favor damp areas and moist crevices. If you have them in your home they don’t do any damage and they will die as they have no where to reproduce. They will only survive in your home if your home is a source of high moisture and food supply. They usually enter homes during an extremely wet season or extreme drought. Millipedes are nocturnal.
Most species of millipedes feed on organic materials and other rotting garden debris. They have been known to eat beans, cabbage, carrots, corn, potatoes, strawberries and turnips. They will sever seedlings, eat roots and burrow into fruits. Some millipedes are predators of other soil insects as well as small bugs, cockroaches, flies, etc. If they are not attacking your plants then leave them alone – they will break down organic matter in your compost.
Because of their high-moisture needs you will find them in decaying vegetation, under trash, under piles of grass clippings, mulch and leaf litter as well as rotting firewood, and rock formations. Eliminate moist areas and you will eliminate millipedes.
For an extensive population of millipedes, an application of appropriately labeled residual can be made to building foundations, walls, plant beds, unfinished basements and crawl spaces. Use a granular application around the exterior perimeter to mulch beds. Areas of vegetation or grass can help to eliminate the pest population outdoors.
Some preventative maintenance will help to keep millipedes away.
- Remove any objects that hold water.
- Remove all debris.
- Firewood should be stored off the ground.
- Cut off their source of water by watering your lawn in the morning so that it dries in the afternoon.
- Do not over-mulch flower beds.
- Repair cracks and crevices in your foundation, siding, windows, doors, pipes, wires, etc.
To eliminate millipedes, drench the soil or areas where they are with insecticidal soap using 1 to 2 tablespoons of dish soap to one quart of water; spray directly on the bugs.
You can also dispense granules using a hand spreader (such as Bifen granules), or a liquid spray (Bifenthrin 7.9) and a hand sprayer. Follow the directions on the product label and read all the warnings. You can spray your entire lawn, large turfs or other landscaped areas (a broadcast treatment). You can also spread a “band” around your home making a zone around your house (barrier treatment).
A spray can be used indoors – read the labels and have the right sprayer with a pinpoint nozzle. Spray around window and door frames, cracks and crevices, closets, bathrooms, kitchen, sink, basement, attics – anywhere that may have moisture.
Since millipedes enter your home through cracks and crevices, they may live in the walls. Drill a hole in the wall or remove the electrical outlet and use a dust (such as Delta Dust) using a duster to the area around the inside of the hole (not into the hole). Once again read the directions on the label and the warnings as well. Dust cannot be applied where children and pets are present and can touch. For excessive moisture use a dehumidifier to get rid of moisture.
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