There are over 12,000 species of millipedes, and chances are, you have seen a few around your home. Millipedes are usually brownish or blackish, wormlike, and occasionally become pests when they migrate into your house. Though these bugs pose no threat to your household or its members.
Millipedes tend to migrate inside after a rainfall, so it’s beneficial to have a plan for controlling them. After all, no one wants crawling bugs invading their home.
This informative guide to getting rid of millipedes discusses:
- How to Quickly Get Rid of These Unwanted Pests
- How To Prevent Them From Returning
- The Differences Between Millipedes and Centipedes
- How To Tell if You Have an Infestation
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How To Get Rid of Millipedes in Your Home
You don’t have to be a licensed pest control technician to remove unwanted pests in your home. There are many DIY ways to remove millipedes. Here are some top-secret techniques the pros use to remove millipedes.
Vacuuming
The simplest way of removing high populations of unwanted pests in your home is with a vacuum cleaner or shop vac. This method is effective for cleanouts of large infestations. Just be sure to replace the bag when you’re finished.
Lowering Humidity Levels
Millipedes seek out cool, damp areas like basements, crawl spaces, plumbing entry points, laundry rooms, and bathrooms.
To lower humidity levels in the home, consider installing exhaust fans in all bathrooms. You can also place dehumidifiers throughout the home. Additionally, consider upgrading to central air conditions, or installing ceiling fans to help circulate airflow through the entire home.
Trapping Millipedes
To trap millipedes and other crawling insects, you can use mice glue traps. Stcicky traps also useful for tracking active infestations.
For maximum coverage, place glue traps in moist environments like basements, crawl spaces, attics, storage rooms, laundry rooms, and behind toilets.
Be sure to fold glue boards per label instructions to provide protection from curious children and pets. Also, it’s best to replace these traps regularly since dirt and dust render them ineffective over time.
Diatomaceous Earth Treatments
Diatomaceous earth is a natural pesticide made from diatoms mined from dry lake beds. It’s not poisonous, rather works by drawing oils and fats from the cuticle of a bug’s exoskeleton, causing the insect to dry out and die.
Although it’s non-toxic, you should use a respirator when applying diatomaceous earth and other insecticide dusts.
You can apply diatomaceous earth inside your home with a bulb duster or a hand duster with a narrow tip. When using dry dust material in humid climates, be sure to only fill the duster halfway. Before dusting the material throughout your home, place four to five small jagged rocks in with the diatomaceous earth. Then, shake the duster often to keep the powder from clumping together.
To treat a millipede infestation using diatomaceous earth:
- Pipe entry points under sinks: Place the tip of the duster into the hole where the plumbing pipes enter through the flooring. Give the duster a few gentle squeezes to send the diatomaceous earth into the area under the flooring.
- Pipe entries behind toilets: Pull the cover plate back as far as it will go to expose the pipe entry point. Give a few light puffs of dust to send the material into the wall void or the area under the flooring.
- Plumbing access doors: Open the plumbing access door to expose the pipes. Place the extension tip of the duster into the opening and close the door, creating a gap the width of the tip. Seal the gap around the door with masking tape. Next, gently squeeze the hand duster twice to send a small amount of dust into the void. Wait a few minutes before removing the tape, recovering the duster, and closing the door.
- Other areas: Apply small amounts of diatomaceous earth underneath appliances, within utility spaces, behind fireplace mantles, window sills, and door jambs.
Safety Precautions When Using Diatomaceous Earth
There are a few safety precautions you should observe when using diatomaceous earth.
Never use insecticide dust around electrical outlets, as the metal duster tip could accidentally cause an electrical shock. Over-application could leave the dust ineffective, so be careful not to over-apply the material, especially to cracks and crevices.
Always use a respirator, especially when broadcast dusting large areas such as attics and crawl spaces, and lastly, keep children and pets away from treated areas for at least two hours.
Silica Gels
Unlike diatomaceous earth, silica gels are synthetic compounds manufactured for various industrial purposes. The most common use is to protect cameras and lenses from excess moisture during shipping.
In recent years, the pest control industry has discovered it as an economical solution for eliminating pests. Silica gels are similar to diatomaceous earth and have the same dry consistency after being crushed.
Silica gels are now available for home use and typically come in squeeze bottles for convenience. However, it’s best to only apply them to cracks and crevices. Additionally, be mindful that these products can affect the lungs. A dust mask is required while working with silica gels.
Pesticide Sprays
Treating the perimeter of your home with residual sprays helps to remove many unwanted pests. In this case, be sure to choose one that is labeled for millipedes.
The most popular products contain the active ingredient lambda-cyhalothrin, while others use bifenthrin. Both are concentrates you mix in a gallon sprayer.
To apply a barrier treatment, first spray the outer perimeter of the home where the foundation and the ground meet. A 10-foot-wide band will provide ample coverage. Next, adjust the spray nozzle for areas around windows, doors, eaves, overhangs, vents, and service line entry points. Try to use no more than a two-foot band to limit pesticide drift.
Next, use a 24-inch spot treatment for areas under sinks, behind appliances, and in basements. Be sure to spot-treat underneath steps, entryways, and door thresholds as well.
While it may seem helpful, spraying baseboards does little to help since the insecticide gets washed off with regular mopping. Also, avoid spraying wood trim and baseboards because liquid tends to warp the wood. Pesticide sprays could stain your carpet, so avoid spraying these areas as well.
How To Prevent Millipedes
Keep a Tidy Home
Millipedes are scavengers and will eat almost anything, especially if it’s rotting, or decaying. Generally, the same measures you use to control flies around your home are also effective for millipedes.
The following are some common examples to limit the millipede’s food sources:
- Remove compost piles and grass clippings from your yard regularly.
- Clean up any yard waste and relocate woodpiles at least 20 feet away from the structure.
- Be sure all trash cans have secure lids.
- Remove rotting organic matter, especially in moist areas.
Reduce Access to Moisture
There are many ways to reduce insects’ access to moisture in your home. You can clean gutters regularly to prevent water from backing up, and make sure all downspouts around the house are free from debris.
Avoid overwatering grass, trees, and outdoor plants and repair leaky outdoor faucets and hose bibs. It may also help to set sprinkler systems on a timer and make sure they are in good working condition.
Limit Millipede Habitat
You can find millipedes in almost any type of environment, including forests, caves, prairies, and deserts.
For yards with grass, millipedes are found in thatch, the layer of organic material between the grass and the soil. In desert environments, they typically nest under rocks. No matter where their hiding places are, almost all millipede species are attracted to rotting plant matter along with animal feces and decomposing waste.
For that reason, it is best to clean up after pets regularly. Also, remove mulch and leaf litter from your yard to limit the millipede’s hiding places.
Seal Them Out
DIY homeowners can keep out millipedes using simple tools and supplies around the home. You can seal these insects out a few ways, including:
- Repair cracks in foundation walls using liquid cement or epoxy sealant.
- Close pipe entry points with steel wool or expansion foam.
- Replace worn weather stripping around windows and doors.
- Caulk door jambs and window sills with caulking compound.
- Seal cracks in drywall using spackle or putty.
While checking and repairing sealed points of your home can help keep out millipedes, it can also help to keep out other insects as well.
Chemical Repellents
Granules containing bifenthrin help control millipedes year-round. Place some along the perimeter of the patio, working your way out toward the fence line. This technique reduces pest populations while drawing them away from living spaces.
Boric acid applied indoors can work well to repel millipedes. However, it’s best to restrict boric acid use to cracks and crevices. Broadcast treatments are not advised since it’s somewhat stronger than diatomaceous earth.
Natural Repellents
Natural pest repellents are available for millipedes. While there is little science behind the efficacy of essential oils as pesticides, many people swear by them.
Tea tree oil and peppermint seem to be the most effective. Try finding a product that is already premixed and ready to apply. Many come in a convenient spray bottle for easy application.
Spray them in the same areas you would for traditional chemical insecticides. However, since natural repellents are not as strong, you may have to repeat treatments every week before experiencing lasting results.
How To Identify Millipedes
Characteristics
Millipedes are round, wormlike arthropods that vary depending on where you find them. For example, woodland millipedes are often dark brown, whereas desert varieties sometimes have a lighter tan color to match their sandy environments.
Each species also varies in length, with the longest being over 13 inches. That being the case, the average house millipede is only about one to three inches in length.
Life Cycle
Female millipedes lay between 10 and 100 eggs at a time on moist soil or decomposing organic matter. Many species protect their eggs within cocoon-like structures.
The eggs hatch within a few weeks. After that, the young will molt several times while growing new segments, up to 20 in some species.
Telling Millipedes From Centipedes
It can be a challenge to tell the difference between millipedes and centipedes. However, there are a few key differences in their bodies, antennae, legs, and locomotion.
Bodies
The millipede has a tubular body, while the centipede is typically flat. Both, however, can be almost any variety of colors, depending on the species.
Antennae
Millipedes have short antennae. Alternatively, since centipedes are hunters, they require longer antennae to discover potential prey.
Legs
The millipede has two pairs of legs on all segments except for one. That is why they never have an even number of sets.
Centipedes, on the other hand, have one pair of legs per body segment, and this is true for almost all species.
Locomotion
Centipedes run fast due to having long legs, and millipedes have short legs used for burrowing. For that reason, millipedes typically move more slowly than centipedes.
Are Millipedes Harmful?
Millipedes are harmless to humans. Moreover, they are not very adept at combat. Instead, they curl into a ball as a defensive move to thwart predators.
Millipedes do not eat wood or destroy homes. While some larger varieties are known to damage live plants, they are not found in the U.S. or North America.
Signs & Causes of a Millipede Infestation
Seeing a few millipedes here and there does not necessarily indicate an infestation. However, it is possible to witness over 100 underneath a piece of plywood. Still, witnessing that many in your home is highly unlikely.
Millipedes occasionally invade buildings when the weather becomes too hot and dry. However, they can move indoors during the cold winter months as well. They live up to three years and can go unnoticed since they inhabit dark, tight spaces.
Millipedes overwinter as eggs. In the spring, they take cover in yard mulch and decaying plant matter. They also favor spaces between rocks, tree bark, and lumber.
Millipedes are also constantly seeking sources of water. You will often notice them in basements, pool equipment boxes, and near downspouts that are not properly routed.
Female millipedes lay between 10 and 100 eggs at a time on moist soil or decomposing organic matter. In addition, many species protect them within cocoon-like structures.
Last Word on Millipedes
It’s important to remember that millipedes are just one of many pests you can encounter on your property. The good news is that many pest control companies include these creepy crawlers in their annual contracts, along with cockroaches, ants, spiders, crickets, mice, and other common pests.
Finding an exterminator you can trust and having them visit your house regularly can help to make sure that these pests, and others, don’t return. Be sure to check online referrals and consult your local Better Business Bureau. Lastly, make sure the company you select is licensed, bonded, and insured in your state.
If you want to use DIY solutions for millipede control you can use diatomaceous earth, pesticides, and other remedies that don’t require professionals. If your infestation remains after you have exhausted your efforts, it may be time to call a pest control professional.
FAQs About Getting Rid of Millipedes
Signs of a millipede infestation can be subtle at first, but there are some key indicators. If you are seeing millipedes in damp areas of your home or garden in increased and/or large numbers, finding dead millipedes inside, seeing minor plant damage to soft plants in your garden and flower beds, you may want to start treating for these pests. You may also smell a musty odor in areas with high millipede activity.
Millipedes are more active at night, so you will be able to see them more easily by checking damp areas with a flashlight at night.
Millipedes prefer dark and damp environments to hide in. Common places outside include leaf litter and mulch outside, under rocks, and in compost piles.
Inside your home, millipedes might often choose to hide in basement corners, crawl spaces, behind baseboards, and under potted plants.
Millipedes may also be in piles of firewood, under carpets, in closets and storage areas, in cracks in foundations, under appliances, in garages, and in window wells where moisture can accumulate.
If you suspect millipede problems, look in these places for live bugs, dead bug bodies, and light damage to soft plant tissues.
Millipedes don’t pose any threats to humans or your household. Mostly, these insects are nuisances but can cause some minor issues.
Millipedes may cause light damage to soft plant material, like seedlings or fallen fruit — though this is often limited to decaying matter. They can attract other pests that feed on them, which could cause you further issues.
While these pests are relatively harmless, their presence can be discomforting. It’s best to work to get rid of them as quickly as possible to keep your home clean and free of pests.
