When I first landed in Adelaide three years ago, I had no idea what a millipede was – in fact when I first picked one up, I found them a little fascinating – little did I know what a pest they are to South Australian families. Today I find myself waging war against the armies of millipedes invading in droves, and this is not only something I notice in my own home.
Millipedes are harmless, in fact, they may well be the most useless creature to walk our earth today – They are detrivores, which means they eat only dead and decaying plant matter, they can’t bite, poison or in any way harm human beings (or any other living animal for that matter), they can live for up to seven years and lay up to 300 eggs at any one time. So it seems that the only real purpose for these 400 legged, gravity defying little buggers is to annoy YOU. Now I’m not particularly fond of killing these unwanted guests, and I’m also not into surrounding my home with dangerous pesticides, I’d rather just ask nicely and keep them out. Prevention is always better than a cure.
So I thought I’d gather all the best information available, test it, rate it, and compile everything together here for you to use as you wish.
Keep Them Out. ($) 5/10
If millipedes can’t get in, they can’t be a problem, right? Right. This method will work particularly well in newer homes where millipedes are coming into the home from outside, rather than those born in the home. Walk around the outside of your house with some sealant and a caulking gun, and get to work. Seal up any cracks in the foundation and around any cables, wires, and plumbing that enter the house. Take your time with this, these little buggers can get in anywhere! At the very least this is going to be a good move for the maintenance of your home, and you’ll be actively keeping out many more harmful creepy crawlies. It’s also a good idea to install door sweeps and foam door seals – these can be found at your local hardware store, and at a very reasonable cost.
Control The Weather Inside. ($$) 9/10
Controlling the humidity in your home can be a highly effective method of ridding your home of millipedes. Most South Australian homes already have a heating system installed (fireplaces, reverse cycle and gas heating systems are all very effective) so this can be a simple and cost effective solution. Essentially, Millipedes can only live in a relatively humid environment – so turn your home into Mars. This doesn’t mean you need to have your heater cranked all winter, it just means that keeping it on at a low setting at the beginning of the cooler months so that the humidity in your home stays very low. No humidity, no millipedes, simple. Also make sure you don’t have any leaky plumbing in the walls, ceilings, or under sinks. Move furniture around to find their nice, damp little hidey-holes.
Control The Weather Outside ($$) 9/10
This is a bigger ask, because the Rain Dance is unreliable technology really, but there are things you can do. Start with the gutters. A common misconception is that millipedes live and breed under ground – this was the case 50 million years ago when we lived in caves – they too have opted for the more modern option of housing. Because millipedes survive in cold, damp, dark areas, a blocked gutter filled with decaying leaves is heaven! Make sure they are collecting and diverting water correctly. If rainwater is dripping down from anywhere it’s not supposed to, get it fixed asap – we can clean your gutters too, remember. Also, make sure that the gutters coming down from the roof divert the water as far away from the house as possible. Finally, if you must water your lawn, do so in the morning so that it’s dry by afternoon. Millipedes are nocturnal.
Take Away Their Food Sources. ($) 5/10
Remove their food, and they’ll move on to the next house, decreasing the numbers you’ll find in your home. Try to avoid using mulch in your gardens. At the very least, reduce the amount of it. Mulch does a fine job of holding onto moisture. Try digging wood ash (from fireplaces, etc) into the ground where you see millipedes – this acts in a similar way to Diatomaceous earth, and will kill millipedes effectively if you have the time it takes to complete this task. Move woodpiles and compost piles as far from the home as possible. Clear away any and all dead and decaying plant matter including leaves and logs.
Manual Eradication. ($) 5/10
Once they are in they are in and the only way to get them out (dead or alive) is to do it by hand, a simple dustpan and brush will do the trick just fine. If that’s too icky for you get the vacuum and, well you can work out the rest.
So you have had it with trying to control millipedes in your home and you want to pull out the big guns, read on. For the most part, millipedes are completely harmless. That said, there have been a few rare cases of people suffering reactions to the humble species. The biggest issue most people have to worry about is that when millipedes die, they tend to have a rather off-putting odor (you won’t notice this when it is the odd one or two, but when there are hundreds, you’ll certainly notice!). Also, be careful when squashing them – they will leave a stain on carpets and rugs.
The Millipede Trap. ($$) 8/10
“Attract, catch, kill, dispose! The Millipede Catcher is Environmentally friendly and made from recycled plastic. It is simple and convenient to use. Functional in all weather with 12 volt safety…” Click the link here to read the rest. Taken directly from the Perth based suppliers website. They sell a set of four for $70.00 + Postage. Seems a good, naturally effective idea for garden usage, but possibly a little impractical for indoor use.
If you’re still reading this, you’re probably waiting to learn how to kill millipedes with commercial products, or biological weaponry. Luckily for you, there are a number of products available. Most of these can be found online, though pest control companies, and local gardening stores may stock these products also.
Diatomaceous earth. ($$) 8/10
This natural wonder works very well for killing Millipedes. Diatomaceous earth is made up of thousands of little fossilized diatoms (single celled organisms) that just happen to be extremely sharp. When a millipede wanders through the stuff, it is inflicted with numerous little cuts that cause it to dehydrate and die. Permaguard Garden Insecticide (active ingredient diatomaceous earth.)
Coopex. ($$) 10/10
This one is a little more harsh, but very effective and easy to apply. This will protect your home against ants, bedbugs, carpet beetles, clothes moths, cockroaches, fleas, spiders, silverfish, houseflies, mosquitoes, biting flies, hide beetles and seed harvesting ants, in addition of course, to Millipedes. This is readily available at Bunnings stores, remains active for 4-6 weeks, and can be used inside the home as well as outside.
An important point to remember here is that Millipedes do not behave as insects; Ants for instance, live in colonies and it is relatively simple to kill off an entire nest. Millipedes live solitary lives and therefore there is no way to permanently eradicate them from your home, and although there are ways to kill them, there is no known way (short of combinations of the solutions above) to deter them from your home. The best you can hope for is to control their immediate population.
UPDATE – Tuesday April 26th, 2011
Shortly after this post went live, we were made aware of another alternative solution to the Millipede problem. The information below is, in part, derived directly from Bug Central, and in no way connected to AMS.
In the early 1990’s, South Australian researchers discovered a particular breed of nematode could be used to naturally cull the infestations of millipedes plaguing Australian homes. There is a plethora of scientifically based information on this, but here are the facts:
How Nematodes work:
-Nematodes are microscopic parasitic worms which can affect all manner of bugs and plants. The species in question however, will affect only the Portuguese Millipede common to SA.
-Essentially, Millipede eats Nematode – Nematode chews its way through Millipedes gut – Nematode replicates inside Millipede carcass – Nematode infects Millipedes’ mates – Nematode wins.
A few points of note:
-Due to the biological nature of this solution, this is affective ONLY when Millipede numbers are at an extreme level (if you’re finding only a handful inside your home each day then this solution may be completely ineffective).
-You’ll need to allow 1-2 years at best before you see a notable reduction in the Millipede population.
-You’ll also need to collect 500+ live Millipedes to infect and re-release for this method to be effective.
All in all I think I’d rather keep my home an inhospitable environment to keep the little critters away. Either way, I hope the information above can be of help to some of you.