Millipedes are among the common household pests. They have segmented body parts and tiny paired legs that help them crawl on the ground.
What Attracts Millipedes Around the Home?
Millipedes are scavengers, often looking for decomposing vegetation for food. As such, you’ll easily spot them around your home.
These tiny pests will come into your home to:
- Search for moisture and shelter during hot weather
- Search for dry spots during wet conditions
- Search for a place to hibernate during winter
How Can You Keep Millipedes From Your Home?
Remove Debris Around the Home
Millipedes love organic waste and debris from twigs and grass. So, if you have such debris on your compound, make sure to clear them.
When using mulch in your backyard, keep it light and leave a minimum 12–inch separation from the foundations. It is also advisable to spread inorganic mulch containing synthetic materials like plastics and fabrics. Inorganic mulch takes longer to break down and decompose, so millipedes won’t find ready food to eat.
Moderate Your Lawn Care
Millipedes crawl over the ground looking for food, and if they find the lawns comfortable for habitation, they’ll settle. Therefore, it’s essential to keep your lawn adequately ventilated by allowing sufficient exposure to sunlight.
Similarly, if you have overgrown grass, keep it trimmed to the ground to increase the soil’s exposure to sunlight. In addition, reduce the amount of water you sprinkle on the lawns to reduce the likelihood of millipede infestation.
Remove Moisture Around the Home
Millipedes love moist conditions during hot weather, so eliminating moisture around the home pays off. Mainly, ensure the foundation, crawlspaces, and basement walls are free of moisture.
If you have water spouts and gutters on the roof edge, you should remove debris that may accumulate inside to allow water to drain completely. Similarly, if there are any leaking spots on gutters, seal them so that water won’t drip on the crawlspaces.
Another way to eliminate moisture around your home is by dehumidifying the crawl spaces. Special dehumidifying agents will help you absorb moisture and keep crawl spaces dry.
In addition, consider enclosing crawl spaces using moisture barriers that block the entry points for millipedes.
Seal Cracks and Entry Points
Millipedes may sneak into the house through open holes and cracks around foundations, doorsteps, or window sills. The surest way to keep them away is to seal all entry points to your house.
How can you achieve this?
Well, you can put door sweeps on the outer section of all exterior doors to seal any gaps that may exist underneath.
Besides door sweeps, caulking can come in handy as an adequate remedy. Caulk is a unique material applied to wooden joints and piping structures. Apply some caulk on the lower exterior edge of your doors and basement walls. That way, you’ll be sure to seal all joints where sidewalks meet the walls.
Call the Experts
Millipedes do not sting or spread infections, but they can be a nuisance if they infest your personal space. If you are struggling to eliminate these pests from your home and need pest control, please don’t hesitate to contact an experienced pest control company.
