Imagine this: it is a cool midsummer night with tree frogs chirping and lightning bugs glowing. You decide to join them and grab for your sandals but figure you won't need them. After all it is summer. So, you open the door and walk out onto your deck, but as your barefoot touches the wood it also falls onto something else! Quickly, you pick your foot up only to notice a small worm like creature that has tightly coiled itself up into a “c” shape. You wait for a minute and see it slowly release itself and begin to crawl.
If you have ever experienced this before then I apologize for the shivers that just went up your spine. If you have no clue what I am talking about then you may want to read on. What you just imagined stepping on was a millipede or a “thousand-legged worm.” They are brownish-black in color or mottled with shades of orange, red, or brown and are cylindrical (wormlike) with a hard shell that protects their soft bodies.
Millipedes are related to lobsters, crayfish and shrimp and therefore require moist habitats and areas of high humidity. They tend to live within the soil and around living and decomposing vegetation like compost piles, leaves, heavily mulched landscapes and wood piles. However, they cannot tolerate water saturated or extremely dry soil conditions both of which force them to the surface and higher ground (your house). Some also say that millipedes migrate during October and November because they are in search of food or a better over wintering site.
Millipedes can be long lived, sometimes up to seven years.
They over winter as adults and lay eggs singly or in large groups. Some females lay between 20-300 eggs that may hatch in autumn.
Since millipedes are nocturnal (active at night) they may go unnoticed but at certain times of the year, usually late summer, they begin to appear by the thousands. Millipedes may congregate on or in your house, garage lawn and deck but thankfully they are harmless.
They do not bite or destroy household possessions, foods or structures. The worst thing they may do is leave a musty odor behind.
To control a millipede infestation you must be patient especially if they are migrating.
Again, they prefer moist decaying material so remove any compost piles, grass clippings, rotting wood, leaf piles, plant debris and stones away from the house.
Expose the soil surface to sunlight and air, and repair any cracks and openings in the foundation, doors, and window frames.
If you have noticed millipedes in your basement or house you may need to eliminate any excess moisture with ventilation.
In the meantime, sweep and vacuum the millipedes up. Also, remember that millipedes are decomposers and are very beneficial to our environment!
For more information about millipedes or to obtain a millipede fact sheet, call Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County at 255-1183.
Renee Jensen is a community educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County.
Millipedes are related to lobsters, crayfish and shrimp and therefore require moist habitats and areas of high humidity. They tend to live within the soil and around living and decomposing vegetation like compost piles, leaves, heavily mulched landscapes and wood piles. However, they cannot tolerate water saturated or extremely dry soil conditions both of which force them to the surface and higher ground (your house). Some also say that millipedes migrate during October and November because they are in search of food or a better over wintering site.
Millipedes can be long lived, sometimes up to seven years.
They over winter as adults and lay eggs singly or in large groups. Some females lay between 20-300 eggs that may hatch in autumn.
Since millipedes are nocturnal (active at night) they may go unnoticed but at certain times of the year, usually late summer, they begin to appear by the thousands. Millipedes may congregate on or in your house, garage lawn and deck but thankfully they are harmless.
They do not bite or destroy household possessions, foods or structures. The worst thing they may do is leave a musty odor behind.
To control a millipede infestation you must be patient especially if they are migrating.
Again, they prefer moist decaying material so remove any compost piles, grass clippings, rotting wood, leaf piles, plant debris and stones away from the house.
Expose the soil surface to sunlight and air, and repair any cracks and openings in the foundation, doors, and window frames.
If you have noticed millipedes in your basement or house you may need to eliminate any excess moisture with ventilation.
In the meantime, sweep and vacuum the millipedes up. Also, remember that millipedes are decomposers and are very beneficial to our environment!
For more information about millipedes or to obtain a millipede fact sheet, call Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County at 255-1183.
Renee Jensen is a community educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County.
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