Question

millipedes   QUESTION: Hi, we are having a problem with what we believe are garden millipedes. We live near Frackville, Pa, and have been invaded by these things since about mid-June. We live in the finished half of my in-law's basement. The basement is partially exposed, with an outside entrance. They seem to be primarily concentrated along that side of the basement. We keep a dehumidifier constantly running, so the basement is as dry as possible. We have had an extremely rainy spring this year, and at one point had a flood in the basement, with 3" of water. We've tried spraying spectracide insect killer along the exposed basement foundation and along the bases of walls, etc, but it does not seem to have done much.  We've done all we know to do, but they just keep coming and coming. They now even come out of the drop ceiling. I know they aren't causing any harm, but they're annoying to have to constantly vacuum up or step on with that horrible crunching noise! They also flock to the in-ground pool right next to the house, which is a headache to have to constantly clean out. I've attached a picture of the pool skimmer basket full of them. Any advice you could give us on how to get rid of or at least lessen these millipedes would be greatly appreciated!!

ANSWER: Becky,

Could you post a closer picture of a single millipede, I'd like to confirm the id? Also, place something in the photo to give an indication of size (ruler, coin, etc.).

Jack DeAngelis



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millipedes2   QUESTION: Hi Jack, I'm attaching a picture of some of the millipedes next to a penny. It's a little blurry, so if that doesn't work for you, I will try to get a clearer image.
Thanks,
Becky

Answer
The picture is fine, thanks for adding it. These are indeed millipedes. I thought at first that they might be chironomid larvae (fly) because of the number but they are clearly millipedes. This is an unusually large number. I suspect it has something to do with the saturated soils concentrating them around the house. The same thing occurs with sprintails under very wet situations. Once the soils dry out things will return to normal. Treating with insecticide probably won't help because they are being washed, or forced, into the house by the excess soil moisture. I think your best option is to wait until soils dry out a bit and just keep sweeping, etc. until then.

Jack DeAngelis