Question
I recently relocated to southeastern South Dakota and purchased a home in a surburban area that does not have a basement.  I occasionally find centipedes and/or millipedes in my home, especially in the master bathroom and bedroom.  I have had a professional pest control company spray outside and inside, both last fall and again this spring, but a few of these creatures still find their way inside my home.  My question is, can they come through a crack in the contcrete slab, and is there any way to totally ensure they cannot enter my house.  While I understand they are not harmful, they are unpleasant.  Thank you for your assistance.

Answer
Karen,

Unfortunately there probably is no way to completely seal off the home from centipedes, millipedes and other occasional pests (yes they can come through cracks in the slab and foundation). My first suggestion would be to NOT treat the inside of the house with conventional insecticides as these leave residues that can be unhealthy. Outside foundation-type treatments are ok but this is something you can do yourself and save the cost of pest control service (see http://www.livingwithbugs.com/termidor.html for a label. Termidor should be used outside only and only for pests on the label). Second, if you absolutely must use insecticides indoors use one of the new, and relatively low toxicity botanical insecticides instead (see http://www.livingwithbugs.com/botanical_insecticide.html for info.). Post a follow up if you have questions.

Jack DeAngelis
http://www.livingwithbugs.com