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A L A B A M A A & M A N D A U B U R N U N I V E R S I T I E S

IPM Tactics For Millipede Control

Homes in a number of Alabama counties often ex-

perience millipede “invasions” in the early summer (Figure 1).

Homes that have had such an invasion are often 3 to 5 years old with well-kept lawns. In general, millipede incidents appear to decrease considerably without the aid of chemicals or other control measures after the home is about 7 years old.

What Are Millipedes?Millipedes are not insects.

Millipedes belong to the arthro-pod class Diplopoda which means “two footed” or “double footed.” The class name refers to the fact that most body segments support two pairs of legs.

Millipedes should not be confused with centipedes which bear only one pair of legs per body segment. There are about 1,000 different kinds of milli-pedes. The one that has been most troublesome to homeown-ers in Alabama is the common garden millipede.

The garden millipede is brown-black and about 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 inch long and 1⁄16 inch wide (Figure 2). Millipedes prefer to live in moist places, including under large rocks, beneath pine bark or straw mulch, in well-kept lawns, and under wood. They lay their eggs in the soil during the spring and summer and usually overwinter as adults. We do not know why millipedes migrate, but we believe it is in response to food and moisture.

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Figure 1. About 1 pound of millipedes extracted from a swimming pool filter.

Do Millipedes Bite Or Sting?

No, millipedes do not bite or sting. (Centipedes bite and inject venom from their jaws into their

Figure 2. The common garden millipede.

victims.) Millipedes give off an offensive odor when disturbed or crushed, and can stain fabrics.

How Can Millipedes Be Controlled?

The most effective method of millipede control is using an IPM approach. The least effective method of control is relying on chemicals alone. Reliance on chemicals alone results in very poor control.

As a homeowner, you may undertake your own IPM plan by implementing the control alterna-tives listed below, or you may elect to contract the services of a professional pest control opera-tor. Professionals have the equip-ment and training to do a thor-ough job and have access to

Faith M. Oi, Extension Entomologist, Assistant Professor, and Arthur G. Appel, Professor, both in Entomology at Auburn University

For more information, call your county Extension office. Look in your telephone directory under your county’s name to find the number.

Use pesticides only according to the directions on the label. Follow all directions, precautions, and restrictions that are listed.

Trade names are used only to give specific information. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System does not enforce or guarantee any product or producer and does not recommend one product or producer instead of another that might be similar.

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work in agriculture and home economics, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, and other related acts, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University) offers educational programs, materials, and equal opportunity employment to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability. UPS,10M12, New Jan 1998, ANR-1075

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products not available to home-owners. If you decide to contract the services of a professional pest control operator, get esti-mates from several reputable firms before you decide on one.

Non-chemical management practices. Reducing the availabil-ity of moist resting places often provides faster and better con-trol of these pests, than chemi-cals alone.

The hordes of millipedes at a mental health facility in Birmingham, Alabama, were halted when the following non-chemical measures were taken.

• Dethatch the lawn because millipedes thrive in the dense thatch layer of plant material just above the soil surface.

• Closely mow and edge the lawn so the lawn can dry more quickly and reduce the millipede habitat.

• Remove debris that can provide a hiding place for milli-pedes. Pull mulch away from the house because it retains mois-ture, creating a good hiding place for the millipedes.

• Water grass in the early morning so that it can dry during the day.

If millipedes enter your house, vacuum them up and dis-card them outside. Some species can stain carpeting or fabric, es-pecially if crushed.

Chemical control. If you pre-fer to use chemicals as a method of control, take care to treat around the entire perimeter of the house in a 5- to 20-foot band. Apply a chemical, such as Baygon, Ficam, or Sevin (Pinto 1990), that will result in a quick kill because millipedes can move quickly across a treated surface.Wettable powders provide lon-ger residual activity.

Also treat doorways and other openings to the house with a material labeled for this use.

Because millipedes are not insects, most insecticides alone are of little or no use. The non-chemical management practices outlined above should be imple-mented in conjunction with chemicals to enhance control.

ReferencesAppel, A. G. 1988. Clean, dry surround-ings impede migration of millipedes. Highlights Of Agricultural Research 35(1):8.

Appel, A. G. 1988. Water relations and desiccation tolerance of migrating gar-den millipedes (Diplopoda: Paradoxosomatidae). Environmental Entomology 17:463-466.

Pinto, L. 1990. Occasional invaders. IN Mallis Handbook of Pest Control, 7th ed. Franzak & Foster Co., Cleveland, OH. pp. 833-867.