Fall is the time of year that certain outside creatures want to come into the home because of cooler temperatures on the outside of the home. There are two invaders that look similar but are very different. These two invaders are the millipede and the centipede.
Centipedes have pair of poison claws behind the head and use the poison to paralyze their prey, usually small insects. However, the jaws of centipedes are weak and can rarely penetrate human skin.
The rare individuals who are bitten may experience localized swelling and pain no worse than a bee sting.
The house centipede is found throughout the United States. This centipede can be found outside under stones, boards, or sticks or beneath moist leaf litter and other organic matter. When disturbed, centipedes move swiftly toward darkened hiding places. When they are found in homes, they are often found in moist basements, damp closets and in bathrooms. Centipedes require moist habitats. If they are plentiful, there may be an underlying moisture problem that should be corrected.
Millipedes are similar to centipedes, but have two pairs of legs per body segment. Some people mistakenly refer to them as "wireworms." (Wireworms are the larval stage of a beetle that feeds on roots of plants.) Millipedes are usually brown to blackish in color. The elongated body is rounded, not flattened, and they have no poison claws or legs. They coil up when disturbed, similar to the behavior exhibited by sowbugs or pillbugs (a related invertebrate).
Millipedes are usually restricted to moist places where they feed on organic matter. In the fall, they may become a nuisance because they migrate away from feeding areas and invade homes. Because they crawl along the ground, they are usually found in lower floors and basements. Once inside the home, they usually die due to desiccation, although in moist basements, they can survive longer.
Millipedes live in organic matter (leaves, mulch, piles of wood or wood chips) and other material close to the house. Removing the organic debris or mulch materials near your home will help reduce the potential for invading millipedes. However, the mulch does have more benefits than harmful effects so management of the millipede and understanding this creature is a better approach.
To discourage millipedes near the house, remove mulch and dead vegetation directly in contact with the house. Outdoors, you may wish to treat a 10-15 foot strip around the house perimeter with an insecticide.
Do not forget to treat the exterior basement wall, window frames and door sills. Carbamate insecticides (Baygon®, Ficam®, Sevin®) are recommended for outside control of millipedes because they are fast-acting. People and pets should stay off wet insecticides, but can safely walk on the yard once the insecticide is dry.
