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help w/ millipedes


evan9381

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hoping someone has suggestions

 

i came up to cleveland area to see my grandma for the weekend and do all the family reunion stuff. she has a problem with millipedes here at her apartment. she said she gets hundreds, even thousands of them daily outside on the front porch of her apartment, and some get inside

 

i thought she might be exaggerating a bit, but just now waking up to go fishing, ive picked up almost a dozen from her living room carpet. she said to look outside, and no shit, theres a few hundred

 

said she went to home depot and they told her to get ortho home defense max. i went out last night and sprayed it on the ~100 or so i saw, and it seemed to kill them, but the spray isnt stopping them for shit

 

is there anything i can get for her to keep these things from getting on her porch or into the house? she's called her complex and they keep telling her the extermination people are out weekly, and have addressed it, but nothing comes of it, and theyre still everywhere

 

if anyone could help me out, i'll be here thru sunday and i'd like to get something to get this taken care of for her

 

thanks

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It being at an apartment complex you would think the apartment complex should deal with it and not make her spend money on it.... with that being said, My wife's old house in Mt Gilead, we had an issue with fleas and it seemed like no matter what we did, we couldn't get rid of them... they were outside, inside, they were everywhere.... Then one of her friends recommended this stuff called diatomus earth... it is non-toxic and you can eat it.... but we put it all around the paremeter of the house and then all over the carpet, let it sit for a few days on the carpet, then vaccumed.... we never saw another flea again.... I guess the way that stuff works is it gets in their exoskeleton, and then causes friction as they move and pretty much burns them alive.... but it also carries it back to the coloney so it kills all of them.

 

That might be a cheap non-toxic alternative since she can't bomb her apartment.

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Guest tbutera2112
It being at an apartment complex you would think the apartment complex should deal with it and not make her spend money on it.... with that being said, My wife's old house in Mt Gilead, we had an issue with fleas and it seemed like no matter what we did, we couldn't get rid of them... they were outside, inside, they were everywhere.... Then one of her friends recommended this stuff called diatomus earth... it is non-toxic and you can eat it.... but we put it all around the paremeter of the house and then all over the carpet, let it sit for a few days on the carpet, then vaccumed.... we never saw another flea again.... I guess the way that stuff works is it gets in their exoskeleton, and then causes friction as they move and pretty much burns them alive.... but it also carries it back to the coloney so it kills all of them.

 

That might be a cheap non-toxic alternative since she can't bomb her apartment.

 

 

^ this..

 

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

 

get this stuff...its cheap, and you can get it at lowes (its in the outdoor garden section, its not with the other bug sprays and bug killers)....non-toxic, spread it around the porch and around the base of the house....it wont stop them if theyre digging in, but as soon as they walk on this stuff, theyre dead...it pierces their skin and dehydrates them instantly.

 

i had a potato bug problem in the basement here, got a nice dehumidifier and put this stuff around the outside of the basement window and havent seen one bug since

 

and its non-toxic, she can even put it down inside the house around the edges of the room and stuff, it will kill them quick

 

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1394296&CAWELAID=188273783

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Well, poisons, etc have been mentioned and they help the problem. However, I find it's helpful to know about the bug and it's habits, too, so...

 

Pics? Im curious as to the species and this may help.

 

After that, first things first. If you dont want them in the house, stop them from coming in! Obviously, there are some areas of the home that need some weatherstipping and/or caulking. Having dozens of bugs on your floor in the morning is ridiculous in this day and age in a modern home.

 

Second, this may also be an indicator thay they are laying eggs within the home, though this will depend of the species and level of humidity in the home. Millepedes LOVE moisture. Can't live without and after entering a dry home can even die within a few hours (Otherwise, under ideal conditions, many can live over 5yrs.) They also love to eat detritus, ie; rotting debris like plant material, etc. Again, you need moisture for this. We've had quite a bit of rain and I don't know how well things dry up around there, but if there's a way to reduce moisture around the home (and especially in it) you can effectively reduce the numbers that way. Also, removing any old rotting leaves, wood, etc will help, too.

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Guest tbutera2112
Well, poisons, etc have been mentioned and they help the problem. However, I find it's helpful to know about the bug and it's habits, too, so...

 

Pics? Im curious as to the species and this may help.

 

After that, first things first. If you dont want them in the house, stop them from coming in! Obviously, there are some areas of the home that need some weatherstipping and/or caulking. Having dozens of bugs on your floor in the morning is ridiculous in this day and age in a modern home.

 

Second, this may also be an indicator thay they are laying eggs within the home, though this will depend of the species and level of humidity in the home. Millepedes LOVE moisture. Can't live without and after entering a dry home can even die within a few hours (Otherwise, under ideal conditions, many can live over 5yrs.) They also love to eat detritus, ie; rotting debris like plant material, etc. Again, you need moisture for this. We've had quite a bit of rain and I don't know how well things dry up around there, but if there's a way to reduce moisture around the home (and especially in it) you can effectively reduce the numbers that way. Also, removing any old rotting leaves, wood, etc will help, too.

 

 

yep...moisture is a bitch...

 

get a nice dehumidifier and run it on constant for a few weeks, making sure to keep it drained...then after the bug problem goes away, run it on Max and check it every now and then to make sure to keep it empty so it can keep doing its job

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